Apple Begins to Roll Out 4K Movies in US iTunes Store

Apple has started to roll out 4K HDR content - movies and TV shows - on iTunes in the United States and select other countries, as the Apple TV 4K has gone up for pre-orders in those markets. The iTunes Store in India doesn't offer movies in 4K yet, and doesn't offer TV shows at all.

News outlet MacRumors reported on Thursday that movies and TV shows in 4K resolution featuring support for HDR (Dolby Vision) had started to appear on the local iTunes Store. The Apple TV 4K went up for pre-orders in the United States early this morning.

The titles that are available in 4K have '4K' and 'Dolby Vision' tags denoted next to their names, making it easier for people to quickly be aware if the content they are staring at is available in 4K or not. The titles that do become available in 4K will be available as free upgrade to those who had purchased them in full-HD earlier from the iTunes Store, Apple executive Eddy Cue had said at the event.

As we mentioned, the India iTunes Store doesn't have 4K titles available just yet. It's probably because the Apple TV 4K is not available on sale in India. Apple hasn't shared a firm launch date for the Apple TV 4K in India. And for now, the company is sticking with "soon."

The company's decision to embrace the 4K technology, which is yet to gain much ground in the market, could make the format more popular among customers. Only select streaming devices such as Microsoft's Xbox One S, and Nvidia Shield TV, Roku Ultra, Amazon Fire TV, and Google Chromecast Ultra support content in 4K.