Apple has announced a new Apple TV app that it says will bring all your shows and videos into a central app.
It’s simply called “TV,” Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed on Thursday.
Basically, the app is designed to tie together whichever services you have, whether HBO, Showtime, or CBS, and provide you with one place to find new shows to watch and pick up where you left off.
It’s also available on your iPad and iPhone.
In the TV app, you’ll be able to browse categories that will include “hand-curated” collections by Apple’s editorial team. Beyond hooking into services you already have, TV also has a section called the Store, which let you buy new shows or movies or sign up for premium services like Starz or Hulu.
The big player not on Apple's new app was Netflix, which told Business Insider it was still evaluating the opportunity.
On Thursday, Apple also showcased its "live" Apple TV abilities, which use Siri to drop you into live events like sports (by channel or by event name).
Apps and TV
This app fits neatly into Apple's new plan for TV, which revolves around building an advanced TV guide rather than creating its own TV package, as industry sources told Recode's Peter Kafka in August.
Last year, Cook said the "future of television is apps," a refrain that has been repeated by Apple execs since then (Cook repeated it again Thursday). But navigating separate apps is a horrible way to watch TV, and it seems that Apple knows this. Most people don't want to navigate the 8,000 different Apple TV app menus and designs, each ostensibly tailored to the type of TV content that lives within it.
Apple sees room to innovate, and it seems to be building toward an Apple TV that serves as a universal search, browse, and suggestion platform that fetches you the right content - as fast as possible.
