Last February, Apple launched its Apple Sports Scoreboard app in the US, Canada and the UK. You can follow your favourite teams in real time as they're in action, view select stats and use the standings to find out if your team has a realistic chance of making the playoffs (more on that later). The NFL preseason is halfway over and the regular season begins on September 5 with a thrilling battle between the Ravens and the defending champion Chiefs in Kansas City.
Apple Sports doesn't seem to have been developed by a real sports fan
Being both a sports fan and a phone nerd, I'd love to recommend Apple's Sports app, but I can't. I feel like it was developed by a pocket-protecting Apple software developer who thinks the Stanley Cup is a protective piece worn to protect the family jewels.
Apple Sports shows betting odds and the standings, but where are the all-important wildcard rankings? | Image credit: PhoneArena
There are several problems with the Apple Sports app. First, it's not easy to navigate compared to other sports apps. While you can see the scores of games in progress, there are no pre- or post-game coverage. OK, we get it. This is a scoreboard app and the focus is on the score, not the pre- or post-game drama. But why limit yourself to the numbers when other apps like ESPN delve into the personalities and rivalries behind a contest?
This is the one big thing that Apple Sports is missing and that fans really want to see
And this is where I wonder if Apple has actual sports fans working on the app. It's great that you can look at the Major League standings and see if your team is near the top of its division. But the app doesn't give me a way to look at the wildcard standings. After all, in Major League Baseball (MLB), three teams from each league make it into the playoffs through the back door, and battling for a spot among those six teams is usually the most exciting part of the modern championship race.
The latest update to Apple Sports adds NFL games, teams and standings to the app. | Image credit: PhoneArena
Almost every sports app will show you the wildcard standings for every sport. Since it's missing from the MLB standings in Apple Sports, you probably won't see it for the NBA, NHL, or NFL either. That omission alone should be enough to avoid the Apple Sports app. Perhaps this feature will be added in a future update, but with the 2024 MLB season now coming to an end, checking the wildcard standings daily is a guilty pleasure for baseball fans that Apple doesn't currently offer in its Sports app.