Apple is reportedly working on a digital TV guide for Apple TV and iOS devices. This electronic guide would be designed to provide comprehensive knowledge of television shows and movies, so users can easily and swiftly navigate through various video streaming apps available Apple’s platforms.
As per Recode, Apple is in talks with TV programmers and video companies, to materialize a TV guide for Apple TV and iOS devices. Once developed, the guide will let users view programs available on video streaming apps like ESPN, HBO, Sling, and Showtime, collectively so they do not have to open each app individually. From the guide, users will be able to play their selection with a single click.
For now, Apple is only focusing on the development of the guide’s easy to use interface and has left the decision for pricing up to the companies and their customers.
The formation of a universal guide is phase 2 of Apple’s plans for TV services. Phase 1 of the plan was ‘single sign-on’, announced at WWDC 2016. Single sign-on for tvOS 10 will let pay-TV customers use various video streaming apps without typing in their cable network username and passwords for each one. Single sign-on would also let customers access and download multiple TV apps, easily, from one place in the App Store.
Whether all cable companies will be on board with such a development for Apple TV and iOS, is yet to be seen. It will help users get a streamlined single interface from where to access different content from different sources, however, for companies that provide their own TV guides for their content, it might be an issue. Apple’s previous plans to offer a TV subscription did not work out, so only time will tell if they are able to negotiate this one with the cable companies.
