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Earlier we heard how Apple was adding support for a Bluetooth keyboard to the Apple TV, but now it seems Christmas apps are showing up in the Apple TV store too. Is this simply a balls-up by Apple, or a leak of things to come? Is Apple finally going turn the £100 Apple TV into a killer, app-loaded living room console-come-streamer?
Spotted by Mac OS Ken, the holiday ‘Apps and Games’ appear in one of the store banners, but there’s nothing there when you click through. There are three options here. Either Apple could have cocked-up and these app banners are squarely aimed at the iPad and iPhone, or Apple’s got apps in the pipeline for the Apple TV, and this slip is just an indicator of what’s to come. Finally, Apple could be using the Apple TV simply as an ad platform for the iPhone and iPad, and that would well and truly suck.
Anyway, with a keyboard, apps and games, Apple’s ‘hobby’ could suddenly be an absolutely killer device. I guess we’ll find out sooner rather than later. [Mac OS Ken via 9to5Mac]
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Will it come with a controller that takes you to a different selection to what you actually wanted?
Definitely, and that controller will cost you only £530
“In order to allow your Apple TV to display images without interference, you will need to purchase a wraparound rubber “bumper” in order for the hardware to perform in the way it was designed.”
Apple should join forces with Valve & turn the Apple TV into a Steam Box.
Obviously this is major wishful thinking, but it would totally fix my living room.
Nothing plays videos better than my Nexus Q! It has Google Maps, plays 4k video, divx, xvid, donkeyporn, streams video wirelessly to any device ever made or will ever be made and even helped birth my newly born child.
Oh wait…it doesnt exist.
Hurrah for pointless trollish self-worshipping prickish Google-bashing.
Bravo. You are a loathsome cock.
Haha… apparently you’re too thick to see the hypocrisy in your own comment.
Bravo. You went full retard. /slow clap
Well, it did exist for about a week, then miraculously evaporated to save us the heart-ache of trying to actually use one.
Have people not considered that Airplay is another trojan horse? Assuming it is proprietary (patented etc), Apple could license Airplay technology to TV makers and obsolete the need for a set top box at all. Simply pair your iDevice (or Mac) with the TV and fire whatever content you want to the big screen – without having to touch anything on the remote control?
(Cross posting this comment on the other Apple TV story.)
Why would a TV manufacturer bother with Airplay when you have to pay to license it when DLNA is even more widely used (I’m assuming it’s cheaper/free to use too)?
Because AirPlay is a polished viable technology that has been pretty much fully implemented on a range of popular consumer devices?
That is, it actually reliably works, requires pretty much no effort to set up, the average consumer can actually work it AND people have devices which support most, if not all, it’s features.
Yup.
DLNA is a complete mess. It’s a classic example of how a great idea in theory can be destroyed by no-one caring that it is a “standard”. I gave up on DLNA when the Smart TV I was using, couldn’t even FFW or REW videos from my NAS because they ignored the DLNA standard and used their own protocols. Another system I was using could FFW & REW but couldn’t pause, and none of them could delete.
Airplay is designed to push content from one device to another, and because it is controlled by Apple, it works. By this I don’t mean that is because Apple is oh so great and wonderful. No, but because Apple doesn’t allow everyone to go and do their own thing and end up like my Smart TV which couldn’t even FFW my video. (And no, this wasn’t my fault, it really is the fragmented world of DLNA).
Yes, we can criticize Apple a million ways. But a walled garden does have it’s benefits sometimes.
That said, Airplay isn’t perfect. Many firms and developers still ignore the correct method of implementing Airplay and you end up with apps like ITV and Demand5, that need to mirror instead of working normally.
I’ve never used Airplay and I’ve used DLNA from my Lumia 800 to my LG Smart TV. My experience of DLNA so far has been pretty good, though LG handles FFW and REW (well, there was a time scan bar at the bottom you could click through). I didn’t realise DLNA was so variable, I just thought Airplay would give you a similar experience.
AirPlay in its current form will not replace the set top box because it’s innately insecure. Many leading broadcasters, including the one I work for, cannot enable their apps for AirPlay because an AirPlay stream can, apparently, be easily tapped into. I realise there are plenty of easier ways to pirate television programmes, but this does not satisfy the copyright holders / programme makers all the same.
I find that amazing, as, as you say, there are enormously easier ways to pirate TV shows. No-one will do this from an Airplay stream, where as anyone with a Windows PC (the majority of people) can download software which records the shows immediately.
Anyway, it does seem that Airplay is slowly becoming more accepted as an alternative to settop boxes. With the exception of 4oD, pretty much all the other TV on-demand services have been slowly improving their Airplay options. The BBC just made theirs without the need of mirroring, and with excellent quality. 4oD went the other way, but I suspect that was because their Airplay was so buggy they preferred to remove it until it was fixed.
RTE (Ireland) and ABC (Australia) seem to have even moved to the standard Apple player, and has full, non mirroring Airplay.
So, I really do believe it is becoming more common. In fact, the only place which has the worse Airplay support is the US streams. Most free on-demand US services only have basic mirroring which doesn’t allow quite the full screen.
It’s amazing that Apple could throw a switch which on first sight looks like they’re giving you something for free (Bluetooth keyboard support) but in actual fact it’s just enabling Apple to sell lots of bluetooth keyboards.
Clever, Apple. Very clever.
Seems to work with any bluetooth keyboard
But using an Apple keyboard will bring more Magic(TM).
I wouldn’t read too much into this yet, What it probably is is that the iTunes store had a hiccup and the banner was meant for iTunes on other iDevices or iTunes itself.
Apple aren’t likely to be able to keep stuff like this under wraps, look at iOS betas. Any regard for the NDA is ignored and features are blogged about well before release.
They need to give their developer base a chance to make some apps before they go releasing it, because what’s the point of enabling it if there are no apps? (Remember, Apple prides itself on its “number of apps”)
At this years WWDC I see them announcing a AppleTV SDK, MAYBE at an iPad 5 event in Spring if there is going to be one, but I don’t think we will see it before then.
Oh i agree, not going to read anything into it. Was just commenting that Engadget tested a beta release with non-apple keyboards and it worked.
sorry, everything beyond magic ™ was just a general comment!
I hope this is true and not just another Apple F*ck up
“Console-come-streamer”…