Apple encourages developers to create apps targeting casual gamers using tvOS for Apple TV; TvOS connects phones to television for better gaming experience

By Staff Writer

Sep 23 2015, 23:54 PM EDT

Apple is working with app developers through tvOS to woo casual and mobile gamers to Apple TV. App makers can connect phones to television by using tvOS to build intuitive gaming experiences for Apple TV.

The goal of the new Apple TV is not to compete with traditional game consoles like Xbox and PlayStation. Instead, it is trying to defeat Amazon and Google in the war of getting the big casual gaming audience, reported All Tech Considered.

According to the report, casual gamers are people who love playing games but have no intention or means to buy a game console. They use their phones or tablets to play games instead. Analyst P.J. McNealy says that casual games can range from mobile games like Flappy Bird to PC games like Bejeweled on Facebook.

Data statistics from NewZoo suggest that the casual gaming market is huge. Revenue from mobile games for 2015 can possibly exceed console games with more than $30 billion, with profits from Apple's games making up half of it.

As such, Apple encourages developers to create apps and games for Apple TV using tvOS. AdAge reported that people want all their favorite content on any device at any time. Apple TV can offer that experience by allowing developers to create native experiences which connect phones to television. With tvOS, app creators can apply their mobile app development expertise to the Apple TV.

The app ecosystem that tvOS for Apple TV can create allows advertisers to seamlessly connect content across various devices. Marketers can make their ads more interactive and connected to provide a better ad experience to consumers.

Apple is expected to release the official tvOS for Apple TV by October or November. Apple has already released a tvOS beta 2 for developers as per a report by iClarified. It can be downloaded on Apple's developer website.

The tvOS SDK 9.0 beta version supports tvOS app creation. It comes with a suite of software tools like the Xcode IPE and instruments analysis tool to create apps. The tvOS beta version is a pre-release version of tvOS intended for the new Apple TV and can only be installed on registered Apple devices.