Mikey Campbell
Two days before Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV is set to ship out to customers, the company on Wednesday confirmed it will add Apple Music compatibility to the set-top box's voice activated Siri search feature in an update early next year.
In a statement to provided to BuzzFeed, Apple said it plans to integrate Apple Music into Siri's universal search functionality on Apple TV at the beginning of next year, though an exact date was not specified. When it ships this week, Siri on Apple TV will not boast such functionality, leaving users unable to perform Apple Music queries ala iOS 9.
Apple Music's debut on Apple TV was announced when Apple unveiled the device in September. The company has since positioned Siri-enabled search as a tentpole feature, though initial availability is limited to select first- and third-party apps.
Powered by Siri, universal search on Apple TV lets users speak naturally into the provided Siri Remote to surface relevant content. For example, saying, "Show me movies starring Bill Hader," returns a list of films from iTunes and other supported sources. Siri search is compatible with iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime and HBO at launch, leaving out
Apple CEO Tim Cook in October revealed plans to open Siri's universal search API to all developers in hopes of providing a more cohesive user experience.
Preorders for the fourth-generation Apple TV went live on Monday, with the first batch of units scheduled for delivery on Friday.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
5 Comments
Why next year? Why couldn't this be ready for launch? I've read 3 or 4 ?TV reviews tonight and they all say it's the best of the bunch but then proceed to list all its flaws. And some of them are legit. Like you can't use Siri on your iPhone or iPad to search ?TV. No Apple Music search via Siri. You basically have to enter in cable/satellite credentials for each streaming media app individually. Most apps are basically blown up iPhone apps. The Verge review said their favorite app was QVC! Considering how long Apple's been working on this I'm a bit surprised there weren't more big name high quality apps available at launch and that Siri doesn't work with Apple Music out of the gate.
[quote name="Rogifan" url="/t/189810/apple-to-enable-siri-search-for-apple-music-on-apple-tv-early-next-year#post_2797906"]Like you can't use Siri on your iPhone or iPad to search ?TV.[/QUOTE] The Remote Control app hasn't been updated to support the new Apple TV, right? I'd hope that changes once that drops. [QUOTE]You basically have to enter in cable/satellite credentials for each streaming media app individually. [/QUOTE] I seem to recall having to log into YouTube on the Apple TV to watch a certain video, and that instead of typing in my username and password I was given a fairly simple website to type into another device with a browser, that then authenticated the app with my login. Perhaps the browser then gave me a 4 to 6-digit code that I had to put into the Apple TV's YouTube app to verify the authentication. I was quite impressed with the simplicity of that setup. [QUOTE]Most apps are basically blown up iPhone apps. […] Considering how long Apple's been working on this I'm a bit surprised there weren't more big name high quality apps available at launch and that Siri doesn't work with Apple Music out of the gate.[/quote] A little surprising, but I don't think it's a big deal in the long term.
Somewhat perplexed, a major missing feature, one of the massive benefits on the iPhone, just can't understand why the same technology could not be copied and pasted from the iPhone / iPad but obviously must be something techie tricky to have had to leave out such a huge feature
For me, it's strange that there is no audio output. The old ?TV has a digital audio out that I use to connect to an amp and speakers. It's nice, and convenient (i.e., avoids additional clutter) for AirPlay music in those rooms.
But this new ?TV doesn't have that. So I guess they don't want you to use ?TV to play music, unless it's through the television. Also sucks for people with home theatre audio systems that need a separate audio channel.
So this delay in having Siri handle ?Music speaks to their priorities here -- it says, "this is a television/video device, not an music/audio device."
Makes one wonder if a music/audio device is in the works -- an update for the Airport Express, or perhaps something more focused?
[quote name="SolipsismY" url="/t/189810/apple-to-enable-siri-search-for-apple-music-on-apple-tv-early-next-year#post_2797912"] I seem to recall having to log into YouTube on the Apple TV to watch a certain video, and that instead of typing in my username and password I was given a fairly simple website to type into another device with a browser, that then authenticated the app with my login. Perhaps the browser then gave me a 4 to 6-digit code that I had to put into the Apple TV's YouTube app to verify the authentication. I was quite impressed with the simplicity of that setup. .[/quote] Sounds like the exact same procedure Roku uses.