Apple TV+ harder to access than the Pentagon

We have several streaming services and had no problem signing up for any of them. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Paramount+ and Peacock (which we get as part of our Xfinity package) all only required a user name (usually your email) and a password to sign on.
Apple TV+ not so much.
For months, despite T-Mobile giving us Apple TV+ for free, which was part of their promotion when we reupped at T-Mobile --- our longtime mobile phone carrier --- it was impossible to sign up using the Apple TV+ app on our Smart TV.
My wife talked to numerous people at T-Mobile and eventually found out that an Apple product was required to sign up --- which we didn't have. Both of us have Android phones.
The other day, another T-Mobile rep actually got my wife an Apple ID and said she’d be able to sign up. So she went to the app on our Smart TV --- only to get more roadblocks. Despite submitting her password and two-step verification code, it was asking for yet another Apple-only product: her I-Tunes account.
Well, we never have had an I-Tunes account, so we were back to square one. Finally, another tech person said we had to have an I-Tunes account and so we had to download that just to get on Apple.
As of now, we did that and have an Apple TV+ account, but my advice to anyone who doesn’t have an Apple device is to “forget about it” when trying to sign on.
Instead, boycott Apple TV+ until the company makes it as easy to sign on as it is to sign up for all of the other major streaming services.
And MLB should absolutely cancel its exclusive Friday night baseball games on Apple TV+ because unless you have an Apple product, you can’t get on it. We tried signing up for the alleged free trial during the Yankee-Red Sox game on Friday night in September and failed.
We have Apple TV+ for now, but I much prefer the aforementioned apps, which make it easy-peasy to sign on and watch shows and movies. On the other hand, Apple TV+ clearly is interested in exerting strict control over its users. Why else would the company make it harder to sign up for the service than applying for a loan?
Could it be that Netflix et al really care more about their customers than the technocrats at Apple TV+ do?
You bet that’s the case!

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