Apple has joined the likes of Amazon and HBO in making some of its programming free to watch while we're all stuck indoors sheltering from the new coronavirus – you can now tune into selected Apple TV Plus shows without the monthly subscription.
As Variety reports, the shows you can now view free of charge include wildlife doc The Elephant Queen, drama series Little America, and all eight creepy episodes of Servant (the creation of M. Night Shyamalan).
Also included in the deal is alternative literary biopic Dickinson, astronaut sci-fi show For All Mankind, plus the kids shows Helpsters, Ghostwriter and Snoopy in Space. That should be enough to get you through a few weeks at least.
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It's not everything that's available on Apple TV Plus, but it's a good chunk, and all that you need to start watching is an Apple ID. You can watch on any Apple device of course, among other devices, or on the web through a browser.
Countering Disney
As per Variety, these shows were free to watch in the US on Thursday night (April 9) and will be available in another 100 countries on Friday (April 10). Fire up the Apple TV app on your device to see if you can get them.
Apple hasn't said anything officially about the move (yet), but the company has been busy during the coronavirus pandemic – it has launched a Covid-19 screening tool and has also committed to making face shields for medical staff.
The move to unlock some Apple TV Plus content might not be completely altruistic though – the new Disney Plus streaming service has hit the ground running and is no doubt tempting a lot of cooped up users with its 7-day free trial (something Apple TV Plus offers too, by the way). Apple will be keen to counter that however it can.
Meanwhile the spread of Covid-19 continues to have a significant impact on the world of tech, with canceled events and postponed launches common. At least now you've got more to watch while you're waiting to get back to normal.
