iOS 18.4 gave Apple’s TV app three welcome design changes

iOS 18.4 launched this week, bringing a variety of new features—including some small enhancements to the Apple TV app worth noting. Here are three nice updates that just hit your iPhone.

Updates give TV app fresh UI elements in iOS 18.4

Apple’s TV app has very likely been getting more use lately than it ever has before. That’s all thanks to Severance, which became the most viewed Apple TV+ series ever, plus the new hit comedy The Studio.

Installing iOS 18.4 and opening the TV app will reveal some subtle but welcome changes to the app.

The revised TV app now include three updates:

1. Large plus button on featured titles
2. Episode release schedule info
3. Updated fonts and icons

These are ultimately just UI enhancements, but in my time using iOS 18.4 they’ve very much led to a better experience overall.

Details on the TV app enhancements

Take the new plus button on featured titles. At the top of the TV app, there’s a rotating carousel of different features TV shows and movies to check out.

Previously in iOS 18.3, you’d find a small plus button in the top-right corner to add a title to your Watchlist.

But in iOS 18.4, that button has gotten way bigger and moved somewhere that’s hard to miss. You’ll now find it right next to the Play button.

Similarly, for shows that are still airing new episodes, iOS 18.4 makes the release schedule much more prominent than before.

Previously, the TV app showed description text under the show’s title that sometimes included info on when to expect new episodes.

Now, iOS 18.4 sets that info apart by placing it above the title in its own dedicated banner. So for example with Apple’s new crime thriller Dope Thief, you’ll see ‘New Episodes Fridays’ above the title.

Finally, the TV app has also updated its fonts and iconography throughout the app. There are new icons for the Movies Spotlight and Sports sections, for example. And fonts throughout have been updated to provide a fresh, yet familiar look.

None of these changes are especially revolutionary, but they’re the kind of iterative improvements that should lead to a better app experience overall.

Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 per month and features hit TV shows and movies like Ted Lasso, Severance, The Morning Show, Silo, and Shrinking.

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