Apple Updates Remote App with iPad and Retina Display Support
As predicted, Apple has updated their Remote app that allows iOS users to control iTunes and their Apple TV from their devices. The app hadn't been updated for nearly a year, but has finally received a 2. update that brings support …
Context & Ripple Effects
The June 2009 Apple TV 2.4 update was the last time Apple touched Remote, adding gesture controls — then the app sat untouched for nearly a year while the hardware it controls moved underneath it.
That gap matters because Steve Jobs has just unveiled the rebuilt Apple TV, a small box reviewers confirm streams high-definition web video from home PCs to the television, and the iPad is Apple's newest screen class. Today's 2.0 update brings the controller up to date with both: a native full-size layout for iPad and sharper graphics for Retina displays.
First-order effects
- iPad owners get a properly sized touch interface for driving iTunes and the new Apple TV instead of a stretched iPhone UI, while iPhone 4 owners get graphics built for its Retina display.
- The free first-party app becomes the obvious default controller just as the redesigned Apple TV reaches early buyers.
Second-order effects
- Households using Remote now have one more reason to pair an iPhone or iPad with an Apple TV, tightening the practical lock-in between iOS hardware and Apple's iTunes media pipeline.
- Third-party universal-remote and media-controller developers on iOS face a free, polished Apple-built alternative covering the Apple TV and iTunes cases.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — each new Apple screen class triggering a wave of first-party app refreshes — the phone and tablet consolidate into the standard control surface for living-room hardware, raising the bar for set-top rivals to ship their own mobile companion apps.
The trend: Apple is turning its iOS devices into the unified remote control for its media ecosystem, with app updates tracking each new screen class it introduces.