iTunes 7.7 reveals iTunes Remote app for iPhone and iPod
Tucked away in Apple's pre-release version of iTunes 7.7 is word that the iPhone and iPod touch will soon act as remote controls for nearby computers. Also, Apple is now accepting submissions to the App Store.
A reference in the late beta version of iTunes available with iPhone SDK Beta 8 and discovered by Mac Rumors directly points to a new Apple-made program that will navigate tracks on Macs and Windows PCs from any of Apple's current handhelds.
"Use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home -- a free download from the App Store," it reads.
While the depth of control offered by the app is still very much unknown, the virtually confirmed existence of such an app fulfills a longstanding desire at Apple to use its touchscreen devices as makeshift remote controls. A patent originally filed as early as December 2005 hinted at plans for a wireless iTunes remote that would collect track data from a nearby computer and give users more control than just the pause, skip, and volume controls from most remotes, including Apple's own white stick remote bundled with some Macs.
A remote control function has also been hidden in recent iPhone betas but at the time didn't provide enough evidence of its ultimate function.
Beyond the new remote functionality, iTunes 7.7 is also known to add an Applications tab to let users specify loading only certain software on the phone, and will be necessary for both iPhone 3G and the MobileMe sync service.
Apple has simultaneously begun accepting submissions of programs from members of its iPhone Development Program that are ready to post their content to the App Store, ensuring the service will be stocked ahead of its formal debut on July 11th.
A reference in the late beta version of iTunes available with iPhone SDK Beta 8 and discovered by Mac Rumors directly points to a new Apple-made program that will navigate tracks on Macs and Windows PCs from any of Apple's current handhelds.
"Use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home -- a free download from the App Store," it reads.
While the depth of control offered by the app is still very much unknown, the virtually confirmed existence of such an app fulfills a longstanding desire at Apple to use its touchscreen devices as makeshift remote controls. A patent originally filed as early as December 2005 hinted at plans for a wireless iTunes remote that would collect track data from a nearby computer and give users more control than just the pause, skip, and volume controls from most remotes, including Apple's own white stick remote bundled with some Macs.
A remote control function has also been hidden in recent iPhone betas but at the time didn't provide enough evidence of its ultimate function.
Beyond the new remote functionality, iTunes 7.7 is also known to add an Applications tab to let users specify loading only certain software on the phone, and will be necessary for both iPhone 3G and the MobileMe sync service.
Apple has simultaneously begun accepting submissions of programs from members of its iPhone Development Program that are ready to post their content to the App Store, ensuring the service will be stocked ahead of its formal debut on July 11th.
Comments
(I was going to get a Pro, but wanted the remote--which I use ALL the time, and my iMac has turned out to be plenty fast anyway. But next time I buy I'll have an iPhone as a remote, so a Mac Pro will be fine!)
I hope EyeTV adds iPhone remote functionality too.
How about a wi-fi dongle to plug into a projector that allows you to do corporate presentations all from your iphone, with prompts appearing on screen as well.
Would make it yet another awesome business tool.
apart from that W00t! bring it on.
I really hope AppleTV gets the remote functionality too. The iPhone / iPod Touch keyboard would be perfect for entering text, something that's a bit of a pain with the existing remote.
Great Idea, plus you can always phone your iPhone to find it unlike a lost remote!
i'm thinking it doesnt, but if there's a possibility i'll be really happy!
1. Advanced features like album art. Since many of us have libraries too big to completely sync to our iPod Touches/iPhones, the ability to get extra information on the music like album art from iTunes would be a nice touch. I expect this feature to be there. It would be nice if you could stream video to your iPod Touch/iPhone on your home network, but somehow I don't think this feature will be there.
2. AppleTV/Front Row control. I don't know if the hooks are in these programs to control them remotely or if they can be with an Applescript add-on and a listener, but this shouldn't be too hard to pull off.
3. iTunes Server. A real one that can run on a Mac or PC. In my house, I have an iMac which is the main iTunes machine, a MacBook Pro and a Thinkpad PC. Anytime my wife buys something on her Macbook Pro from the iTunes Store, I have to manually transfer it to the main library. That's a pain. Second, the iTunes app must always be on in order to play music on the machine. Since we play music through Airtunes on a Airport Express + stereo receiver, it would be much better to have a single machine with a headless interface that any of the iTunes capable machine could control the music library or sync their tunes down to, especially their purchased tunes since this is usually where you sync your iPods to.
4. iTunes Server that runs on a dedicated device like a NAS. Bonus points if they can get this up and running on an Airport Extreme or Time Capsule without ruining their overall performance. Everyone else is doing this for iTunes on their NAS devices...why not Apple where you could do it right and support all music formats of iTunes, especially DRMed stuff?
5. iTunes 8. In this case, I want a totally revamped Cocoa app. The original code that iTunes was based on is now getting long in the tooth and has been stretched way beyond its original specs. We now have video, HD video, the iTunes Store, etc. Even worse, library management is pretty awful...even I have a hard time understanding it and I'm a tech professional. It needs to be simpler, more robust for errors and multi-Mac/PC family friendly. I expect to see this around Snow Leopard time along with Quicktime X. Quicktime X is badly needed since Quicktime dates back to the late 80s for its initial development.
Any chance of controlling powerpoint presentations with this?
Remote Buddy already does this quite well, among many other things. I've been using my iPhone as a wireless WiFi remote for presentations, as a remote iTunes controller, etc. It's an amazing program. I hope they make an official app on the app store for it; it works via Safari now.
I wonder how this is supposed to work, while not doubting that Apple will find an excellent solution: Communication with the computer will be running through Wi-Fi?? Do you think "Back-To-My-Mac" will be of any use with this. I don't want to leave Wi-Fi running on my iPhone all the time...
Keyspan already makes the "Express Remote" for AirTunes. It plugs into the USB port on your Airport Express and communicates via the Express's wi-fi connection back to iTunes to control your music playback. Also, AppleTV can communicate back to a computer (via wi-fi) playing music on AirTunes to control the playback of the music; and iTunes has a preference specifically for allowing remote control of iTunes. So for basic functionality, all the pieces are already in place. And Remote Buddy already has a fairly feature-rich AJAX-based iPhone-based remote for controlling a lot of stuff on your Mac.
I'm sure the new remote features will be more robust than those examples, but is not a totally new function. Putting something similar to FrontRow on the iPhone/touch would be cool, although the current version of FrontRow is no longer a front-end for iTunes so that might not be easy to implement.
What we really need is a screen sharing client on the touch to let me totally control my Mac remotely!
does anyone know if this supports the 5G video ipods?
i'm thinking it doesnt, but if there's a possibility i'll be really happy!
Since they don't have any wireless capabilities, the answer to that question would be a big, fat no.
Remote Buddy already does this quite well, among many other things. I've been using my iPhone as a wireless WiFi remote for presentations, as a remote iTunes controller, etc. It's an amazing program. I hope they make an official app on the app store for it; it works via Safari now.
It doesn't work on Windows, either. There is no Windows version of the server software that needs to be on your computer. So I assume Apple is building something similar to Remote Buddy's sever into iTunes for both Macs and PCs. Then must make a seperate AJAX app on the iPhone so you don't need to open the URL in Safari.
Any chance of controlling powerpoint presentations with this?
How about a wi-fi dongle to plug into a projector that allows you to do corporate presentations all from your iphone, with prompts appearing on screen as well.
Would make it yet another awesome business tool.
You too could write an app and sell it through the App Store!
It doesn't work on Windows, either. There is no Windows version of the server software that needs to be on your computer. So I assume Apple is building something similar to Remote Buddy's sever into iTunes for both Macs and PCs. Then must make a seperate AJAX app on the iPhone so you don't need to open the URL in Safari.
Speaking of web apps. It would be awesome if Safari's new save as web application came to the iphone. That way web developers can have their portfolio with them and without the need for an internet connection.
As long as the iPhone is talking to the Mac why would it matter?