Right out of the box, the new fourth-generation Apple TV offers much clearer, simpler, and broader support for dedicated physical game controllers than the iPhone or iPad, even though the latter devices have featured gamepad connectivity for years.
The first online orders of the new Apple TV are beginning to reach customers, just as Apple is officially launching the device's App Store and seeding the finished version of tvOS.
After pushing out new iOS, OS X and watchOS versions on Wednesday, and ahead of next week's fourth-generation Apple TV sales debut, Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines to reflect changes specific to tvOS, including a requirement that an app's "core functionality" must support Siri remote.
Apple on Wednesday released the golden master of tvOS to developers, paving the way for the launch of the fourth-generation Apple TV next week, with orders officially beginning Oct. 26.
Apple on Tuesday issued a trio of new beta software releases to developers for testing: iOS 9.1 beta 4, tvOS beta 3, and Xcode 7.1 beta 3.
A video posted to the Web on Monday shows a Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator running on Apple's tvOS, allowing developer Kevin Smith to play a number of old-school arcade titles with a paired Bluetooth gaming controller.
In conjunction with iOS 9.0.1, Apple on Wednesday also released second betas of iOS 9.1 and tvOS to developers for testing ahead of their public launch.
Apple on Monday began informing developers who won its Apple TV lottery that their new set-top boxes will begin shipping later this week, allowing them to build applications ahead of the October launch.
Apple has been selling its Apple TV as long as iPhone, but the set top box has neither sold in similar quantities nor earned even a significant fraction as much money for the company. While neither of those facts are likely to change, the new 2015 Apple TV is poised to radically change the TV and game console industries.
There was of course one overriding theme this week: Apple's Sept. 9 press event, where it unveiled new iPhones, the iPad Pro, and a fourth-generation Apple TV. There was far more to unpack than just those devices, however.
Simplified Siri voice search and downloadable third-party apps are the centerpieces of the brand new Apple TV, which also boasts a Bluetooth touchpad remote and an overhauled, colorful user interface.
Code strings discovered in iTunes Connect on Wednesday morning make reference to an operating system known as "tvOS," apparently confirming a name change for the Apple TV's software interface.
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Neil Hughes
Roger Fingas
Mikey Campbell
AppleInsider Staff
Daniel Eran Dilger
