Apple to Release New Apple TV Remote App for iOS With Full Siri Functionality in First Half of 2016

[MacRumors]

Apple senior executive Eddy Cue has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the company is developing a new Apple TV Remote app with full Siri Remote functionality on iPhone to be released in the first half of 2016.

"We're working on a new Apple TV remote app that will give you the full functionality of the Siri Remote on your iPhone," Cue said. "We're hoping to ship that in the first half of next year."

Apple released tvOS 9.1 for the new Apple TV on Tuesday, enabling support for the current Remote app on iOS devices and the Apple Watch.

Cue also said Apple's new tvOS App Store is off to a "great" start, with over 2,000 apps available in the store.

"We're seeing tremendous developer interest," Cue told BuzzFeed News. "Already we have over 2,000 apps live in the store. And on the customer side, things are going great. What we've found is that a little over half of transactions are coming from people upgrading from the last Apple TV and just about the other half are coming from new customers that are buying their first Apple TV."

Many of those apps are pick-up-and-play games such as Crossy Road and Mr. Jump, and Cue mentioned how the new Apple TV caters to casual gamers that aren't looking to purchase an Xbox or PlayStation.

"What we're seeing with the new Apple TV is to me very similar to what happened with gaming on the iPhone," Cue said. "When we first announced the iPhone, we didn't tout it as a gaming device. But games became a huge part of iPhone, because it turns out that a lot more people than just hardcore gamers love games. We expanded the market. I think the vast majority of people around the world probably aren't looking to buy an Xbox or PlayStation. But that doesn't mean they don't enjoy playing games. I think Apple TV expands the gaming market to those people."

The new Apple TV launched in October and features an App Store, Siri, tvOS and more.

Article Link: Apple to Release New Apple TV Remote App for iOS With Full Siri Functionality in First Half of 2016

 

[jamesarm97]

Any my wife already dropped my new Apple TV remote and the pad shattered (still usable). They want $79 for a new remote, I would be better off buying a new AppleTv for $149 and having a spare. Cant believe the remote cost half of a new AppleTv.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Any my wife already dropped my new Apple TV remote and the pad shattered (still usable). They want $79 for a new remote, I would be better off buying a new AppleTv for $149 and having a spare. Cant believe the remote cost half of a new AppleTv.

New Remote APP not hardware remote. The existing Remote app hasn't been updated in a while and was only made compatible with ATV4 yesterday.

 

[iMerik]

This new Apple TV Remote app should have been released with the Apple TV.

 

[8692574]

And to think that there were conspiracy theorist that thought this was never going to happen.....wonder where they are now.....

 

[Luis Mazza]

Now Apple needs to improve Siri by a huge margin, because compared to Google Now it is not as good. Actually Siri got dumber since launch.

 

[gsmornot]

Any my wife already dropped my new Apple TV remote and the pad shattered (still usable). They want $79 for a new remote, I would be better off buying a new AppleTv for $149 and having a spare. Cant believe the remote cost half of a new AppleTv.

Sounds like your ready for a remote cover for the next one. A remote like this should come with a silicon cover that protects it from falls but still give the option of taking it off if you want. I know they are available 3rd party but they should be included.

 

[appleguy123]

All the rumors said that this thing was delayed over and over again so apple can get it right, but so many things about it feel rushed. No Siri Apple Music at launch, no remote app compatibility at launch. No tv streaming service.

This is the 4th gen Apple TV, but it doesn't even feel like a first gen Apple product. It feels like something I bought on Kickstarter.

Pretty inexcusable from the largest company in the world.

 

[Elbon]

Looking forward to it.

 

[DanielDD]

First half of 2016? June 30th it is

 

[GlenOliver]

Sooo...

We'll be paying for a new remote which won't understand what we're saying, and will perform the wrong functions while we're trying to watch a movie? And probably for over half the cost of a whole new Apple TV unit?

I've been a longtime and outspoken Apple proponent, but this move...and yesterday's goofy battery case release...has me asking questions.

<<<EDIT: MY BAD - IT'S AN APP THEY'RE RELEASING. SOMEONE WAS TALKING TO ME WHILE I WAS READING ARTICLE...>>>

 

[DavidLeblond]

Any my wife already dropped my new Apple TV remote and the pad shattered (still usable). They want $79 for a new remote, I would be better off buying a new AppleTv for $149 and having a spare. Cant believe the remote cost half of a new AppleTv.

I'm not sure what the thought process was in including glass in a TV remote. The designers must all have carpeted living rooms.

 

[vmachiel]

Sweet, that's great news.

 

[jclardy]

I just hope they get rid of the home sharing connection requirement. Just have the remote enter a passcode to connect.

Also hopefully multiple devices can connect to act as game controllers, given the iPhone supports everything the remote can do.

 

[LordQ]

Why 6 months for an app? Are they really that hard to write?

 

[Buckeyestar]

Sooo...

We'll be paying for a new remote which won't understand what we're saying, and will perform the wrong functions while we're trying to watch a movie? And probably for over half the cost of a whole new Apple TV unit?

I've been a longtime and outspoken Apple proponent, but this move...and yesterday's goofy battery case release...has me asking questions.

Remote APP, read it again.

 

[Kaibelf]

This new Apple TV Remote app should have been released with the Apple TV.

Make sure that you do that when you release your competing hardware. After all, how dare Apple not have everything ready to give you for free?

 

[smithyis]

I hope the new version of the remote app supports Apple Music on iTunes

 

[Buckeyestar]

I'm not sure what the thought process was in including glass in a TV remote. The designers must all have carpeted living rooms.

I've had carpet in every home I've ever loved in. Just because hardwood floors are trendy, doesn't mean they're ubiquitous.

 

[Rogifan]

All the rumors said that this thing was delayed over and over again so apple can get it right, but so many things about it feel rushed. No Siri Apple Music at launch, no remote app compatibility at launch. No tv streaming service.

This is the 4th gen Apple TV, but it doesn't even feel like a first gen Apple product. It feels like something I bought on Kickstarter.

Pretty inexcusable from the largest company in the world.

I agree with you on everything but the streaming service. If Apple waited to update TV until they could do a streaming service we'd probably never get an updated puck. its entirely possible Apple has said 'screw it' to a skinny cable package and will instead focus on content provider apps and robust universal search.

 

[nfl46]

I am surprised they've kept Cue this long.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Why 6 months for an app? Are they really that hard to write?

You'll also need accompanying infrastructure to handle a billion extra Siri queries each day.. And yeah, voice recognition isn't exactly "Hello World" level.

 

[freediverx]

Apple senior executive Eddy Cue has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the company is developing a new Apple TV Remote app with full Siri Remote functionality on iPhone to be released in the first half of 2016.

I'm understanding Apple less and less these days. Sometimes they kill off beloved products because of their devotion to focusing only on the few things that matter most. And other times, we get news like this.

Given that Apple TV 4 owners already have Siri functionality in their remote, and given that Apple (finally!) updated tvOS to work with the Remote app, why on earth should Apple be wasting so much energy (conceivably for another six months plus) to add Siri functionality to said Remote app, which the vast majority of users only need for typing an occasional password?

Eddy, how about an ETA on that Universal Search API Apple promised months ago?

 

[Jago]

How about enabling Siri on Apple TV to be used AT ALL in the first place, that would be a good start. Siri in english and russian works just fine on my iPhone, but Apple decided that since I live in the wrong country (Finland) according to them, they won't allow me to use it on Apple TV (so far).

 

[8692574]

Siri functionality to said Remote app, which the vast majority of users only need for typing an occasional password?

That's the last thing i would do with Siri.......... and if you ment the App, I use it for pretty much everything, not just typing password.