The 5 most important details we just learned about Apple's long-rumored push into TV

Whether you pay for Apple TV Plus or not, the Apple TV app is getting a major update to add a new section: Channels.

In Channels, you can build a sort of a la carte TV package by picking from a handful of different TV channels and digital services. Maybe you only want Starz, Cinemax, and ESPN? You could conceivably pay for only those channels through Apple TV Channels.

It's not clear how much each channel will cost, or if getting them through Apple will represent a savings over subscribing directly.

What Apple is offering is standardization. No matter which channels you pay for, Apple says you'll get access to their libraries, "on demand, available on and offline, with incredible picture quality and sound."

Additionally, you can plug in services like PlayStation Vue, and even a traditional cable subscription from the likes of Spectrum, Optimum, and more.

The Apple TV app is something you can already have if you're an iPhone or iPad user, but Apple intends its TV service to extend far beyond its own hardware.

To that end, Apple is putting the Apple TV app on Samsung smart TVs starting this spring, and it's scheduled to arrive on Amazon's Fire TV, LG TVs, Roku-powered TVs, Sony TVs, and Vizio TVs "in the future."

That's a major move for Apple, and an open concession to the much larger world of TV owners who don't have Apple's set-top box, the Apple TV.

Of course, if you're an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV owner, you'll simply receive an update this May that will add Apple TV Channels. TV Plus isn't expected to arrive until some point in the fall, also as part of the Apple TV app.

Another first: Apple is bringing its Apple TV app to Macs in the fall. There doesn't appear to be a way to access Apple TV Plus or Apple TV Channels from a web browser.

Apple really splashed out on TV Plus talent. Everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Steven Spielberg showed up at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, to announce their new TV Plus projects.

Here are a few:

• Steven Spielberg announced a reboot of his classic TV series "Amazing Stories"
• Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell announced a new drama named "The Morning Show"
• Alfre Woodard and Jason Momoa announced a sci-fi drama called "See"
• Kumail Nanjiani announced an anthology series about immigrants living in the US called "Little America."

Oprah Winfrey appeared as Apple's surprise last-minute announcement. She announced two new documentaries: one focused on "the toll of sexual harassment, assault and violation in the workplace," and a second, multi-part series "focused on mental health."

We don't know when exactly Apple TV Plus is going to launch, but Apple says it will reveal those details at some point this fall.

Considering that competing services, from Netflix to Hulu to HBO Go, all offer monthly subscriptions in the $8 to $15 range, we'd expect a similar pricing structure from Apple Plus.

Pricing for individual channels on Apple TV Channels — which arrives in an update to the Apple TV app in May — remains unknown. It's likely that channels like Showtime and HBO, which offer their own digital subscription services, will cost the same or close to what they cost outside of Apple's new Channels service.