I spent this weekend watching everything on Apple TV+ bar the kid’s stuff, and I came away very impressed. Dickinson, See, The Morning Show, For All Mankind — there’s not one duffer among them.
Apple has clearly put a large amount of effort into video and audio quality with every show here, too. See, with Jason Momoa, has some of the best images and audio I have ever seen or heard — especially impressive for streaming rather than disc. Beyond presenting content in 4KHDR and Dolby Atmos, Apple TV+ has really gone to town on ensuring those formats are used to their fullest, with properly calibrated black levels and constant and engaging use of surround and height channels. See is demo material.
Sure, Netflix offers the same features, but I simply haven’t seen anything on Netflix that looks and sounds as good as most of what Apple presents here. It’s clear that Apple has set out to trump its competitors among the video/audiophile evangelists. Folk like us who will recognise the effort made and spread the word among the casual viewers.
It is a shame that we only get the first three episodes of each show with the remainder eeked out one episode a week. I have watched them all and wanted to see more in every case. But, I respect the fact that Apple needs to provide reasons for people to keep their subscriptions and with only a handful of shows this is the only realistic way to kick things off. However, it’s also indicative that new shows are likely to be sparse.
Apple’s statement, made here in its opening salvo, appears to be that quality will trump quantity. It’s the HBO model more than it is Netflix, and a statement I personally agree with. Its biggest problem in 2020, then, will be providing enough content to keep us all subscribed. One would think, being Apple, financing that shouldn’t be a problem. We shall see.