A brief 45 minute talk I gave at iOS Conf Singapore 2015 on tvOS and tvOS SDK

1. The new Apple TV
and the tvOS
Mugunth Kumar

2. Agenda
• Hardware
• tvOS input devices
• Software
• tvOS vs iOS
• SDK
• tvOS SDK vs iOS SDK

3. Hardware
• Apple A5 chip (32-bit)
• Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Ethernet
• HDMI 1.3
• Optical Audio
• Infrared Remote
• Classic Bluetooth

4. Hardware
• Apple A8 chip (64-bit)
• Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Ethernet
• HDMI 1.4
• Optical Audio
• Infrared Remote
• Bluetooth 4.0

5. What hasn’t changed?

6. What hasn’t changed?
• Still the same old HDMI
• No Thunderbolt
• No 4K
• USB-C - Only for service/support

7. Hardware Improvements
• HDMI 1.4
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Apple A8 chip (64-bit)

8. Difference

9. Difference
• Significant improvements in
the processor and processor
architecture

10. Difference
• Significant improvements in
the processor and processor
architecture
• A brand new “Siri” remote

11. Difference
• Significant improvements in
the processor and processor
architecture
• A brand new “Siri” remote
• Game Controller Support

12. Difference
• Significant improvements in
the processor and processor
architecture
• A brand new “Siri” remote
• Game Controller Support

13. What the Apple TV really is
Apple is positioning the Apple TV as a game console rather than a
traditional TV

14. But consoles are powerful!

15. But consoles are powerful!

16. But consoles are powerful!
• But we all fall into this trap
• Most of us don’t have time to
play console games

17. Price

18. Price
• Console games take years to develop.

19. Price
• Console games take years to develop.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $250 million

20. Price
• Console games take years to develop.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $250 million
• Grand Theft Auto V - $265 million

21. Price
• Console games take years to develop.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $250 million
• Grand Theft Auto V - $265 million
• World of Warcraft - $50 million

22. Price
• Console games take years to develop.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - $250 million
• Grand Theft Auto V - $265 million
• World of Warcraft - $50 million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_video_games_to_develop

23. Price

24. Price
• Almost like movies

25. Price
• Almost like movies
• Avatar - $237 million

26. Price
• Almost like movies
• Avatar - $237 million
• Titanic - $200 million

27. Price
• Almost like movies
• Avatar - $237 million
• Titanic - $200 million
• The Dark Knight Rises - $230 million

28. Price
• Almost like movies
• Avatar - $237 million
• Titanic - $200 million
• The Dark Knight Rises - $230 million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_films

29. Price

30. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!

31. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k

32. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k
• Fruit Ninja: $400k

33. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k
• Fruit Ninja: $400k
• Temple Run: $250k

34. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k
• Fruit Ninja: $400k
• Temple Run: $250k

35. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k
• Fruit Ninja: $400k
• Temple Run: $250k
• Most iOS games can be developed for less than a million dollars

36. Price
• iOS Games are cheaper!
• Angry Birds $140k
• Fruit Ninja: $400k
• Temple Run: $250k
• Most iOS games can be developed for less than a million dollars
• If you are a developer yourself, you will spend less than half of this
to make hit games/apps on App Store.

37. Apple’ Stance

38. Apple’ Stance
• Apple is going against this casual gaming market with the new
Apple TV

39. Apple’ Stance
• Apple is going against this casual gaming market with the new
Apple TV
• Games that are cheaper to make

40. Apple’ Stance
• Apple is going against this casual gaming market with the new
Apple TV
• Games that are cheaper to make
• Games that don’t take up your time to play

41. Apple TV is not a TV.

42. It’s a platform for you
to make games

43. It’s a platform for you
to make games
and apps

44. “The Future of TV is Apps”

45. “The Future of TV is Apps”
Tim Cook - CEO, Apple Inc

46. What kind of Apps

47. What kind of Apps
Immersive apps that don't require constant user
interaction

48. Content Apps

49. Content Apps
• Photo apps (Instagram, Flickr)
• News Apps (Flipboard)

50. HomeKit Apps

51. HomeKit Apps
• Control your Lights (Philips Hue)
• Control your thermostat (Nest)

52. Data Apps

53. Data Apps
• Sports + Sports Scores (ESPN/NBA)
• Dashboard that shows glance-able
information about your IoT devices

54. Developer Tools

55. Developer Tools
• Developer tools showing real time
information (Statusboard - Panic)
• Build status
• CI server status

56. Missing in tvOS 1

57. Missing in tvOS 1
As on date, no PIP or split-screen multitasking
support on tvOS

58. Multi-user Apps

59. Multi-user Apps
• Education Apps (Apps that involve
storytelling by teachers)
• Medical Apps (Apps where multiple Doctors
can interact simultaneously)

60. Missing in tvOS 1

61. Missing in tvOS 1
No Multi-peer Connectivity Framework on tvOS

62. Advertisements

63. Advertisements
• Don’t fret ads. People are used to watch ads on
TV.

64. Advertisements
• Don’t fret ads. People are used to watch ads on
TV.
• Advertisements on Apple TV can be a
significant source of revenue for your apps

65. TVs start Slow

66. TVs start Slow
• TVs cannot be turned on instantly. Normally
takes about 5-10 seconds

67. TVs start Slow
• TVs cannot be turned on instantly. Normally
takes about 5-10 seconds
• Your customers might not turn on the TV, just to
use your app

68. TVs start Slow
• TVs cannot be turned on instantly. Normally
takes about 5-10 seconds
• Your customers might not turn on the TV, just to
use your app
• They are better off using their iPhones/iPads
for these tasks

69. Software

70. Software
• tvOS is a modified version of iOS 9
• The third generation Apple TV ran a modified
version of iOS 8.3

71. Differences from iOS

72. Differences from iOS
• New Remote
• Means new ways to interact

73. Differences from iOS
• New Remote
• Means new ways to interact

74. Differences from iOS
• New Remote
• Means new ways to interact
• No mouse pointers
• Focus Engine

75. Issues to Watch out
• Potential Issues with Overscan
• Design your UI accordingly

76. Overscan

77. More Differences

78. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps

79. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps
• Run natively on a hardware plugged into a
electrical socket

80. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps
• Run natively on a hardware plugged into a
electrical socket
• No battery drain issues

81. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps
• Run natively on a hardware plugged into a
electrical socket
• No battery drain issues

82. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps
• Run natively on a hardware plugged into a
electrical socket
• No battery drain issues
• Cannot store more than 200Mb of data

83. More Differences
• tvOS Apps are standalone unlike watchOS apps
• Run natively on a hardware plugged into a
electrical socket
• No battery drain issues
• Cannot store more than 200Mb of data
• Use iCloud + On-demand resources

84. Native vs TVML

85. tvOS - Native vs TVML

86. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• There is no UIWebView or WKWebView in tvOS

87. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• There is no UIWebView or WKWebView in tvOS
• All JavaScript apps have to be based on TVML -
Apple’s own markup language very similar to
HTML

88. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• There is no UIWebView or WKWebView in tvOS
• All JavaScript apps have to be based on TVML -
Apple’s own markup language very similar to
HTML
• Plenty of templates on developer.apple.com/
tvOS

89. tvOS - Native vs TVML

90. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• Going native is preferred if you are planning to
make universal apps

91. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• Going native is preferred if you are planning to
make universal apps
• Lots of code reusability

92. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• Going native is preferred if you are planning to
make universal apps
• Lots of code reusability
• The differences between tvOS and iOS are
more subtle than Mac OS X and iOS

93. tvOS - Native vs TVML
• Going native is preferred if you are planning to
make universal apps
• Lots of code reusability
• The differences between tvOS and iOS are
more subtle than Mac OS X and iOS
• If you are a iOS developer, getting your hands
on Native tvOS is straight forward

94. Lessons Learnt

95. Lessons Learnt
• Focus Engine is more profound
that you think

96. Lessons Learnt
• Focus Engine is more profound
that you think
• Focus engine is so intuitive
that your grandma can use it

97. Lessons Learnt
• Focus Engine is more profound
that you think
• Focus engine is so intuitive
that your grandma can use it

98. Lessons Learnt
• Focus Engine is more profound
that you think
• Focus engine is so intuitive
that your grandma can use it
• Overscan isn’t that great a deal

99. Questions?
@mugunthkumar