4K iTunes Content Limited to Streaming Only, No Downloads

by

Apple has updated its iTunes Store on iOS devices and the Apple TV with plenty of 4K movies ahead of the launch of the Apple TV 4K, but as made clear in a recent support document, 4K content from Apple can be streamed, but not downloaded directly on a device.

According to Apple, customers can download a local copy of an HD movie, and on occasion, HD movies that support HDR and Dolby Vision, but 4K movies are not available for download and thus can't be watched without an internet connection.

You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can't download a 4K version.

That means customers who have had their previously-purchased iTunes movies upgraded from HD to 4K at no cost can stream those movies in 4K, but can only download HD versions. Newly purchased content is also restricted from download.

appletv4k
It's not clear why Apple is not allowing customers to download 4K content onto their devices, but it could potentially be a licensing issue. Apple is providing 4K content at the same price as HD content, though movie studios were rumored to want to charge more. It's also possible it's a local storage issue, as 4K movies have large file sizes.

To stream 4K content to the new Apple TV 4K, Apple recommends a minimum speed of 25Mb/s, according to the support document. If an internet connection isn't fast enough, Apple will downscale the video quality.

In addition to the download restriction, one other major negative surfaced today -- the 4K Apple TV does not support 4K content from YouTube at this time. YouTube streams its 4K content using a VP9 video format, a codec the Apple TV does not support. The 4K Apple TV is limited to H.264, HEVC (H.265), and MP4.

Netflix and 4K content from other streaming services is supported, however, and Apple has promised 4K content from Amazon Prime Video will be available when the app launches later this year.

The first Apple TV 4K orders will begin arriving to customers on Friday, September 22, the official launch date of the device.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
Read Full Article • 110 comments
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Read Full Article • 206 comments
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
Read Full Article • 353 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Read Full Article • 48 comments
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
Read Full Article • 100 comments
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Read Full Article • 149 comments
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Read Full Article • 94 comments
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Read Full Article • 34 comments
kohler toilet sensor

Kohler Launches $600 iPhone-Connected Toilet Camera That Monitors Your Health Through Waste Analysis

Monday October 20, 2025 1:42 pm PDT by
Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom. According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...
Read Full Article • 188 comments

Top Rated Comments

zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
106 months ago
That's a shame; not everyone has a fast enough connection to stream 4K reliably. Being able to download the movie and then watch it later would have been useful.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fitshaced Avatar
fitshaced
106 months ago
Apple seem to go out of their way to not deliver the obvious solution that people want. If it's 4k let it be 4k without silly restrictions.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m4mario Avatar
m4mario
106 months ago
This is something that every customer should know before they purchase the product. This is a make or break issue. For me it totally breaks it. No Apple TV 4K for me.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jim.arrows Avatar
jim.arrows
106 months ago
if your internet can't handle it, you're probably not ready for 4k. this is the exact reason why Apple TV 4k took a while to come out. It's not that Apple couldn't figure out how to make a 4k device, but rather they were waiting until the tech was ripe enough to release a 4k streaming device.
What an ignorant comment. I live in a rural area with poor internet and will never be able to stream 4k, but I have a nice new LG Oled 65" 4k that I enjoy every day via uhd blu-rays. I could easily download a 4k movie overnight to enjoy the following evening if they permitted the download, but will never be able to take advantage of a streaming only situation.

Please think before posting ignorant comments.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
106 months ago
I'm sure this was a licensing issue. There's probably some clause in the studio contract that restricts full copies of their movies from being completely downloaded and streamed unlimited. They "lose track" of things when that happens and studios don't like not knowing as much as possible about where their products are. I'm happy if that was what finally got the studios to agree to not charging $10 more per movie
If they're so concerned about piracy, this is a silly way to try to stop it because if the data is being streamed, it can be intercepted, period.

I hate DRM, but still I admit that FairPlay lives up to its name, as being one of the more "fair" systems out there. Once you have your content you can watch it as much as you want, without needing the network or permission from the rights holder. I suspect the studios think FairPlay is *too* fair and don't want 4K video to be available with it.
[doublepost=1506034359][/doublepost]
it's likely a storage issue. sure they could probably include a 128gb flash, but that would hold what? 1 or 2 4k movies? at what cost? extra $50-$100 to shell out?
No, you download movies to your computer with iTunes, and they stream to your Apple TV from there.

This is how people with crap Internet the world over consume iTunes video content.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
adamjackson
106 months ago
I'm guessing it's down to storage and user experience management. A 4K movie can easily reach around 35GB+ so will eat up around half the space already of a 64GB Apple TV.
It's completely logical on the AppleTV to do this but to those of us with a huge NAS in the basement and an always on Mac w/ iTunes, we generally go to AppleTV then go to "Computers" and play our local movies we've purchased.

This new change will require we stream the 4K movies from Apple and when half of the country has what the FCC considers to be "below high speed Internet" it means a ton of buffering or long load times to watch a 4K film. Most of us prefer to download once, cache it offline and watch when we want. We own the movie.

This new setup keeps us from downloading in 4K locally even through iTunes on a Mac w/ a 40 terabyte NAS in the basement.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments