The Apple TV app is finally arriving on a number of Sony television sets – as promised last year – which means you'll be able to stream anything you've purchased from iTunes as well as load up content from Apple TV Plus.
As reported by FlatPanelsHD, the all-important firmware version 6.4960 is now rolling out to high-end 2018 Sony TVs, as well as models from 2019 and 2020, in Europe (it's "coming soon" to the US). Previously only the Sony XH90/X900H had Apple TV Plus support, which arrived last month.
The arrival of the Apple TV app follows on from the AirPlay 2 support that recent Sony sets have been given. The streaming protocol developed by Apple, like Google's Chromecast functionality, lets you beam audio and video to a TV from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
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With a native Apple TV app on board your Sony television, you'll be able to watch digital content from Apple without the need for a separate device, and the app itself works very much like the TV app that appears on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Carry on watching
As part of the push to promote the launch of Apple TV Plus last year, Apple also began to make it easier for users to get at content (including the new streaming service) from televisions and streaming sticks that weren't made by Apple.
Whereas previously the Apple TV box had been just about the only option for getting iTunes movies and shows up on the big screen, over the last 12 months Apple has worked hard to get its TV app on devices like the Roku dongles and the Amazon Fire TV hardware.
The Apple TV app is even available on the next-gen consoles just launched by Microsoft and Sony, giving you even more opportunities to watch movies and shows you've bought from Apple, or something from your Apple TV Plus streaming subscription.
Google is following suit too: its new Chromecast with Google TV device introduces a Google TV interface that runs on top of Android TV, bringing together all of your viewing apps and content in a single interface, much like the Apple TV app tries to.
Via 9to5Mac
