Apple Inc. said Thursday that new movies from a slate of major studios will now be available for purchase over iTunes the same day they’re released on DVD.

The change will beef up the number of new titles available in the iTunes online store and help the service compete better against DVD retailers.

Until this week, many of the movies available for purchase over iTunes were older releases.

Newer releases have been available for rental through iTunes, but users typically have to wait 30 days after the DVD release to get their hands on those films, and the titles disappear from their libraries once they’re finished watching.

Apple’s announcement Thursday did not include any change to the rental policies.