Apple TV SDK to launch at WWDC: apps finally coming to your telly

A new report published this morning claims that Apple will seed developers with a brand new Apple TV software development kit (SDK) as early as its annual developers conference which kicks off with a San Francisco keynote next Monday.

Conceivably, the goal of the SDK would be to foster growth of the third-party app ecosystem around the Apple TV, the $99 set-top box which remains closed to app developers (unless you jailbreak, that is)…

“A trusted source” told Boy Genius Report editor Jonathan Geller that the SDK will let devs write apps that will run on television by way of the Apple TV puck.

We have heard from a source that Apple will be introducing a TV SDK at WWDC next week. This would enable third-party developers to create software for Apple’s TV products.

I’ve always insisted that Apple will want to unleash its iOS ecosystem in the living room, for which I’d often been ridiculed by my former boss.

It’s a no-brainer, really.

For example, esteemed pundit John Gruber recently speculated over at his Daring Fireball blog that a bunch of “To Be Announced” sessions on the WWDC agenda indicate that apps are coming to the Apple TV.

It’s one of the few things I can imagine would that would be big, new, and different enough to warrant that much attention at WWDC.

With the iOS SDK now supporting four different screen resolutions going all the way up to the iPad 3’s 2,048-by-1,536 pixel Retina display, why just not add a full HD 1,920-by-1,080 preset and let people create programs for the big screen?

Everyone is figuring out how to crack this space and Apple would be really foolish to ignore it, lest it risks getting left behind.


An artist’s rendition of an Apple-branded television set.

This new reports jives nicely with a recent write-up, also by Boy Genius Report, claiming that a near feature-complete version of the re-worked Apple TV operating system will launch at WWDC.

The story specifically mentioned that this new software will power a standalone television set. A new “control out” API is also being mulled, reportedly letting third-parties engineer accessories compatible with the iTV.

One would also be able to control any connected components, all from the Apple remote. As the current Apple Remote has very limited functionality, a redesign would be needed, quite possibly akin to the concept outlined in this patent.

So, third-party apps on your television screen.

Yes or no?