The First Apps for Revamped Apple TV Revealed

The fourth generation Apple TV debuted during September’s “Hey Siri” event, which also marked the launch of the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPad Pro. The new Apple TV is quite the upgrade over its predecessor, featuring a fast A8 processor, larger internal storage, innovative new remote with Siri compatibility, and a new operating system with a dedicated app store. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook is so confident in the new device that he proclaimed it “the foundation of the future of TV” in a recent interview.

The new media player became available for sale earlier this week, and those who purchased a new Apple TV when it became available are expected to begin receiving their devices this Friday. Thankfully for the early-adopters, developers have been hard at work creating apps for the new device, and there are quite a few impressive offerings that will be available when those first devices are booted up.

Games

The Apple TV’s new remote, which features a small touch-enabled area and an accelerometer that senses motion much like a Wii remote, doubles as a gaming controller. While hardcore gamers will undoubtedly still flock to Xboxes, Playstations, and gaming computers, the Apple TV has the capability to please casual gamers who typically game on their phones and iPads. Guitar Hero, Crossy Road, and Disney Infinity 3.0 were mentioned at the launch as titles that will eventually be featured on the device.

However, several other popular games will be available at launch, as well. Popular Zelda-inspired RPG Oceanhorn will be available for $8.99 when the device launches, as will the simple-but-addicting Mr. Jump. While the library of titles will initially be a bit shallow, the device’s App Store will likely fill up with popular titles rather quickly.

Lifestyle

The new Apple TV looks to become the new “hub of the home”. The device is compatible with HomeKit, and will eventually control many smart devices around the home. Withings Home, which will be available at the device’s launch, works with Withings’ video monitoring hardware, allowing you to monitor every room in your home in full HD.

Airbnb, the popular online marketplace for vacation rentals, and Streaks Workout allows users to select from a variety of exercises that they can perform in their own living rooms. While apps like Yelp and Facebook are sure to make appearances on the device, it will be interesting to see what other lifestyle apps pop up that take full advantage of the Apple TV’s hardware.

Media

While it will likely serve several functions, the new Apple TV is, at its core, a media player. As such, apps like Netflix and HBO Now will probably be in heavy rotation with its users. However, media apps such as Plex, which allows users to organize their personal photo, music, and video libraries have found a home among media junkies.

While Plex has announced that they will be putting forth an official Apple TV app eventually, Simplex, which allows users to stream their full Plex Library, will be available immediately upon the Apple TV’s launch. VLC Player, a popular open source media player known for its ability to handle almost any format of audio or video file, will be available for the device, as well – no more worrying about the format of your media.

It appears as if the Apple TV will already have a pretty impressive library of apps when it ships. There should be no doubt that many other developers are working feverishly to get their apps approved before the official launch – we’re sure the library in the tvOS App Store will be quite impressive by the time the first users fire up their Apple TVs for the first time.