Despite a strikingly similar user interface between the old and new Apple TV, the new Apple TV represents completely re-engineered hardware and software. The focus on the new Apple TV is a streaming-only device as compared to the previous generation storage-syncing device. It appears this fundamental change has opened up a loophole in Apple's rental procedures.
Apple's stated rental policies for TV shows and Movies give you 30 days to start watching a rental, but once you begin watching a rental, you only have 24-48 hours before the rental expires. In order to enforce these rental policies, Apple had some restrictions on what could be done with rental content in between iTunes and the old Apple TV. Previously, Apple required that rentals be moved (not copied) from one location to another -- your iTunes copy was removed when you moved a rental to your first generation Apple TV. While that was feasible for the hard-drive sporting original Apple TV, the new Apple TV is a streaming only device.
So, the new Apple TV will happily stream rentals from your iTunes without any trouble, but it doesn't seem to recognize they are rentals at all. That means when you start streaming a rental from your computer, the 24/48 hour timer never gets triggered. It seems you will be able to watch these rentals as often as you like over the 30 day period.
We've successfully tested this procedure on latest iTunes (thanks to forum user TheBritishBloke), and it works (at least in the short term as the new Apple TV hasn't been out for 30 days):
- Rent a show/movie on your Mac's iTunes - When you begin watching the rental on the Apple TV, no warnings appear indicating that you must finish watching the movie within 24/48 hours - The iTunes rental counter should still show 29+ days remaining - Note: if you do try to watch the movie through iTunes, it will kick off the 24/48 hour countdown
Update: iLounge claims that the timeout is silently triggered, meaning this will not work.
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect.
As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes.
The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps.
In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner.
In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
