Apple re-introduces Apple TV now with apps and Siri Remote

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

San Francisco – Apple is trying to revolutionize TV, just the way it has revolutionized the music industry with iTunes and the iPod and is doing so with a completely revamped Apple TV.

The new AppleTV comes in October, Apple sees this as the foundation for TV’s future and will have it out in 80 countries by the end of the year. The new Apple TV looks similar to the previous version but is taller and seems larger. It features an all new remote control that has a touch pad for quick navigation and gaming and it is now fully integrated with the Siri voice assistant.

Apple explains that the new Siri Remote dramatically simplifies how you select, scroll and navigate through your favourite content while bringing unique interactivity to the new Apple TV by using a glass touch surface that handles both small, accurate movements as well as big, sweeping ones. Adding touch to Apple TV creates a natural, connected experience, even if the TV screen is on the other side of the room. Developers can take advantage of the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, and the touch surface on the Siri Remote to create games and other app experiences that have never been seen on TV before.

 Apple is also enhancing Apple TV with a new tvOS platform that can allow developers to create apps and experiences that can tailor fit the bigger screen. Netflix, HBO Now, Showtime and Hulu were just some of the services that have revamped their experiences to take advantage of the new Apple TV features.

With Siri, you can use your voice to search TV shows and movies by title, genre, cast, crew, rating or popularity, making it easy to say things like “Show me New Girl,” “Find the best funny movies from the ‘80s,” “Find movies with Jason Bateman” and “Find popular TV shows for kids.” Apple TV will search iTunes and popular apps from Netflix, Crackle, shomi and CraveTV, displaying all the ways the resulting TV shows and movies can be played. Siri also offers playback control and on-screen navigation, as well as quick access to sports, stock and weather information.

The new Apple TV will be available at the end of October starting at $149 (US) for a 32GB model and $199 (US) for a 64GB model from Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. A new Xcode beta is available for developers today that includes the tvOS SDK at developer.apple.com/xcode/downloads. Developers can request an Apple TV developer kit at developer.apple.com/tvos/.