‘Apple Sports’ Hits the App Store

Two years ago, Apple launched a dedicated Sports section in Apple News, providing a spot for fans to get the latest scores, schedules, and news for their favorite teams. It turned out to be a popular enough idea that Apple moved it into its own tab in iOS 16.5 last spring, and now Apple has gone the extra mile and rolled out a standalone app for sports fans.

Dubbed simply Apple Sports, the free app provides a simple and efficient way to get real-time team scores, stats, upcoming games, play-by-play information, lineup details, and even live betting odds.

Apple Sports is currently only available in the US, UK, and Canada, so it’s primarily in English, although it also supports French and Spanish where available. You’ll also need to be running iOS 17.2 or later to download it, which leaves some older iPhone models out of the party.

We created Apple Sports to give sports fans what they want — an app that delivers incredibly fast access to scores and stats. Apple Sports is available for free in the App Store, and makes it easy for users to stay up to date with their favorite teams and leagues. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of Services

The new app arrives just in time for the 2024 MLB season, which starts tomorrow, but it also covers a multitude of sports, naturally including Major League Soccer (MLS) as well as the NBA and NHL, men’s and women’s NCAA basketball, and Bundesliga, LaLiga, Liga MX, Ligue 1, Premier League, and Serie A soccer.

The NFL is conspicuously absent from this list right now, although Apple says it’s coming, along with NCAAF, NWSL, and WNBA, all of which should be available “for their upcoming seasons.” First up should be the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which is expected to kick off its 12th season on March 15, 2024. The WNBA will likely follow that in May, and then the football leagues in the fall.

Hands-on with Apple Sports

Apple says Apple Sports is designed to give fans “a simple and fast way to stay up to speed on the teams and leagues they love.” From our quick hands-on, it seems that Apple is following in the footsteps of its iOS 17.2 Journal app, with a similar design language and a clean and minimalist interface that focuses on quick navigation.

Upon launch, you’ll be prompted to pick your favorite leagues or teams to get started, although these should also be synced from the TV and News apps. You can also look up and filter your list by any other league or team. The main view will show that filtered list with the ability to see yesterday’s games, today’s games, and any upcoming games for the next week. Tapping on any game will open a card that shows betting odds (if available), along with stats and other details.

You can dismiss the current card by swiping down or swipe left or right to move between cards in the same view. Games in progress will show play-by-play information, plus a button to open the Apple TV app to watch live games from any connected streaming apps.

Betting odds can be toggled off, but you’ll have to go to the Sports section of the iPhone Settings app to do so. Apple notes on this screen that the betting odds are provided by DraftKings.

While Apple Sports is an interesting first kick at a streamlined sports app by Apple, it’s surprisingly devoid of any advanced features or integrations. For example, there are no Live Activities (although you can presumably still get those through the TV app) and no support for the iPad or Apple Watch.