The new Apple TV is a jerky step in the right direction

One of the most interesting aspects of iOS 12.3 is that it allows you to get offline access to movies and programs without legal access before. Only you will have to pay Apple for this privilege.

The iOS update was put online yesterday and an essential feature for people traveling or taking the subway regularly (and thus loses Internet access between stops) is the ability to load movies and TV series who previously had no offline access.

It works thanks to the appallingly televised Apple TV app (seriously, the software is poorly designed and makes troubleshooting via Google search an absolute nightmare) as part of the new feature called Channels. According to Apple, the idea is that channels are the ideal platonic way to display content from vendors such as HBO, Showtime and Starz. As a general rule, you subscribe to these channels through your cable provider, a streaming provider such as PS View or directly. Then you watch the content via its specific application, which relies on the content provider to manage this application and the server.

It's great until the server is slammed – let's say by millions of people watching the last season of Game of thrones. Then the content becomes pixelated and raw and we all complain.

With channels, content is streamed directly from Apple's servers. Theoretically, this means a cleaner and more stable source (we have not yet had the chance to test this statement). The advantage, it is that subscribing via Channels also means that you get offline access to the content, even when the provider does not provide offline content in its own application (like HBO) .

However, since nothing in the world of streaming is simple, you can only subscribe to a service like HBO or Showtime. As a former Gizmodo reporter Christina Warren wrote on TwitterIn order to take full advantage of the new Apple TV feature, you must subscribe to services via Apple.

For example, if you subscribe to HBO Go through PS View or your local cable company, offline viewing and content will not be accessible through Apple's dedicated servers. When we asked Apple for feedback on Apple's seemingly exclusive rights to offline access to HBO, a spokesperson referred us to HBO. HBO did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

One could assume that this is because the functionality of Apple's channels is independent of HBO. It's an exclusive feature of Apple because Apple does all the work. So, if you wish, you will need to subscribe via Apple (Apple receives a share of all subscriptions made through this service).

What kind of meaning! Apple has always provided a truly great experience, whether watching TV, using a phone or doing things on a computer – but it also required you to pay a premium for that privilege. So you want the best performing version of a service like HBO? Apple understood – but only Apple.