The verdict: get the name right, then the price
- Get the name straight first: this subscription service is now called Apple TV; it used to be Apple TV+, and the hardware Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV app in the system share the name but are different things.
- Price: $14.99 a month in the US, one tier only — ad-free, no rating categories, everything in 4K, and sports are inside the subscription too.
- Trial: 7 days free for new subscribers; buying Apple hardware lets you redeem 3 months free.
- Sharing: Family Sharing up to 6 people; Apple One's Individual tier also includes Apple TV with Family Sharing (that's written in the official FAQ, not only the Family tier).
- Subscribing from mainland China means two separate things: payment can be solved; the scope of service and content licensing is another layer that no card can solve.
What the three "Apple TV"s are
In Chinese, one sentence — "let's get Apple TV" — can mean three completely different things. Before you pay, confirm which column you want:
| Name | What it is | What your money buys |
|---|---|---|
| Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+) | Apple's own streaming subscription service | Self-produced series and movies, live sports, paid monthly |
| Apple TV app | The player app installed on the device | Free itself; it's the entry that aggregates each channel's content and the services you subscribe to elsewhere |
| Apple TV 4K | Apple's TV-box hardware | One-time hardware, no subscription included |
"Apple TV" shows up on shopping pages, the app store and subscription management alike; match it against the table above and you can tell them apart. Buying hardware thinking it's a subscription, or expecting a box after subscribing, are both common mix-ups.
The price: how $14.99 came to be
The service launched in 2019 at $4.99 a month. Over the following years it rose repeatedly; the August 2026 round moved it from $12.99 to $14.99, the fourth increase in four years. In other words, most of the "how much is Apple TV+" answers you search are stale numbers — for the price, only the official page's current terms count.
| Plan | US monthly price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apple TV (standalone) | $14.99 | Only this one tier, ad-free; an annual plan also exists, per the quote in your account |
| Apple TV + Peacock bundle | $17.99 | Only worth it if you also want Peacock; otherwise unnecessary |
| Apple One Individual | $21.95 | Includes Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and iCloud+ 50GB |
| Apple One Family | $27.95 | Same four services, iCloud+ raised to 200GB, shareable by 6 people |
| Apple One Premier | $39.95 | All six services, iCloud+ 2TB, shareable by 6 people |
The table uses Apple's current official page numbers. The official page also shows "how much Apple One saves vs. buying separately" (the Individual tier claims $13 saved per month) — if you already subscribe to Apple Music or iCloud+ separately, that math is worth doing first.
Another easily missed line: the Apple TV inside Apple One and the standalone subscription are the same service. If you subscribe to both Apple TV and Apple One, the overlapping part folds into Apple One and won't become two copies of content — but it also won't refund you automatically; you cancel the redundant one yourself.
Family Sharing: how six people are counted
- One subscription shared by up to 6 people (including the organizer); members each sign in with their own Apple Account, and viewing history and recommendations don't interfere with each other;
- It doesn't activate automatically: the organizer has to turn on "Family Sharing" and send invitations, and it only counts once members accept;
- What's shared is access, not the account itself — don't hand the same Apple Account to several people to sign in, which tangles backups, Find My and payments all together;
- Members who leave the group lose access — the normal result of the sharing mechanism.
Subscribing alongside Apple One: will you pay twice
| Your situation | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Already subscribed to Apple TV separately, switching to Apple One | The included services fold into Apple One and stop being billed separately | After confirming the fold-in, cancel the original standalone subscription |
| Already using Apple Music or iCloud+ | At subscription time the official side recommends the tier that saves you money based on your existing services | Run the math with the official savings figure before deciding |
| On Apple One, with a larger pre-existing iCloud+ capacity | The official FAQ states: it keeps being billed separately | Keep it if you need the capacity; if not, downgrade the original tier |
Rows two and three are the only easy-to-miss points in this combination: Apple One doesn't blanket-merge "all Apple subscriptions" — an iCloud+ exceeding the tier Apple One includes is an exception Apple lists explicitly.
The two gates for subscribing from mainland China
| Gate | What sticks | Can it be solved |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Needs a payment method usable in the subscription region (card + billing address) | Solvable: align the account region, the card's issuing country and the billing address |
| Service and content | Services are provided by country / region, and content licensing is drawn by region too | Not something a card can solve: this layer falls under official support scope, and this site offers no workarounds |
Get the payment layer ready before subscribing
When you press subscribe, what Apple wants is "this account has a usable payment method". Nine times out of ten, users from mainland China get stuck because the payment info isn't aligned to the subscription region:
- Account region: your Apple Account's Media & Purchases region has to be switched to the target region first; the switching prerequisites are in US App Store region changes and app updates;
- Card region: a US account pairs with a card on a US BIN;
- Billing address: a US address matching the card — don't fill in something offhand;
- Four-way alignment: account region, card country, billing address and where you're operating from stay consistent; the troubleshooting method is in Ten virtual card decline reasons and troubleshooting checks.
Card types, openable regions and fee terms: the product overview and the fee schedule page. How to verify the records after a subscription charge fails is in Checking failed payment records for Claude and ChatGPT.
Renewals, cancellation and trials
- Trials: 7 days free for new subscribers, converting to monthly pay at the end unless you cancel before the end date (the official terms say at least one day ahead);
- Renewals: Apple subscriptions are all managed under "Subscriptions" in the Apple Account, and the payment method is an account-level setting unrelated to any specific card;
- Cancellation: after cancelling, you can still use it through the paid period; it only lapses at the end — "cancel" is not "stop immediately";
- Switching cards: a failed renewal is usually a dead payment method; change to a new card in the account first, rather than retrying the same one.
Frequently asked questions
Are Apple TV+ and Apple TV the same thing?
They're the same subscription service under two names, its earlier and current one; officially it's simply Apple TV now. It isn't the same as the Apple TV 4K hardware or the Apple TV app on the device.
How much is Apple TV a month?
The US official page currently lists $14.99 a month, one ad-free tier; an annual plan and a 7-day free trial for new users exist too. The price has risen several times; go by the current numbers on the official page.
If one person subscribes, can the whole family use it?
Yes. Through Family Sharing up to 6 people share it; the organizer has to turn on Family Sharing and invite members. Members each sign in with their own Apple Account, and viewing history doesn't interfere.
What's the difference between the Apple TV in Apple One and a standalone subscription?
The content is exactly the same; the difference is bundling and price. Apple One bundles Apple TV with Music, Arcade and iCloud+, cheaper overall than buying separately; if you were subscribing standalone, remember to cancel the redundant one after moving to Apple One.
Can I subscribe directly from mainland China?
The payment layer can be solved: align the account region, the card's issuing country and the billing address. But the service's own availability and content licensing are drawn by country / region, and that part isn't something a card can solve; this site offers no workarounds.
How do I cancel after subscribing?
Cancel under "Subscriptions" in your Apple Account; you keep watching through the current paid period and it lapses at the end. Cancel a trial before its end date, or it converts to monthly pay automatically.
A payment failed and the bank shows no charge record — is that normal?
Normal. A failed charge most often leaves only a failed-authorization trace, or even no record at all. How to verify it is in the site's article "verifying a failed-charge record".
Align your payment info to the US region, then subscribe to Apple TV
A US BIN plus a matching billing address makes the subscription region and the payment info consistent. Card types and rates are on the product pages and the fee schedule page.