Hackers Get iOS Applications Running on Apple TV

Those of you who have been holding out for a good reason to jailbreak your Apple TV might have just got your wish. Well-known developer Steven Troughton-Smith has teamed up with another hacker to bring iOS applications to the Apple TV.

But they’re not just trying to make it happen, they’ve done it. Troughton-Smith showed off several photos via his Twitter account tonight of his jailbroken Apple TV running a homegrown version of the iOS springboard and multiple iOS apps…

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htC9sHr34K0[/tube]

Even though Apple TV’s software is built on iOS, getting native iOS apps to run on it was no easy task. The developers essentially had to re-write the springboard from the ground up. And while the hack is no where near ready for public release, it looks promising.

This reminds us of a time when the iPhone didn’t have a native app store, so jailbreakers had to drum up an alternative. Apple noticed the attention that native third party apps were getting, and launched the official App Store less than a year later.

Maybe that’ll happen here. Stay tuned.

Update: As you can see, we’ve added a video of the hack in action. We also want to give credit where credit is due — Troughton-Smith says that TheMudKip, another developer, is responsible for most of the legwork in this project. Well done guys.