Roger Fingas
Apple is at work on a new iOS remote app that will fully replicate the functions of the Siri Remote bundled with the fourth-generation Apple TV, according to the company's senior VP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue.
The app should arrive "in the first half of next year," Cue said in a BuzzFeed News interview. He didn't elaborate on details, but full functionality would imply being able to trigger the Apple TV's voice commands for search and playback.
Tuesday's release of tvOS 9.1 enabled support for the existing Remote app. This mainly lets users swipe around using iOS devices or the Apple Watch, and on iOS, type much faster than when using the Siri Remote.
Cue also commented that "a little over half" of Apple TV buyers are coming from the third-generation model, while most of the rest are completely new to the platform. Apple faces a much tougher media player market in 2015, with serious competition from Roku, Google, and Amazon. The Apple TV is the most expensive set-top in the bunch, starting at $149.
Aside from streaming video, games have been "pretty hot" on the new model, according to Cue. He suggested that like the iPhone, the new Apple TV is appealing to casual gamers who might not be prepared to buy something like an Xbox One or PlayStation 4.
"I think Apple TV expands the gaming market to those people," he said.
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21 Comments
What’s Eddy talking about? Everybody who bought one returned it in disgust and bought a FireTV. I read that right here on AI.
Half are upgraders? Then the market is already becoming saturated and Apple is doomed.
A new remote App is definitely needed because the SIRI Remote outclasses the current Remote App by far. I actually like the single line text entry virtual keypad a lot. Tricks like holding down the touch pad on the letters make it great.
The new Remote App needs to incorporate the Home and Siri buttons and also game controller features.
i hope the iOS app utilizes AirPlay mirroring as well so that you don't have to look at the TV to navigate the menus. Just reverse the image from the TV onto the iPad, or iPhone and literally access the UI directly on the remote device. The ease of streaming apps directly from my iPad via AirPlay makes it much more convenient than navigating with the TV UI, even with the existing iOS Remote app.
Its interesting that the timing of this announcement coincides with the rumor that there will be a brand new TV released early next year as well. Regardless, I will definitely wait until I see how all this pans out before I upgrade my TV 3. I'm not a gamer so that doesnt really motivate me, and I've yet to see anything radically different from what I already have, yet. Eager to see what must have apps developers create for the living room.
Was sorry to see it confirmed that Apple has decided not to move into program packaging deals at this time, but the fact it was confirmed that Apple is in the position to launch those services, is good news for everyone speculating what Apple would do. I suspect when Apple does finally launch it will blow everything else out of the water.
It's too bad the remote app wasn't available at launch. Most of the complaints from reviews and early adopters was text input for search and entering passwords. First impressions matter and having the remote app from day one would have made a far better first impression.