Deep dive into browsing top movies and TV shows by category

Tired of endlessly scrolling through streaming services? These new shortcuts revolutionize how you find movies and TV shows by offering categorized browsing and instant access. They solve the common dilemma of content discovery, providing a seamless path from choosing a genre to watching your next favorite title.

What's new

Introducing two powerful shortcuts: Browse Top Movies By Category and Browse Top TV Shows By Category. These shortcuts interface with a comprehensive movie database API to bring you trending content. You can now select a genre and view a curated list of popular movies or TV shows, each complete with its title, expected release date, and a brief overview. Upon selecting a specific title, the shortcut intelligently identifies available streaming services and provides a direct link. This link, along with the movie or show's poster, is automatically saved in a dedicated Apple Note for easy access and organization.

How to use this feature

Getting started with content discovery is simple and intuitive:

1. To find movies, run the Browse Top Movies By Category shortcut. For TV shows, run Browse Top TV Shows By Category.
2. From the list of genres, select your preferred category (e.g., Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy).
3. A list of popular titles within your chosen genre will be presented, showing their title, release year, and a concise overview. You can scroll through this list to explore options.
4. Tap on a movie or TV show title that interests you. The shortcut will then identify where it's available to stream.
5. Select your desired streaming service from the presented options (e.g., Apple TV, Netflix).
6. The shortcut will automatically create an Apple Note containing the title, streaming service, a direct streaming link, and the content's poster art.
7. Tap the provided link within the Apple Note to launch the movie or TV show directly in its corresponding streaming application, ready for you to watch.

Key capabilities

• Effortless Content Discovery: Quickly browse popular movies and TV shows filtered by various genres, making it easy to find something new and exciting.
• Direct Streaming Access: Get instant, direct links to where you can stream your chosen content on services like Netflix or Apple TV, reducing friction from discovery to playback.
• Personalized Watchlist: Automatically organize selected titles, their streaming links, and poster art within Apple Notes, creating a dynamic and easily accessible personal watchlist.
• Detailed Overviews: Each listing includes essential information such as the title, release year, and a brief synopsis, helping you make informed viewing decisions quickly.
• Time-Saving: Eliminate the time-consuming process of manually searching across multiple platforms and apps to find available content.

Tips for getting the most out of this feature

For the best experience, ensure that you have the relevant streaming applications (e.g., Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video) installed on your device. The 'popular' listings are regularly updated, so revisit the shortcuts often to see the latest trending movies and TV shows. Consider creating a dedicated folder in Apple Notes, such as 'My Watchlist,' to keep all your shortcut-generated movie and TV show notes neatly organized. This will prevent your main Notes list from becoming cluttered and allow for quick retrieval of your saved content.

Summary

The new 'Browse Top Movies By Category' and 'Browse Top TV Shows By Category' shortcuts fundamentally enhance your entertainment experience. They streamline the process of finding new content by combining powerful database access with intelligent streaming integration and efficient organization within Apple Notes. This feature provides significant value by turning a potentially frustrating search into an enjoyable and seamless discovery process, ensuring you spend less time searching and more time watching.