Eric Slivka, reporting for MacRumors:

Buried in its announcement about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.

A single line near the end of the press release states “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity,” though Apple’s website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we’re unsure on the details of the new identity. Apple’s blurb about the streaming service at the bottom of the press release also reflects the updated naming.

Nobody in the real world calls the service Apple TV+ for two reasons: (a) it sounds dorky, and (b) they don’t even know there’s a non-plus Apple TV. The Apple TV streaming box, which has been the primary way I’ve consumed television for a decade, doesn’t even register as a product to most people, and the few who do know what it is just think of it as a conduit for AirPlay — or my favorite, “Apple Play.” The Apple TV streaming app, which aims to connect all of a user’s streaming services in one hub, is known to even fewer people because it doesn’t support Netflix, the streaming service to which most people subscribe. So, the “+” in Apple TV+ doesn’t mean anything to the vast majority of subscribers, and many end up calling it “Apple” instead. “Hey, Severance is on Apple.” (Though I find the contingent who don’t care enough to say “TV” usually use “Apple” negatively, as in, they can’t believe Apple has a streaming service now, and they have to pay for it.)

That doesn’t mean this is a good rebrand; it’s just that Apple doesn’t care about the streaming box or the streaming service aggregator. Before Apple TV+, the streaming app used to be called the “TV app,” which I think was a great name before the existence of Apple TV+. But now, because people use the TV app to watch Apple TV+, the two products must carry the same name to avoid confusion. It would be vexing if viewers had to go to an app not called “Apple TV” on an Apple device to watch Apple TV+. So my suggestion is simple: Move Apple TV+ to a separate app, name that app “Apple TV,” and rename the streaming service aggregator to something clever. I don’t know, only something Apple could do. And forget all about the streaming box because nobody knows what that is anyway, not even Apple.

The new streaming service aggregator could connect to Apple TV like any other app, such as Peacock, HBO Max, or Disney+. But that app would only be used to manage a person’s watchlist, any shows and movies they’ve rented or bought through iTunes, and the streaming services that the app supports hooking into. For all Apple TV+ (now Apple TV) viewing, users would be redirected to the bespoke Apple TV app. (Is this making sense? Probably not; this announcement is really stretching my skills as a writer.) This is the only reasonable way for the new names to make sense and to share parity with non-Apple streaming devices. When someone wants to watch Apple TV on a Samsung television, they download the Apple TV app, not the Apple TV+ app (before the rebrand), which doesn’t exist. Apple TV should be the home of Apple TV and nothing else, just like HBO Max is the home of HBO Max and nothing else. Relegate all other content to another app with a different name.