Apple Reportedly Set to Open Up Apple TV to Third-Party Developers at WWDC

Friday June 8, 2012 8:15 am PDT by Eric Slivka

apple tv 2010 oblique Following up on its report from last week claiming that Apple will show off the operating system for its future television set product at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, BGR now briefly reports that Apple will be using the event to introduce a new software development kit (SDK) to allow third-party developers to build apps for the Apple TV.

We have heard from a trusted source that Apple will be introducing a TV SDK at WWDC next week. This would enable third-party developers to create software for Apple’s TV products.

The report reveals no other details on Apple plans, but we do note that Steve Jobs himself admitted just as the revised Apple TV was launching in September 2010 that the company could open an App Store for the Apple TV "when the time is right".

With rumors of an Apple television set continuing to build, Apple may now consider the time right to begin allowing developers to build apps for the existing Apple TV set-top box ahead of the company's larger entry into the market.

Related Roundup: Apple TV

Tag: BGR

Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Popular Stories

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...

• 80 comments

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by Juli Clover

iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...

• 47 comments

Top Rated Comments

ModestForumName

180 months ago

I still hold by the idea that a television set is NOT what they're planning. I think the "cracked" format is the current Apple TV. They're cheap, upgradable and gives a user freedom to do what they will with their tv screen. Imagine having an obsolete tv in 3 years and having to buy a new one. That's not a perfect solution, therefore, not apple.

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

newyorksole

180 months ago

you know what this means right? some developers have already had access to the Apple TV SDK and will be present to demo some apps!

Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)

HobeSoundDarryl

180 months ago

I don't really understand the real purpose of apps on your TV

Look at a product like Roku which has tons of "channels" (as apps). Instead of having one company who publicly calls the :apple:TV a hobby showing it a little love when they feel like it, you can have hundreds or thousands of developers filling in the gaps on all of the things various pools of people wish that it could do.

Also look at the jailbreak features for :apple:TV. These exist because those developers want more out of the little box than it delivers "as is". With an app store some of those kinds of "apps" could become apps (without a jailbreak required). Again, it extends the functionality for those interested in "more".

Thirdly, mentally time travel back to when the iPhone launched with just the handful of apps that Apple chose to include. Imagine it it had stayed that way (only Apple developing apps for the iPhone). Now think about how much utility & fun were added when the third parties got to contribute apps. That should frame the concept of potential for this little iDevice too (imagine what the third parties will be able to do... and then think about what you can't imagine that they'll do too).

Personally, this is (IMO) the best rumor for WWDC. Sure I definitely need a new Macbook Pro but I'm more excited about this rumor than the others.

Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

profets

180 months ago

If we can get some XMBC and Plex action like this on the 1080p Apple TV and not worry about jailbreaking I'll buy 3.

Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)