Apps for Apple TV →
AirPlay mirroring will be available in iOS 5 next week, which for all intents and purposes means the App Store for Apple TV is now open. Developers can simply build an iOS app that’s intended to be used in conjunction with the Apple TV. I’d be surprised if there are even 10 people who have Apple TV but not iPhone or iPad.
I wonder, though, whether app developers will be able to block AirPlay mirroring from being used within their apps. The ability to wirelessly mirror your iPhone or iPad screen on an HDTV has exciting implications for a bunch of app categories like gaming and business, but would also seem to enable AirPlay in video apps that have intentionally left AirPlay out for strategic or legal reasons (like WatchESPN, Hulu Plus, etc).
If developers can’t block it, will this cause content providers (like NBC) to ban their distribution counterparts (like Hulu) from having iOS apps at all? Can’t imagine Apple would let that happen for too long.
