Apple Sports launches in Kenya as part of 170-country global push, but Apple One and TV+ still missing

Apple has expanded its free iPhone scores app, Apple Sports, into more than 90 new countries and regions, pushing the total footprint past 170 markets globally. The rollout is timed for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which kicks off on June 11 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Kenya is part of the new wave. Apple specifically named the expansion as covering markets across the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, including South Africa, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia. The app is now available to download from the Kenyan App Store on iPhones running iOS 17.2 or later.

What Apple Sports does

The app is exactly what its name says. It pulls real-time scores, statistics, standings and starting lineups from major leagues into a single, fast interface. Apple’s services chief Eddy Cue, when launching the app in February 2024, said the goal was simply “incredibly fast access to scores and stats.” Fans have since complained the app is so fast it spoils plays before your TV stream catches up.

For the World Cup, Apple has built in a scrollable tournament bracket, visual team formations on each match card, and one-tap access to the Apple TV app to jump straight into live matches on supported streaming services. Follow a team and you get Live Activities on your iPhone Lock Screen and Apple Watch, plus widgets that work on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The app supports Premier League, La Liga, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, F1, PGA Tour and other major competitions year-round, not just the World Cup.

The catch on Live Activities: you need iOS 18 and watchOS 11 or later to get the Lock Screen and Apple Watch updates.

A free win that highlights what Kenya is still missing

Kenya is not Apple’s biggest African market by volume — Statcounter put iPhone usage share in Kenya at 4.97% as of June 2025, well behind Samsung’s 30.32%. But it’s a high-spending segment that gets very little back from Apple’s services side.

Per Apple’s own services availability page, Kenya still does not have access to:

• Apple One, the bundle that combines Music, TV+, Arcade, iCloud+ and Fitness+ for a discounted monthly fee
• Apple TV+ subscription — Apple Originals like Severance, Slow Horses and Ted Lasso are off-limits, even though Uganda, Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe all have full Apple TV+ access
• Apple Fitness+, the guided workout service that pairs with Apple Watch
• Apple News+, which Apple restricts to the US, Canada, UK and Australia only
• Apple Books purchases — only public domain titles are available, no commercial books or audiobooks

We already made the Apple TV+ argument in detail after the iPhone 17 launch last September. And on messaging, we explained why iPhones in Kenya still can’t use RCS — Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom have not deployed the carrier bundles Apple requires.

What Kenya does get: the App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, iTunes music purchases, Shazam, Podcasts, ringtone purchases, and now Apple Sports.

What to watch

Apple Sports landing in Kenya is a small, real win. It will be the cleanest, fastest way to follow group-stage matches on an iPhone in June. But expanding a free, ad-free score-tracker to 170 markets is not the same as opening Apple’s paid services to those markets.

Watch the WWDC keynote on June 8 for any signal that Apple One, Apple TV+ or Fitness+ are coming to more African markets. For now, the gap between the iPhones Kenyans buy and the Apple services Kenyans can actually use remains.