When Apple released its fourth-generation digital media player and microconsole, the Apple TV, it also announced the new tvOS, a modern OS for the device that comes with its own App Store. This was all fine and dandy except for a silly limitation: Apps were capped at 200 MB.
During its announcement in 2015, Tim Cook said "The future of TV is apps." Well, at least apps that don't go beyond 200 MB. If an app's assets couldn't fit inside the given limit, developers needed to put these in additional packages and then upload to them to Apple's cloud. This is a feature Apple calls On-Demand Resources, and it allowed developers to bring 200 MB+ apps onto tvOS, even with the cap in effect.
Apple TV Apps Size Limit Increased
That stops now. Apple has announced Thursday that it is now accepting much larger — 20 times the original cap — tvOS binaries, meaning developers may now submit apps up to 4 GB in size. This means Apple TV apps may now be just as large as iOS apps, which are also capped at 4 GB. Apple says that the larger size will enable developers to "provide a complete, rich user experience upon installation."
Should 4 GB still not be enough for developers, they may resort to On-Demand Resources to host up to 20 GB of additional content on the App Store.
Apple TV
The new apple TV comes in either 32 or 64 GB variants, and the previous cap could have likely been Apple's effort to ensure users don't max their storage out quickly. But now that the device has been released for more than a year, and with the App Store improved, Apple has opted to do away with the storage ceiling.
Developers may head to Apple's Developer Portal to look further into tvOS development.
4K Apple TV In The Pipeline?
The Verge theorizes that the increased app limit could pave the way for 4K content for Apple TV. While current Apple TVs don't support such a resolution, Apple could potentially release 4K-capable models in the future.
Or it could simply be Apple saying "Why not?" if the 4K theory stretches it too far. Perhaps Apple observed that people weren't filling up their Apple TV storages as quickly as it anticipated, so it simply brushed off the unnecessary gatekeeping. Whichever narrative fits, the effects of the change won't materialize until developers actually take advantage of it. The rule change takes effect now.
The Apple TV features tvOS, billed as the modern operating system for TV. It follows the form factors of the second- and third-generation Apple TVs, although slightly taller. It features a new touch remote that allows swiping as a selection input, instead of traditional arrows for navigation. It also features support for voice controls via Siri, allowing users to search for content, or invoke video or audio controls, among others.
On September, Apple released the tvOS 10 software update for Apple TV, bringing over features such as single sign-on, dark mode, HomeKit support, and a new remote app.
Already filled up your Apple TV storage? What do you think of the bigger size limit? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
