One of the new features in iOS 6 beta 2 for Apple TV is the ability to reorder the icons on the main menu, as spotted by MacMagazine.com.br (via MacRumors):

The feature is accessed by holding down the center Select button on the remote for several seconds, after which the selected icon begins to wiggle as is seen on other iOS devices when in reorder/delete mode. The wiggling icon can then be moved by using the directional buttons on the remote, with other icons automatically adjusting to make room for the icon being moved.

One difference in icon reordering between the Apple TV and other iOS devices is that the lack of a touch interface means that only one icon at a time can be selected and moved on the Apple TV. There is also no sign yet of an ability to delete or hide unused icons on the Apple TV menu.

Is Apple preparing apps for Apple TV? CNET notes that Apple introduced a similar feature in iPhone OS in 2008, just ahead of an SDK that let developers build their own apps.

iOS 6 Apple TV update will be released this fall.

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Tim Cook’s interview at D10 conference and BGR’s report that Apple may introduce Apple TV SDK at WWDC 2012 led TechCrunch’s Josh Constine to believe Facebook will soon come to the Apple TV. Constine argues that our friends’ high-resolution photos and videos would look “great blown up” on a big screen and that “Facebook TV could be a more natural place for display ads.” He also thinks Facebook app could be a selling point for Apple’s new TV hardware (whatever it will be: an updated set-top box or a standalone Apple TV set):

Facebook’s got the world’s biggest archive of photos, with 250 million posted each day, and allows for high-resolution uploads that’d look great blown up on a big screen. Imagine the photos from your news feed turned into a slideshow on your Apple television. Or the videos shared by friends streamed back-to-back. Even simple text status updates and their comments shown full-screen could be a pleasant laid-back experience. It could update reverse chronologically in real-time so you could leave it on to always see the latest content.

And while Facebook is struggling to make money on small mobile screens, Facebook TV could be a more natural place for display ads. Advertisers have been demanding a bigger, flashier ad formats that Facebook TV could host. We’re so used to watching commercials on TV that a glossy still ad every 10 minutes or 10 photos, or the occasional fifteen-second pre-roll might not seem out of place.

BGR reported on Friday that Apple will introduce an Apple TV SDK and Apple TV App Store at WWDC 2012.

Apple will kick off WWDC with its keynote presentation today at 10 a.m. PST. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for the latest updates on WWDC 2012.

[source: TechCrunch]

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

Is the Apple TV about to get its own App Store? According to BGR, Apple will introduce an Apple TV SDK at WWDC 2012. Apple TV software development kit would allow third-party developers to make apps for Apple’s set-top box.

BGR reported last month that Apple is planning to unveil a brand new version of the Apple TV operating system at WWDC. A “trusted source” has told BGR that the new OS will be much more feature-complete than the current Apple TV OS and that it’s apparently the one that the long rumored Apple TV set will run.

At this year’s D10 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook made clear that Apple TV is no longer a “hobby” project for the company: ”This is an area of intense interest for us,” Cook said, referring to the TV business. We’re going to keep pulling this string and see where it takes us.”

China Business News reported in May that Foxconn has already started a pilot production of the new Apple “smart TV”.

Apple will kick off WWDC with its keynote presentation today at 10 a.m. PST. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ for the latest updates on WWDC 2012.

Visit What's on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!