Apple TV to get automatic "touch to configure" setup via Bluetooth 4.0, iOS 7

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 41
    vaporlandvaporland Posts: 358member
    msuberly wrote: »
    You just now concluded that about DED articles?

    I find Daniel to be literate, articulate, intelligent.

    Much more so than most AI commenters.
  • Reply 22 of 41
    Nice but it's hardly difficult to set up, a 7 year old child could do it. How about more content, an app store and more customization options.
  • Reply 23 of 41
    jfanningjfanning Posts: 3,398member
    hat, you do you think NFC has been a successful initiative for Google? Your personal attacks are tiresome and childish. If you prefer to read a poorly informed sarcastic paragraph that only flatters Google's failures with praise and takes cliched potshots at Apple, you have lots of other options available to you.

    Daniel, can you explain what you mean by this?

    " the technology Google introduced for Android 2.3 Gingerbread in late 2010 and at the core of Google Wallet (introduced mid 2011) "

    Are you implying that Google introduced this technology?
  • Reply 24 of 41
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Apple appears to be using a novel device setup method to ease initial configuration of Apple TV under iOS 7, using an NFC-like touch without NFC hardware.

    "Use an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 7 to automatically set up your Apple TV. Unlock your device, enable Bluetooth, and touch this Apple TV with it."

    The screen notes "not available on iPhone 4 and iPad 2," indicating that the feature makes use of <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/19/inside-ios-7-ibeacons-enhance-apps-location-awareness-via-bluetooth-le">Bluetooth 4.0</a>, first introduced on the iPhone 4S. The technology also plays a central role in Apple's new iBeacons feature.

    FWIW Samsung, HTC and Motorola also technically support the "iBeacons" protocol, apparently a RedBearLabs development being utilized by Apple. But Android won't be supported until (or if?) Google adds the appropriate API's within Android itself rather than separate OEM's creating their own.
  • Reply 25 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Still, the UI gloss on buttons and highlights should pass away for something more like Illuminous (the old rumored new look for iTunes… what was it, 8?).

    This is true, but I find the UI quite useable. What Apple TV is missing more so is features; like missing YouTube account functionality.
  • Reply 26 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    danielsw wrote: »
    In case you hadn't noticed, DED doesn't write to please his critics.

    Is that meant to win an argument? His articles just sound immature, petty and inflated at this point.
  • Reply 27 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    evilution wrote: »
    Bumping a phone to send data, not very Apple.

    In this case it is very Apple; as it's a matter of knowing when to use such a feature. If you bought a new Apple TV, turned it on and it said touch your iPhone off your Apple TV to set up the device, and that was the only step. That would be awesome!

    The difference with using AirDrop to send a contact or a photo is you are already touch the screen in a position to tap the button making it an easier solution to bumping phones with 1 or more people at that point. For setting up an Apple TV it skips many steps. This is entirely different.
  • Reply 28 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    How about you participate in a grown up conversation instead of hurling nebulous insults?

    I am participating in the comments. And no, I'm not hurling vague insults. I'm being honest about the way his article reads. He sounds like someone who was burned and is seeking revenge at each turn. The whole article seems defensive and slanted. Down to how he describes the iOS Remote app, which regular people use merely as a keyboard interface for Apple TV.
  • Reply 29 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    megalaser wrote: »
    Nice but it's hardly difficult to set up, a 7 year old child could do it. How about more content, an app store and more customization options.

    It's not difficult, just time consuming and a tad laborious. This solves that.
  • Reply 30 of 41


    This is indeed pretty cool. But I wonder ...


     


    Is it really necessary to "touch" the AppleTV? The accelerometer is only in the iPhone and BT has 30 ft range. Could one just tap one's iPhone and accomplish the same thing?


     


    As a method of BT sync, this is not totally different from some  phone-tapping gestures, such as that used by Samsung for photo-sharing. Wonder if Samsung also uses time-stamping (which seems intuitive). If so, will that be some patent issues?

  • Reply 31 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post





    Is that meant to win an argument? His articles just sound immature, petty and inflated at this point.


    Biased ? immature and petty

  • Reply 32 of 41
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    The new setup method also appears to explain why Apple hasn't bought into NFC, the technology Google introduced for Android 2.3 Gingerbread in late 2010 and at the core of Google Wallet (introduced mid 2011) and the Android Beam sharing feature introduced in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at the end of 2011.



    While industry pundits have long questioned why Apple hasn't added NFC to its iOS devices and cited it as a competitive advantage of Android products, Google has dropped the technology from its own revamped Nexus 7 device, and HTC doesn't support it on its flagship One phone either.


     


    I fail to see any kind of relation between syncing bluetooth devices and NFC...


     


    This reminds me of the article where we went from chromecast software to Google dropping Android. You guys need to slack on the coolaid youre will have permanent brain damage if you keep up.

  • Reply 33 of 41
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jkichline View Post



    NFC: The new Adobe Flash


     


    Be carefull, its coming on idevices.

  • Reply 34 of 41
    yakovlevyakovlev Posts: 37member


    The Nat Brown "explanation" is complete and utter bullshit.


     


    How can timestamps be "synced over the cloud" if at that point in time Apple TV's WiFi connection is yet to be configured? The whole purpose of this step is to connect Apple TV to the cloud. Think! Apple TV does not have an accelerometer -- how would the iOS device determine that it has indeed hit the Apple TV? Why would then Apple require you to touch Apple TV specifically? You could touch your chair or flower pot instead. How would this purported "method" resolve between two Apple TVs in the same room (conference room)? Think!


     


    I am amazed by the Nat Browns of the world who would tweet their "clever" and "cool" explanations without taking even a minute to think. Also, the tweet makes it seem like the guy is somehow "in the know", whereas clearly he is not. If this guy is stupid, why are you including his tweet in the article? If this guy is a troll, why are you including his tweet in the article?


     


    Now, if you want to know how this really works, read about "Proximity Profile" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_low_energy . As the name suggests, this technology allows Bluetooth devices to measure the distance to each other. Apple has added support for Bluetooth LE in iPhone 4S -- that's why it's "not available on iPhone 4 and iPad 2". Apple's marketing term for Proximity Profile is iBeacons.


     


    I don't understand why DED has decided to quote this ridiculous tweet when he himself has only recently written a whole article about iBeacons: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/19/inside-ios-7-ibeacons-enhance-apps-location-awareness-via-bluetooth-le. Does he read the articles he writes? Well, maybe he was tired.

  • Reply 35 of 41


    Quote:


    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    The new setup method also appears to explain why Apple hasn't bought into NFC, the technology Google introduced for Android 2.3 


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by herbapou View Post


     


    I fail to see any kind of relation between syncing bluetooth devices and NFC...


     


    This reminds me of the article where we went from chromecast software to Google dropping Android. You guys need to slack on the coolaid youre will have permanent brain damage if you keep up.



    What about "appears to explain" do you fail to appreciate here? The implication is clear: advances in low-power Bluetooth technology MAY obsolete NFC in handsets depending on how things develop. Reasoned speculation. The two technologies' functions could overlap sufficiently to be regarded as duplication of effort, causing one to be chosen over the other.


     


    It's also telling that NFC has not reappeared in subsequent handset upgrades from major vendors who months ago were trumpetting the feature as a major platform differentiator.


     


    In the Chromecast article, Dan listed several pointers apart from the hackers' Chromecast findings, all indicating a strong possibility that Google MAY be contemplating a switch away from Android towards Chrome, which Dan argued is more of Google's natural element than Android, which he described as a native-based anomaly in Google's mainly web-based offerings. A return to their Core strength is not such a leap of imagination as you seem to suggest.

  • Reply 36 of 41
    scott rscott r Posts: 38member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by yakovlev View Post


    The Nat Brown "explanation" is complete and utter bullshit.



    I think you're getting a little too worked up/upset about this.  I don't know who Nat is, or what he does or doesn't know, but he did posit that it was using "BT" (Bluetooth) and the use of the word "cloud" does not *necessarily* mean the internet, even though that's how it's typically used.  The term "cloud" is sometimes used to refer to any remote network-accessible computer/server/group-of-computers.  In this case, one could make a stretch and say that the iPhone is the "cloud" that the ATV is connecting to (via Bluetooth).  So while he was likely making a wild guess with no knowledge of Bluetooth Low Energy, his guess isn't that far off the mark.


     


    BTW, thanks for the link to the wikipedia article on Bluetooth Low Energy.

  • Reply 37 of 41
    danielsw wrote: »
    ireland wrote: »
    It's getting really hard to read your posts Dan. Every sentence you write drips of so much fanboyism you make Gruber look like a Girl Scout.
    In case you hadn't noticed, DED doesn't write to please his critics.

    NO... DED writes to please/motivate @corrections.
  • Reply 38 of 41
    ireland wrote: »
    megalaser wrote: »
    Nice but it's hardly difficult to set up, a 7 year old child could do it. How about more content, an app store and more customization options.

    It's not difficult, just time consuming and a tad laborious. This solves that.

    I did the setup the ATV 3 from an iPad 4 -- worked without a hitch.

    I haven't used the Apple Remote iPhone/iPad app for a while... it really isn't very good -- cumbersome and non-intuitive -- doesn't seem to be designed to work with the ATV display on the TV.

    We have about 1,000 movies and about 5,000 songs in our iTunes/iCloud Library (not to mention TV shows, Podcasts, Home Movies, Pictures, etc.)

    I tried to play a movie with the Remote app. It displays the list of movies alphabetically, by title. To get to, say, "Tom Jones", you need to swipe-down and hold (and wait). It is actually easier to do this on the Apple IR Remote. There should be a search option where you could use the kb on the iPad (There is an option to search songs).


    With an iPad you have a large display that could easily contain a top level menu, a movie menu with a search box, and the detail list of movies matching the search.

    But the Remote app mimics the drill-down used by the hardware remote -- forcing you to drill up through the menu, then down again... you begin to feel like you're riding a yo-yo!

    You should be able to search at any level and be able to search any of the metadata associated with the content.
  • Reply 40 of 41
    chavamchavam Posts: 1member
    " Google has dropped the technology from its own revamped Nexus 7 device, and HTC doesn't support it on its flagship One phone either."

    Both of these devices have NFC chips.
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