Apple and Google are moving closer together in media services: At the beginning 2021 Apple’s TV app appears on Google’s new Chromecast. Users of the HDMI puck get access to Apple’s streaming service TV + as well as to feature films and TV series from Apple’s video-on-demand offer (iTunes Store) as well as TV channels from other providers to which Apple has subscribed.

Deep integration in Google TV Google also wants the content of Apple TV + in its new Chromecast -Integrate the user interface or platform “Google TV” so that films and series from Apple’s subscription service are also taken into account in the global search, as Google announced. The “Apple Originals” should also appear in the user’s individualized recommendations, which are created based on viewing habits and preferences. There are also plans to add TV + content to the central “watchlist” in Google TV.

With the integration of Apple TV, Chromecast “becomes one of the few Streaming Devices “that supports all major streaming services, as Google notes. For example, while Netflix specifically stays away from Apple’s TV app, the content of the streaming market leader is integrated into Google TV.

Support for Android TV follows After Apple TV has been made available in Google TV on the Chromecast, the app ” in the future “there will be more devices with Android TV, as Google emphasized – Google TV is also based on Android TV. For Android smartphones and tablets, Apple has not yet offered its TV app, but it can also be found on newer smart TVs from various manufacturers and on Amazon’s Fire Stick.

Apple and Google seem So to settle long-standing animosities in the mutual support of media services: Apple recently integrated the Google codec VP9 into its operating systems in order to enable the playback of 4K content on YouTube – also on the Apple TV box. Apple Music has also recently become available on Google’s smart home hardware.

(lbe)