Sometimes the changes introduced in heft system updates don’t go over well.
With the recent release of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and tvOS 17.2, Apple removed the option to purchase TV shows and movies from the iTunes Store apps, redirecting customers to the Apple TV app instead. Apple’s move to consolidate purchasing and viewing in the Apple TV app has removed the wishlists feature, and customers noted the feature had been removed with no warning.
A number of customers have complained about the change, as noted in the MacRumors forums:
Removing the wish list is a really bad move by Apple. I had a bunch of movies I was working my way through. That list is just gone now. I won’t be renting or buying anything from Apple TV anymore. Bad move Apple.
The app offered views of the separate iTunes TV Shows and iTunes Movies apps on the Apple TV, there were options to add TV shows and movies to a dedicated wishlist when browsing, which consumers used to save the content for later and watch for sales.
Following the update, the wishlists did not transfer over to the Apple TV app, and customers who had compiled long watch lists were unable to access their curated lists or copy them over to a new location. Some users are able to open up the iTunes Store app on iOS devices and tap on the hamburger button in the upper right corner to see their wishlists, but this does not appear to be working for everyone. Those who compiled lists on the Apple TV appear to have no way to access them.
A user on Reddit offered the following:
I’ve looked on iOS, and my wishlist has completely disappeared. I’ve been building it for about 10 years, and it had a little over 400 movies on it. I wish Apple would’ve thought this through more before just springing such a drastic change on us.
In the iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and tvOS 17.2 update, there’s a “+” button that can be used for saving content for future watching, but this adds it to the Up Next feature, which can be rather more cluttered than a traditional wishlist. In tvOS 17.2, Apple disabled the separate iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Show apps during the beta testing process. The option to purchase TV shows and movies via the iTunes Store app iTunes Store app on its mobile devices and the iPad was removed through the recent updates through a server-side update.
It’s unknown as to whether Apple will reimplement the wishlists feature given the customer complaints. There were similar complaints when Apple removed App Store wishlists way back with iOS 11, but that feature did not return.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors, Reddit, and support.apple.com