The Apple Sports app, announced this week, is the company’s latest move in cementing itself as a sports services provider, but it seems as though the app is off to a lackluster start. As more and more users explore the app, a glaring absence of obvious features is making some users question how far Apple is actually committed to its newest app.
Users took to Reddit to voice their early criticisms regarding Apple Sports. A consistent complaint so far seems to be the bizarre lack of support for Live Activities, which would be ideal for keeping an eye on real-time score updates and is already supported by almost all third-party sports apps.
Another inexplicable omission is the lack of support for Home Screen widgets, another common feature found in most sports apps. Some users are also lamenting the lack of Apple Watch and iPad versions of the app, but releasing an iPhone-only app as an initial step seems to be the company’s strategy as of late. This is evidenced by Apple Music Classical, which only received an iPad version six months after its debut on the iPhone.
Another user described Apple Sports as “half-baked,” taking particular offense to some of the app’s design and navigation choices, as well as the lack of support for certain leagues and competitions. This lack of features is prompting many users to keep using third-party sports apps, which seem to offer more consistent design and more data such as per-player statistics and roster information.
Much of this sentiment is echoed by other users on X and Threads, with complaints mainly focusing on the lack of obvious features and the strange focus on betting odds.
Apple’s services chief Eddy Cue recently sat down for a quick interview with Fast Company to talk about the new app, and his comments could explain the overly simplistic experience of Apple Sports.
According to Cue, the company’s goal was to offer users the opportunity to catch up with their favorite teams and sports “really quickly.” Apple doesn’t want users to spend a long amount of time inside Apple Sports. Rather, it was designed so that users can spend mere seconds inside the app if they so desire.
We’re not trying to have you spend 30 minutes on the app. You can spend five seconds to go look at the score, or you might spend 30 seconds, or you might spend three minutes going play-by-play because it’s the end of the game. It’s all about that. It’s getting you in, giving you what you need, and doing it really quickly.
Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue
Apple is evidently very deliberate with its barebones Sports app experience, yet it’s leaving users wanting more. Luckily, a concept from Parker Ortolani from October 2022 provides insight into what a more sophisticated Apple Sports app might offer and look like.
Ortolani’s concept app features a more familiar navigation bar design, with the ability to follow the latest news and updates of favorite players. The concept also comes with an intuitive “player cards” interface with players’ photos and the latest statistics. In addition, the concept envisions a companion Apple Watch app with real-time score updates and more.
It remains to be seen how receptive Apple is to the feedback of early adopters of the Sports app, but don’t hold your breath for a complete redesign anytime soon. Despite its obvious limitations, Apple Sports is currently the number one free app overall in the US App Store and is also the number one app in the Sports category.
While Apple Sports does offer a streamlined and ad-free experience that is rare to come across from third-party apps, it so far only offers the most basic of features and is unlikely to win over seasoned sports fans in its current iteration.
