Apple seems to be making some changes to the tvOS App Store on the new Apple TV, with reports coming in that the store's various charts now automatically hide any apps a user has installed on their device. This behavior is now consistent in the Top Paid, Top Free and Top Grossing charts.
As a result, no longer will everyone see the same entires as the “Top” apps have now effectively become the “Top apps that you haven’t installed yet,” as first discovered by Apple developer Equinux.
After adding support for finding CBS television shows last month, owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV can now use tvOS's universal search feature to find video content from NBC, like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” using Siri or Dictation.
An upcoming Apple Music overhaul, allegedly slated for a WWDC introduction next month, is expected to kill the little-used Connect feature and add a new Browse tab, integrated lyrics and other enhancements. And now, a refined version of tvOS's Music app has been spotted briefly on the fourth-generation Apple TV set-top box.
Apple on Tuesday seeded brand new betas of the iOS, tvOS and OS X operating systems to members of the Apple Developer Program. iOS 9.3.2 beta 4 (build 13F68), tvOS 9.2.1 beta 4 (build 13Y772) and OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 beta 4 are all available for download on devices running earlier betas. Standalone installers can be downloaded through Apple's Dev Center for developers and are also available for public testing for members of the Apple Beta Software Program.
I was trying to boot up my jailbroken Apple TV a few days ago when I suddenly got hit by the Black Screen of Death. It's something I had seen mentioned online before, but not experienced myself, so I was a little taken aback.
Conveniently enough, since I was communicating with nitoTV developer Kevin Bradley for the purpose of our podcast, I asked him if he had a quick fix for the issue, which he kindly offered.
After seeding iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to its registered developers this morning, Apple has also released new betas for its other forthcoming operating system updates: watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan. You can download watchOS 2.2.1 beta 2 (build 13V420) and OS X 10.11.5 beta 2 (build 15F24b) through Apple's Developer Center, which requires a paid account for full access, or apply them on the devices themselves through the Software Update mechanism on devices running a beta OS.
Since learning that Apple's software development kit now includes a new MapKit framework for tvOS, I've been eagerly awaiting to see what Apple TV developers are going to do with it. I salivated at the prospect of Apple Maps on a big screen telly because it sounded too good to be true.
Even better, Apple's SDK supports advanced features like map annotations, adding overlays and performing reverse-geocoding lookups to determine placemark information for map coordinates, among other features.
With TV Maps by Arno Appenzeller—to my knowledge, this is one of the first of MapsKit-enabled apps for the new Apple TV—you can browse Apple Maps from the comfort of your couch. At long last, planning trips on the big screen has become a reality for those of us who're invested into the Apple ecosystem. The experience of using maps on a television is much cooler than you could imagine: this is the first tvOS app that has made me wish that the Apple TV supported hand gestures so that I could explore maps Minority Report-style.
Apple has enhanced the tvOS operating system via a silent backend update that now permits users to ask Siri to tune in to live broadcasts in supported apps such as Disney XD, ESPN and CBS, the latter having gained integration with the Apple TV's universal search feature yesterday.
MacRumors has caught wind of this useful new feature addition on a splash screen that customers see after upgrading their 4th-generation Apple TV to the new tvOS software.
Apple continues to add more content sources to the universal search capability of the fourth-generation Apple TV. Last week, for example, it added Starz content to the Apple TV's universal search.
And now, owners of the set-top box who installed CBS's tvOS application can take advantage of Siri to find such CBS shows as “Big Bang Theory”, “NCIS“, “Supergirl” and others, just by using their voice. Apple's support document was updated yesterday to reflect the addition of CBS to the universal search lineup for the fourth-generation Apple TV.
Much like other Apple devices, your Apple TV lets you elect to have tvOS periodically send usage data to Apple and share crash logs with developers. When Share with App Developers is enabled underneath the Diagnostics Data heading in Settings → General → Privacy, your Apple TV will send diagnostic and usage information to Apple.
This data is used for the sole purpose of improving Apple's products and services. None of the collected information identifies users personally but those who are concerned about their privacy will likely have this feature disabled, just in case.
There are cases when Apple might ask you to send them these log files manually—for instance, when using the Apple TV's hidden remote diagnostic feature to help an advisor troubleshoot any problems you may be plagued with.
Thankfully, tvOS has a secret Siri Remote shortcut to override your Privacy settings and manually send those crash logs and diagnostic data straight to Apple.
Nearly five years ago, Apple started taking advantage of a new feature that lets customers send diagnostic data to an Apple advisor to help troubleshoot any problems they might be having, without having to take their device to an Apple Store Genius.
This remote diagnostic mode, which has since been implemented across all iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, is also available on the fourth-generation Apple TV. In this quick tutorial, you're going to learn how to access and take advantage of tvOS's hidden Diagnostics screen on your Apple TV.
Apple on Sunday released a brand new commercial for the fourth-generation Apple TV, titled 'Father Time' and available on YouTube.
The 60-second ad features LA Laker's star Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan and focuses on using tvOS's Siri features in conjunction with the Siri Remote to “make it easier than ever to find and enjoy whatever you’re looking for.”
The two men are sitting on the couch in a trailer and Jordan picks up his Siri Remote to ask the personal digital assistant to open the official NBA app.
Then, they start arguing over... Well, just watch the ad.