Apple may not have launched any new Apple TV hardware at the WWDC conference this week. But it looks like there may be some major Apple TV news on the horizon.

The latest iOS developer tools include hints that Apple TV will be able to support third-party apps in the future.

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Right now Apple TV users can access a series of “channels” to view or listen to content from services including Netflix, HBO, Showtime, YouTube, Hulu, Disney, and other sources.

But if Apple is getting ready to open up an App Store and invite iOS developers to create TV-friendly apps for the platform, it could dramatically increase the number of things you can do with an Apple TV device.

The latest Apple TV sells for $69, but it’s not clear if that model will support new features.

Earlier this year Buzzfeed reported that Apple was preparing to launch a new version of its set-top-box that would have a faster processor, more storage space, and support for Siri voice assistant features, among other things. It’s possible that only this newer, more powerful Apple TV will support apps.

It’s also possible that Buzzfeed was misinformed… or that Apple has changed its plans. But one likely scenario is that Apple is working on a next-gen Apple TV box that will support third-party apps… it just isn’t close enough to completion for the company to show it off this week.

Google’s Android TV platform and Amazon’s Fire TV platform already feature app stores that allow independent developers to submit apps.

via The Verge and MacRumors

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7 replies on “Apps coming to Apple TV… probably, eventually”

  2. Rant: I just went back in time to the first few pages of liliputing. Please liliputing, LESS of this (Apple TV) and more of this! https://liliputing.com/2008/04/sharp-unveils-first-atom-based-umpc.html … The technology is here and there are a million companies out there making laptops and tablets, yet nobody is in this space these days. I understand smartphones can do a lot of the work nowadays but there has to be a demand for UMPCs.

    1. Show me a new 5-7 inch PC with a slide-out keyboard and I’ll cover it. But Liliputing is a news and info site, not a manufacturer. We can’t cover products that aren’t being launched.

  3. Apple’s been dropping the ball on the Apple TV 4 and TV apps for quite a while now. They should’ve at least announced both it and the SDK, while keeping their other grandiose TV channel subscription plans under wraps at WWDC, if they weren’t ready.

    1. They sure faked a lot of us out with the invitation and signage for the WWDC. “The epicenter of change” as the slogan, written over a round-cornered square graphic that has the same radius/diagonal proportions as the Apple TV, as far as I can see (not the Apple Watch – those are 6:7 rectangles); I for one sure expected to see a new Apple TV with, at least, HomeKit “base station” functionality. Oh well, my second-generation model still works fine, until they give me a reason to upgrade.

      1. Duh – it’s also about the right proportions for an iOS app icon. Guess I read “epicenter” and got my hopes up for that HomeKit hub (and more)…

  4. 2009 called, they want their article back. I took messages for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 also, on the same subject.

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