“We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan’s fingertips”, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in a statement back in June.
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So why has the BBC chose to get onboard with Apple TV now? Local affiliates of major networks provide another important venue for promotion, and Greenwald notes that it’s no accident that the major broadcast networks have withheld Apple TV apps until they could confidently include livestreaming of their local affiliates. It could still happen (likely through a partnership) but I don’t envision it anytime soon.
A still-bigger stumbling block in the Apple TV’s bid for universal ease is its bitter rivalry with Amazon.
Measuring 3.9 inches (width) by 3.9 inches (depth) by 1.4 inches (height), the all-new streaming device from Apple weighs only 15 ounces or 425 grams. And where’s 4K, with resolution that is four times better than high definition? And it’s no longer pushy about steering you to iTunes and other Apple services. Dedicated buttons on the remote let you control play/pause, home, volume and other functions. Sliding down gets you settings and show details, when available.
Holding the remote sideways, I steered a auto (badly) through the Asphalt 8 racing game app from Gameloft. The remote has a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope for such purposes. When I tried the “What did you just say?” command, Siri occasionally failed to display subtitles for content on Netflix and Hulu. But there aren’t many 4K TVs or much programming for them available yet.
All iPhones had problems with the battery life because Apple used small batteries in order to not increase the thickness of its devices.
Apple TV’s latest iteration hits stores tomorrow, and costs $150 for 32gb of storage, $200 for 64 gb.
New Apple TV owners will shortly have the ability to make use of Siri to search for tunes and musicians on Apple Music, BuzzFeed News reports.
Siri offers weather, stocks and sports information.
Siri’s response to a question from tech website The Verge. At this stage, music appears to be the remaining piece of the puzzle.
Still, Siri can be very helpful. If you’re watching something and missed what a character just said, you can ask Siri: “What did they just say?” and it will rewind the video about 15 seconds and replay that portion with subtitles turned on, before switching the subtitles off. Cheetham told global Business Times the pair is looking at updating Auntie Player with several new features like IMDB integration, interactive elements within shows, and possibly a next episode auto-play, similar to Netflix.
The BBC joins Sky in the list of British broadcasters providing apps for the $149 device.
Guitar Hero, which has made itself famous on other platforms, including iOS and gaming consoles like XBox, has announced that a tvOS app is on its way.
It’s no surprise that Apple continues to dominate the app scene.
Apps you bought for your iPhone or iPad don’t automatically carry over.
Although developers have already been able to make apps for smart TV rivals, Apple’s vast base of developers will set the device apart, analysts say.
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“This is the foundation of the future of TV”, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said recently at a conference about Apple TV.
