In a surprise announcement this week, Google said that its new Chromecast with Google TV streaming device is to receive an update that will give it access to Apple TV early next year. It means Chromecast device owners will be able to stream content directly from Apple TV+ and iTunes.
Apple TV will land on the new Chromecast with Google TV device first, and then find its way to other Android TV devices such as the Sony A8H OLED TV, Hisense H8G Quantum TV and the Nvidia Shield TV too.
In a blog post, Google said that Apple TV content will be surfaced in people’s list of personalised recommendations and also their search results. Those titles can then be saved to your Watchlist. In other words, Apple content gets the same specialised treatment as Netflix and YouTube does.
"With the addition of the Apple TV app, Chromecast with Google TV users can access Apple TV+ (you’ll need a paid subscription). This makes the Chromecast with Google TV one of the only streaming devices with all the major video subscriptions," said Jonathan Zepp, Head of Media & Entertainment, Android and Google Play.
Some of the top titles on Apple TV include Ted Lasso, The Morning Show and Greyhound. Users will also be able to access all of the content stores in their iTunes accounts, as well as any channels they subscribe to via that service.
The partnership marks the second time in two weeks the rival companies have announced an integration between services, coming after last week’s news that Apple Music had arrived on Google’s Nest smart speakers.
While the availability of Apple content on Google’s devices isn’t really a game-changer, it does show that the two companies are finally seeing the benefits of finding some common ground when it comes to extending their services. That’s good news for consumers, because it means those who use multiple services and devices can spend less time switching between different inputs to ensure they’re using the correct device for whatever it is they want to watch. It’s good for the companies too, as it means their services are more accessible and might attract more users.
The Apple TV app is available on plenty of other devices too, including the Apple TV 4K and some Roku TV and Fire TV models, in addition to a number of TVs sold by the likes of LG, Samsung and Sony.