Apple TV, iOS will simplify cable provider authentication with single sign-on

A number of enhancements are coming to the fourth-generation Apple TV later this year, including the ability to authenticate a cable subscription just one time across a variety of apps.

Apple's new single sign-on feature will be available not only for tvOS, but also for iOS. The ability was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday by content head Eddy Cue.

Other features coming to tvOS later this year include ReplayKit, which will allow developers to live broadcast gameplay or save a video for later. PhotoKit will also come to tvOS with access to iCloud photo library.

HomeKit will also come to tvOS, giving developers the ability to create apps to control devices at home. And Apple is also planning to add support for four game controllers simultaneously.

tvOS will also gain a new "dark mode" option. And enhancements to Siri are also in the works, allowing users to instantly load live streaming content from within an app.

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13 Comments

ceek74

said about 7 years ago

SSO is even easier now since there's only like 3 cable companies left.

Andrew22

said about 7 years ago

This will be so nice.

mjhnl

said about 7 years ago

Is it in Dutch too?

zoetmb

said about 7 years ago

ceek74 said:

SSO is even easier now since there's only like 3 cable companies left.

That's not the point. While you sign-on using your cable company ID, you're using it in separate apps that come from each cable channel: Comedy, Syfy Now, FOX Now, FXNow, AMC, Watch ABC and even ones for individual shows like Team Coco for the Conan show. And for some reason I don't quite understand, those apps today don't remember your sign-on info and they don't let you use fingerprint ID. While some of the MSOs, like Optimum, have an iPad app that will permit you to watch anything, it only works when you're on the same network as the cable box, so you can't use it out of the house (which IMO makes the app almost useless).

Half the time when I attempt to watch some streaming content on my iPhone for a TV show I've missed, I can't remember my cable company ID and can't watch the show. SSO will be great and hopefully (didn't see the keynote - waiting for the recorded stream to be live) fingerprint ID will work. That will really simplify things, although Apple really needs to take it one step further. Either they have to work with all the cable channels to consolidate everything into one app OR there needs to be a way that you can search by show and iOS automatically launches the correct app. Because users should not be expected to remember what cable channel a show is on.

Also, most of the existing apps don't permit downloading - they only permit streaming. They should permit downloading as well so passengers can watch in the car when passing through places with no phone signal and so one can watch on subways, etc.

g-news

said about 7 years ago

Still no support for Siri in most countries outside of north America for tvOS. This is really embarrassing. Untie Siri's language setting from the bloody iTunes account already. I'm not asking for Siri to understand Swiss German dialects after all, I just want to be able to speak to it like I have been doing on my iPhone for years — in English. Alas, Cookie doesn't want me to be able to use his much hyped features, more than a year after buxing the aTV 4 with the promise of further Siri regions coming soon. Frack you...