Aiming to make it easier to find content across a range of services and apps, Apple on Thursday unveiled 'TV,' a new application for tvOS and iOS that allows users to browse and search for content in one convenient place. It will arrive for free in December.
"It will completely change how you watch TV with your Apple TV, as well as with your iPhone and iPad," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said.
A "Watch Now" pane gives curated top picks that users can browse. Once a show has been viewed, it's added to an "Up Next" queue to make it easy to pick up where you left off with a series. Progress is synced across Apple devices.
Rented or owned content is available in a "Library" tab. A "Store" section lets people hunt for new material across services, and a "Recommended" tab will push curated and trending video, with categories and genres.
Apple's new TV app also integrates with Siri. In an onstage demonstration, a user was shown asking Siri to play "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and an episode immediately began to play, picking up at the exact point where the user last left off.
Siri has also gained support for live TV, allowing users to ask to tune into programming on demand. In another onstage example, Siri was used to watch a Saturday college football game in progress, and to switch between other games being played.
Apple's new "TV" app will be available for free with a software update for tvOS and iOS. An integral part of this will be long-delayed single sign-on support for the Apple TV, also coming in December.