How many times have we seen Apple remove some of its apps with every update? This is the most normal thing in the world, because tastes change and it costs Apple many euros a month to maintain an application that people may no longer use, merge with another application or simply not be interested in.

With the arrival of iOS 17.2, this ‘tradition’ seems to continue. One of the legendary and even beloved applications will gradually begin to withdraw. Which one? Here’s a hint: It has something to do with TV and has the word ‘iTunes’ in its name.

The beginning of the end of the well-known app iTunes Movie Store

Apple is preparing to make a significant change in the way iOS and tvOS users access movie and TV content. With the arrival of iOS 17.2 and tvOS 17.2, New user interface will be introduced in the TV applicationIt will include a sidebar for more efficient navigation between various sections such as “Search”, “Watch Now”, “Channels”, “Shop” and “Library”. This change marks the beginning of the end for the dedicated iTunes Movie Store, which will be merged with the TV app.

This integration signals an evolution in Apple’s strategy, focused on unifying and simplifying the user experience. Details obtained from the code of the second beta version of iOS 17.2 and tvOS 17.2 reveal plans to fully merge the iTunes Movie Store with the Apple TV app. While it was now possible to purchase movies and TV shows through the TV app, the parallel existence of the iTunes Store app was still in place and many of us old users still frequently used it to buy and rent movies.

ITunes Stores App for Movies will slowly disappear.

Users will soon receive a message informing them that “iTunes Movies have been moved to the Apple TV app”The same will apply to the TV programs section in regions where it is available. Although access to the iTunes Movie Store is preserved in the current beta version, this access is expected to be eliminated with the activation of new features and the update.

Also on Apple TV devices Separate apps for iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows are also expected to disappear, combines all purchased movies and TV shows into the Apple TV app. This change not only improves the user experience, but also represents another step in the phasing out of the iTunes brand, which began with the removal of the iTunes software on Mac in 2019.

With these changes, Apple strengthens its commitment to a more integrated user experience and simplified, in line with current digital media consumption trends.