The Apple TV world had been pretty quiet until Apple’s March 25, 2019 special event that announced some major new things coming to the Apple TV:
- A redesigned TV app, redubbed Apple TV, that’s built around services, integrates live TV, and will even be available on most popular smart TV platforms, such as Roku
- Apple TV Channels, which will let you subscribe to à la carte cable channels and streaming services inside the Apple TV app
- A new streaming service called Apple TV+, which has the backing of big-name celebrities like director Steven Spielberg, media queen Oprah Winfrey, and director J.J. Abrams
- A new subscription game service called Apple Arcade
The new Apple TV app will be available in May, with Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade due later in the year. We’re currently evaluating the best way to update Take Control of Apple TV to best cover Apple’s strategic shift. In the meantime, you can read the TidBITS articles Apple Reveals Its Vision for TV and Apple Announces Apple Arcade Gaming Service.
In the here and now, iOS 12.2 has added some major Apple TV-related improvements:
- You can now control an Apple TV via iOS Siri using commands like “Pause the bedroom Apple TV.”
- AirPlay has been improved to play more nicely with multitasking.
- When AirPlaying content from iOS to an Apple TV, playback controls show in Control Center and on the Lock screen.
Also, Apple has changed the Apple TV remote logo in Control Center and the Remote app to show a small Siri Remote instead of the Apple TV logo, undoubtedly to prevent confusion with the new Apple TV app.
To learn more, see the TidBITS article Apple Releases iOS 12.1.1, macOS 10.14.2, and tvOS 12.1.1.