Apple TV users now have the option to browse fourth-generation tvOS apps before buying them after Apple activated the web preview feature for its offerings on iTunes.
Tech website MacStories reported on Wednesday, April 20, that Apple started to release web links and previews for select Apple TV apps.
The rollout was first noted by developer Jeff Scott after discovering that his Beergeek.com TV app had been one of those indexed by Apple for web preview. This was later confirmed by MacStories using the Safari web browser on OS X.
Before this development, consumers had no way to use first-party channels to view Apple TV apps and their descriptions using a web browser. This limited their ability to discover new offerings and share them on social media and even on Apple's own website.
Apple users have long been able to share links and access iTunes web previews for Mac and iOS apps, but they weren't able to do so using tvOS apps.
So far, the web preview function is only being made available for Apple TV exclusive apps. This means users still won't be able to view any information on web listings for apps that can be accessed using both the tvOS and iOS platforms.
Kevin MacLeod of AfterPad said that screenshot metadata for tvOS apps can now be seen in the iTunes API, but it's still unavailable for iOS apps with Apple TV support.
With Apple choosing not to advertise tvOS apps, heading over to AfterPad is considered to be one of the few ways consumers can find out about new offerings for Apple TV.
A noticeable omission from the recent rollout is the ability to install fourth-generation tvOS apps to the Apple TV using the web preview.
Consumers are also not able to download tvOS apps on their computers and install them on other iOS devices simultaneously the same way they do with iOS apps. Being able to do so would have allowed users to search for items on the Apple TV's App Store more easily.
