Apple created and launched iTunes in January of 2001, allowing users to listen to music anywhere on their Apple devices. iTunes became a noteworthy addition to the streaming industry as Apple added streaming movie and TV through iTunes and Apple TV. iTunes is now more than just a music player or a podcast app. This plunge into the television streaming space adds to the many unplugged streaming entertainment options.

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The Good

Ad-free
No subscription
One place for all content

One Place for Music, Movies, TV, and Pictures

iTunes allows users to have access to all of their Apple content (music, movies, TV, video, and pictures) in one place, the iTunes library. This is a unique feature in the streaming TV industry. It's an added convenience to customers to have all of their content in one place.

Apple TV Integration

For $99 users can purchase Apple TV, a streaming device that syncs with other Apple devices and allows users to watch their favorite shows and movies from their TV and other Apple devices.

Parental Controls and Ad-Free

Users are able to watch movies ad-free and have parental controls for movies, giving flexibility for family viewing.

Great Mobile App

Apple has created a great iTunes app for its users that's available in the app store. The overall user experience is great and users give the iTunes mobile app a rating of over 4 stars.

No Monthly Fee

iTunes users don't pay a monthly fee to use iTunes. Users simply pay per rental or purchase. Overall, iTunes is a great entertainment platform where users can access music and pictures, and stream TV and movies. Users are able to watch movies ad-free and have access to parental controls while watching. And with a large library of over 2,000 TV series and over 20,500 movies to choose from, users have a great selection.

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The Bad

More expensive
Apple products exclusively
No free library

More Expensive Than Others

TV episodes and movies can be a little pricier to rent on iTunes. Rentals start around $3.99 for movies and $2.99 for new TV episodes.

Only Works with Apple Products

Even though iTunes provides syncing with all of your other Apple products, they are closed off to other common devices (like those using Android).

New Releases Only Available for Purchase

iTunes has a large library to choose from, but new releases are only available to purchase, not rent. Whereas Amazon Prime allows its customers the option of purchase or rental.

Apple TV Restrictions

With Apple TV, users can't play DVD's, CD's, or do any kind of recording of their favorite TV shows. Also, no cables come with the purchase of an Apple TV and will need to be purchased separately.

No Free Library

With iTunes users pay per rental or purchase. There is no library of free movies and TV for users to access. This is mainly due to the fact that users do not pay a monthly fee. Although iTunes has many great features to their services, there are some drawbacks to consider. The main drawback to iTunes is that if you aren't an Apple user than Apple TV and iTunes isn't even an option for you. iTunes only works for Apple devices. In addition, iTunes doesn't have a library of free movies and TV series to watch.

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The Bottom Line

If you currently use a variety of Apple products, then iTunes will give you the convenience of having all of your digital needs met at the click of a button, along with the other perks that being an Apple user brings. However, if you use any other device besides Apple, iTunes isn't even an option for you. Also, note that iTunes is not a monthly subscription streaming TV service. If you are looking for a large library of movies and TV to watch at any time, iTunes isn't the best fit for you. But if you are just looking for one-off rentals or purchases, and you are an Apple user, then iTunes is a great option to consider.

For more information, check out the iTunes reviews below.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

4.2

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172 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

51%

4 grade

28%

3 grade

14%

2 grade

1 grade

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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Trustworthiness

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Pazzo Miami Fort Lauderdale, FL

I like itunes. I have been with them for many years. The family program is great and has the best price out of all streaming companies.

3 months ago

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Zac Cannon Long Beach, MS

iTunes is one of the ways I have started switching to Digital content vs. physical copies. It helps to save room and to keep from collecting dust with movies an CDs for sure! Though I use mostly streaming services now, I still check up on my iTunes collection (though it is small) from time-to-time! Plus iTunes Match helps keep everything on all of my digital devices!

1 year ago

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Michael Lyman Salt Lake City, UT

iTunes has been a strong program for 10+ years. I have been a happy user of theirs for a long period of time. iTunes has stored my music allowing me to listen on the go with my iPod/iPhone. In the earlier years of iTunes they would package tons of songs into one CD and give it very cheap. Their billing was right on, the second you bought anything on their store they sent you a receipt with order numbers and everything. If there was an error during downloading at all, contacting customer service was a breeze compared to other companies. You could get what you paid for within a few minutes of contacting iTunes customer service.

4 years ago

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Kajsa Kirby Denver, CO

I love iTunes! It has a very large variety to select from for movies and shows. I love how you can view ratings and trailers. I also love how easy it is to download and watch on planes or while traveling, you can connect it to your smart tv, computer, tablet, or phone it's incredible!

1 year ago

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Lesa Burgess Pleasant Grove, UT

Great mobile app to stream music, TV & movies. The app doesn't cost a thing to own but you will pay for most of the files you choose to download. I mostly use this app to stream music & download any movies I'd like to own. I love how easy everything flows & syncs from apple device to apple device. My favorite feature is the Family Sharing. Makes things easy to share around the household.

3 years ago

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Mike Ika West Valley City, UT

While i completely hate Apple Music, I love iTunes for my TV shows. Since there are shows across all networks, there isn’t anywhere to pick and choose my shows and keep them all together. With iTunes, I have purchased box sets to stream including shows like Gilligans Island, The Office, Seinfeld, Ash Vs Evil Dead, The X-files. I love being able to take my favorite TV shows and keep them all in one centralized service.

1 year ago

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Beth Farmer Pleasant Grove, UT

We love iTunes. My favorite thing about iTunes is being able to buy digital copies of my movies and have them in the Cloud. They can be watched on our laptops, iPads, iPhones, and Apple TV by just signing into iTunes. We used to use iTunes for our music but we have now switched over to a Spotify account. iTunes has a very easy process to set up payment and billing. Overall we love iTunes.

2 years ago

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Ashley Pleasant Grove, UT

I like using ITunes to stream my favorite TV shows. Psych is one of our favorite family shows to watch and it was so nice to have the option to purchase the exact episodes I wanted to keep for a really cheap price. If I want to purchase a channel for just a month sometimes it comes free through iTunes as a way to "try" out the channel to see if you like it. Its easy to navigate and find my way around my smart TV when I stream through ITunes.

2 years ago

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Michelle Mortimer Saratoga Springs, UT

iTunes is amazing!!! They have wonderful things for wonderful prices! I like that the songs can be bought as a single rather than having to buy the entire album. I like that it is easily accessible on my iPhone and payment is easy. You are also able to rent movies on the app and watch them on any device connected to I Tunes. We have an Apple TV and it makes viewing any movies I own or rent really really easy.

2 years ago

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Miguel Figueroa Provo, UT

If you have any apple product I don’t really know why you would go anywhere else, at least as far as music is concerned. Easy of use is the name of the game here. Love it. Also in that ease of use theme, these guys definitely are a top contender when it comes to customer service. And I train customer service reps for a living, so I’m not usually very nice when I judge other companies’ reps.

2 years ago

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Gabriel Sanchez Phoenix, AZ

I love how easy it is to navigate iTunes on my apple devices!! It allows my user expert to be easy, fast and fun!

5 months ago

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Raven Brodsky New York, NY

This used to be a much better platform for buying/streaming videos. But now I have a hard time finding what I want to watch. They ruined the search features and the organization.

6 months ago

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Alicia Holman Gilbert, AZ

This is very easy to use if you're an Apple person, but if you aren't, then it's hard to understand. Also, it's very difficult to get questions answered without going into the stores for answers. I wish there was a person to talk with when issues come up.

3 years ago

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Ellen Morris Potomac, MD

I am a very loyal apple user and so I love renting movies or buying movies on itunes. It is so easy to use and is never a complicated experience. I am loyal to a few movie series as well and I love that these are often offered as bundles as well.

2 years ago

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Amy Decker Bloomington, IN

We’ve been iTunes customers for as long as they’ve been around. Absolutely love the service, as well as the selection. They’ve done a great job at being competitive in offering more selection, as well as new ways of streaming music.

2 years ago

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Whitney Stanko Smithfield, UT

I love Apple Music! and iTunes and all of it. It is so nice being able to have music downloaded with me all of the time! Also being able to have movies bought and downloaded to watch on the go. Never had problems with iTunes. Highly highly recommend to anyone with access to iTunes.

2 years ago

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Brandie Rudy West Jordan, UT

I love streaming on iTunes. I love that I can use my iPhone, iPad or MAC and stream my favorite shows from anywhere. My first purchase was the entire Friends series and I love watching it over and over without commercial interruptions.

2 years ago

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JAKE American Fork, UT

We love having iTunes. They have so many available options for movies and music. They make it really easy to be able to redeem gift cards to your account. I love the automatic scan feature so you don't have to type the whole code in manually. My kids also love all the options on iTunes as well

2 years ago

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Shaylee Provo, UT

Love using iTunes for my music as well as getting music to cut and use for dance pieces. Super good quality and wide selection of artists, albums, as well as music videos and TV shows. The streaming TV is also great and easy to navigate.

2 years ago

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TyGuy Sandy, UT

A few years ago, I decided to go digital and only purchase my movies through iTunes. I really like having my entire video library on any of my Apple devices at any moment. I have had to contact customer service a few times to return a movie that didn't meet my expectations or was accidentally purchased. I've got about 270 movies in my library and I have purchased just about every mainstream Apple device, yet their customer service gives me a very hard time when I'm need their assistance regarding a refund that rarely happens. But they'll tell me that they'll do it as a one time curtesy. I can go to another store and purchase a DVD and if it doesn't meet my expectation, I can return it, no questions asked. You would think that Apple's customer service would be better than it is.

2 years ago

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Rischelle Mikkelson American Fork, UT

I love iTunes for streaming. We are able to access our movies from anywhere, anytime. As long as I have a good internet connection, I never have any problems with buffering or quality during play back. Easy to search and find exactly what I want.

2 years ago

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Hadley American Fork, UT

ITunes is fantastic, not only for music, but also for movies and TV. My family and I have been using iTunes for a very long time. We have bought a ton of music, and quite a few movies. It is easy to search and find what you are looking for. It is also quite simple to upload items onto any mobile phone, iPad, or iPod. However sometimes it is frustrating when things take a long time to upload, or take up a lot of storage on your device.

2 years ago

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jenny Gilbert, AZ

I love how easy it is to find music and movies on iTunes. You don't even really need to know the title of the song or movie and you can type some of the lyrics or content into the search engine and it is able to find what you are looking for.

2 years ago

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Brayden D. Gilbert, AZ

ITunes is no doubt the best. I have always gotten my movies from iTunes and I am still going to keep getting moves from iTunes. It has all the best movies, it is very organized, and it is easy to access your movies you have already gotten. It is just perfect!

3 years ago

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CoasterRider Show Low, AZ

iTunes has been a source of music organization for me for years. I like how easy they make it to order.

7 months ago

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Hannah Pleasant Grove, UT

I bought a few movies from iTunes awhile ago. The service and quality was great but I actually found myself moving on to other streaming sites simply because of the relevance to my life.

3 years ago

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Jonny Hancock Salt Lake City, UT

iTunes was an important piece of my youth that I navigated easily with no issues. Today, iTunes has completely lost me. Every time I get a new apple device: Phone, computer, etc I am stuck with the impossible feat of downloading my entire iTunes library. Without fail I loose music, and movies with each new download of iTunes library. I am still morning over the loss of my beloved _Ratatouille_. I highly recommend using alternative options.

4 years ago

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Maile Curtis Salt Lake City, UT

Itunes is great, however they are getting really expensive. It's nice that you do not need wifi to watch a movie, but the price is not worth it. You could find the same movie or tv show on different network for much cheaper instead of paying $20.

4 years ago

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Dwhoush New Orleans, LA

iTunes synced together so seamlessly across all my devices so it’s very easy to use. If I made a mistake in ordering a Tv show or movie, they do refund it. They are always updating it as well so it stays current. It’s nice to have.

1 year ago

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take7 Sandy, UT

Great for on the road. Downloading movies and shows and taking it with you. Hate that it's apple specific but we only own ipads and iphones so it's not a problem just a limitation. Works well and great quality.

1 year ago

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Nick Hansen Eagle Mountain, UT

We have been loyal Apple customers for a long time and have compiled quite the collection of movies and music through iTunes. Our AppleTV is a great way to enjoy our previous purchases as well as to access our other streaming services. I love that you can search the app library and download just about any app to the AppleTV!

1 year ago

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Logan Hudson Norcross, GA

Itunes has great content for a relatively good price. All of the mew movies, music, and Tv shows are provided. Even though you have to purchase them. The updates provide smoother access through the menus and make the experience better.

1 year ago

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Kaitlyn Rios Ogden, UT

iTunes is the gold standard of internet tv streaming. With great titles and a variety of content, this service lets you drop traditional cable tv services. I love the cost structure and ease of use.

1 year ago

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Aliza Henline Provo, UT

I feel like streaming is so normal these days- itunes is almost unnecessary. But I love how many music videos and random interviews there are on itunes. It almost feels like its own type of genre.

2 years ago

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Alyssa Boren American Fork, UT

The songs are reasonably priced. I love how you can easily find the songs you are looking for. I like how they make charts of the newest songs so they are easier to find. It's convenient to use and you can have it on a variety of devices.

2 years ago

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matthew Logan, UT

love iTunes i use it almost daily at work you can pretty much get every song you want out there besides garth brook which sucks but oh well. Being able to stream tv shows and have movies to watch is also super nice!

2 years ago

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Sarah Kaysville, UT

iTunes has been so nice to have especially while you are traveling because you can download them and watch them anywhere even without service. Also anytime I’ve had concerns, apple had been there to help me fix my problem fast.

2 years ago

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Tracy Hill Draper, UT

I love streaming movies from iTunes because it’s more convenient than redbox and we can easily look up movies that we want to watch. I also love how you can rent for a day or two!

2 years ago

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Alyssa skinner Gilbert, AZ

iTunes has always been the best when buying movies and downloading then. The movies aren’t super expensive and download fast so you can always have them to watch!! One of my favorites!

2 years ago

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BLF Pleasant Grove, UT

We download movies and shows from iTunes on a regular basis and really like the quality and convenience of the store. They have a huge selection of movies and tv shows. The prices are a little high for them, but almost every company has that.

2 years ago

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Reese Pleasant Grove, UT

I have iTunes on my phone and I am happy with the selection, the great variety and the ability to get new shows and content anytime I want. It is very convenient as well and I love it.

2 years ago

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Amanda Olsen Eagle Mountain, UT

iTunes is amazing for apps, music, and movies. Easy to use and navigate app and website. Their customer service is friendly and knowledgeable. I love being able to have our collections at our fingertips.

2 years ago

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Anthony Lindon, UT

Hands down the best music and movie selection out there. I switched from google to Apple years ago because iTunes is cross platforms and you can use it on any device. I’ve never gone back!

2 years ago

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Erika American Fork, UT

Itunes is a great service for streaming tv shows and movies. Whenever we are going on trips with our children we always use itunes to keep them entertained. I also like that you can just rent your movies if you don't want to buy them .

2 years ago

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janalee sanders Valley Center, CA

ee Have just started using this service and so far found it to work really well. . there are so many choices that I always can find something that is useful or pertains to what I was looking for.using I tunes for our tv streaming works great for us because all of our Apple/I-tunes needs on all devices can all he synced together.

2 years ago

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Kymberlee Yack Orem, UT

iTunes is amazing! I love the variety that is has from music, to movies, to podcasts, to games, etc. I can get just about anything on there, all for great prices! so convenient.

2 years ago

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Cori Jacobsen Ollerton Alpine, UT

I use multiple sites to listen to music, However, I love the simplicity of I-Tunes. I am not very educated with the computer and I-tunes is simple and allows me to purchase and play music easily. I am confident in the set up and I am able to see and understand easily through their site. Prices are low and music options are many.

2 years ago

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Ryan American Fork, UT

iTunes is such an awesome application. It makes it very easy to manage all of my music and movies digitally. I love how easy it is to transfer my content across all of my different Apple devices!

2 years ago

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Shawn American Fork, UT

I love iTunes. Love the variety. Love that it is easy to use. Love that they make titles available 2 weeks sooner that on Blu-ray or DVD. I also love that they are starting to do $5 specials for movies.

2 years ago

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Grant American Fork, UT

iTunes is the best. It is so easy to navigate and find the apps I am looking for. I usually find a few more that I wasn’t specifically looking for. Very user friendly, like most Apple products.

2 years ago

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