In between bouts of video gaming, owners of the upcoming consoles from Microsoft (MSFT 0.48%) and Sony (SONY 0.62%) will have access to a popular entertainment service. Apple (AAPL 0.14%) is making versions of its Apple TV app available on both the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, Microsoft confirmed on Monday. This is in addition to its inclusion on Sony's PlayStation5.
The new consoles, the latest in the durable Microsoft and Sony series, are slated to hit the market this month.
Apple TV is the IT giant's entertainment portal, through which users can access TV programs purchased from the company. The Apple TV+ paid streaming service also launches from the platform.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company obviously has ambitions to make the portal as ubiquitous as possible. For some time now, it has been available through other popular entertainment platforms, including Roku's provider-neutral TV interface and Amazon.com's Fire TV.
As with many of those platforms, however, Apple TV will be one of numerous entertainment apps housed on the new Xboxes and PlayStations. The current king of streaming, Netflix (NFLX 1.69%), will also reside within the upcoming consoles, as will other popular options such as Walt Disney's streaming services, Disney+ and its majority-owned Hulu.
Apple TV+ just celebrated its first birthday. At $4.99 per month, it is competitive on price with many of its rivals, particularly Netflix. Subscriptions are also available along with other Apple services as product bundles, and the company has been including one free year of access for customers that buy certain models of its hardware such as the recent iPhones and iPads.
