Yesterday, Apple launched its free sports app in Australia, one of 90 regions to be added since the app first launched in 2024. Naturally, there’s a FIFA World Cup around the corner, with everyone keen to tune in to the world game for the four-yearly event. Between major soccer leagues and various American sports, however, there’s a distinct lack of Australian representation in Apple Sports.
Newly updated for the World Cup, Apple Sports lets you choose which country you want to follow, receiving live score updates in a slick, minimalistic interface. Unlike many other sports scores apps, Apple’s isn’t riddled with unsightly ads in every corner.
It looks nice and is easy to use, but its appeal only reaches as far as your preference in sporting leagues. Aside from the World Cup, the selection of available sports is very American and Eurocentric. Premier League, Formula 1, NFL, NHL, NBA, and PGA among the included sports you can follow within Apple’s app — each of which has a reasonably strong following in Australia.
Apple, where are my Australian sports?
Conspicuously absent is any inclusion of Australia’s major sporting codes. There’s no AFL, NRL or cricket, for starters. Even the A-League can’t crack a mention among the collection of soccer leagues in the app.
As much as we love sports in Australia, our viewership would be a drop in the ocean compared to the global competitions favoured by Apple. Still, there’s little reason at this stage to choose Apple Sports over something like the ESPN app, which has been around for far longer.
I couldn’t even use Apple Sports to follow Australian athletes in individual-based competitions. I’d be more inclined to use the app if my home screen could show how Min Woo or Minjee Lee went in the golf, Alex de Minaur’s latest tournaments, or where Oscar Piastri is in the F1 rankings.
Unfortunately, Apple Sports currently only lets you follow teams, not individual athletes, limiting its appeal in Australia. There’s a good foundation for an all-in-one uncluttered sports scores app once it takes its overseas sports blinkers off.
Give me some AFL, cricket, and the ability to follow Aussie athletes in individual-based sports, and I’ll be back on board.
The post Hey Apple, where are the Aussie leagues in your sports app? appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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