A couple of weeks back, we received some unconfirmed reports stating that Apple sneaked in HomeKit support to Apple TV with the 7.0 update. But things became official on Tuesday, when the Apple TV 7.0.1 beta 2 was rolled out to developers. In the changelogs, Apple has acknowledged that the update “can be used for testing AirPlay and HomeKit with your iOS apps.”

More details were dug out by Apple Insider from Apple’s own development forums, where an engineer explains how HomeKit, CloudKit, smart appliances and Apple TV will work together to create the iHome.

All your smart gadgets connect to Apple’s HomeKit, which in turn is looked over by the CloudKit. You can log in to your iCloud account on your Apple TV and that’s it, your Apple TV becomes the central hub to controlling everything smart in your home, like bulbs, doors, garden sprinklers, thermostats and more.

[..] information from their connected home will automatically be synced with the TV accessory. This is made possible because HomeKit uses CloudKit to store home and accessory info in the cloud, while Keychain is used to store paired keys, the developer said.

Apple TV also acts as the “remote access peer” for HomeKit, so that you can control your smart home even if you are on a vacation. Using an iOS device, a Mac/PC or even from the iCloud website, you will be able to connect to your Apple TV and control the HomeKit enabled services.

Serving as a remote access peer will enable the Apple TV to help control connected accessories when they are away from home. When a user is accessing their smart home remotely, Apple’s system reportedly scans available remote access peers and searches for the one with the lowest latency.

It is now clear that future Apple TVs will play a dual role of delivering the content you love plus, automating your home. The new update, when it comes out of beta, will be available only on Apple TV 3 while, the HomeKit services are believed to be the hallmark of the next Apple TV too.

Though initial rumors predicted Apple TV 4 for an early 2015 launch, the recent turn of events have placed high hopes on Apple’s October 16th event.

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Finally, Apple has decided to change the way your Apple TV interface looks. However, this might not be the redesign you’ve been dreaming of, since the new UI just brings a new set of icons and a new thinner font.

The picture on top shows the redesigned Home Screen. As you can see, the skeuomorphism (if I may say so) has been replaced with flat icons, pretty much similar to the transition from iOS 6 to 7. This iOS7-ization sees dropped shadows, absent reflections, modern looks and thinner fonts. Many channel icons now correspond to their iOS counterparts and sees the use of  “a whole new palette of colours“. You can go through a detailed gallery of the interface here at 9to5Mac.

Apple has been regularly releasing the beta versions of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite and alongside, minor updates to Apple TV firmware are also being pushed out for testing the new iOS-Apple TV combo capabilities. So far, we know that the next major Apple TV update will be bringing Continuity features, peer-to-peer AirPlay and iCloud Family Sharing. The final version of the update will be available to non-developers sometime this fall.

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Released earlier today, the new Apple TV software beta brings iCloud Family Sharing to the big screen, 9to5Mac reports. That’s in line with our predictions on how the future Apple TV may look like.

Introduced at WWDC 2014, Family Sharing allows family members to share purchases from iTunes (music, movies, TV shows) and the App Store (games!), as well as family calendar and photos.

iOS 8 introduces Family Sharing, making it easier than ever to communicate and share purchases, photos and calendars within the same household. Family members can browse and download each other’s iTunes®, iBooks® or App Store purchases. Up to six members can participate, each with their own Apple ID. Parents can create Apple IDs for children, which includes Ask to Buy, requiring parental permission for purchases. Family Sharing automatically keeps everyone connected by creating a shared family photo stream, shared calendar and provides an option for locating family members and their devices.

Also read: WWDC 2014 and the invisible Apple TV

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Alongside the release of iOS 7.1 beta, Apple has issued a new Apple TV software beta. The new beta specifically “enables users to mirror content of an iPad to an Apple TV using AirPlay.”

The update doesn’t go into too much detail to explain what this statement refers to, but I expect it is tackling some issues which have arisen from the recent enhancements to AirPlay on Apple TV as a result of the new iOS 6.0 firmware recently deployed to Apple TV.

If you’re a developer you can find the Apple TV software beta in the iOS developer center. Apple notes that this latest firmware is being provided to test the latest AirPlay functionality with iOS apps.

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Apple seeded the third beta of the Apple TV 5.4, a couple of days back with a few minor bug fixes. Internet connection issues, iTunes Radio bugs, problems while switching between multiple accounts, playback issues and a huge number of AirPlay music bugs have been resolved

But these routine changes are not the ones that have caught the headlines. Two major additions have brought Apple TV to the front.

First, the ability to purchase music from iTunes is back. You might remember that this feature was initially available on the first gen Apple TV and had disappeared when the next one was released. So, the next update will bring back this feature and to be honest, I don’t know why it was removed in the first place.

Next to something more exciting. You won’t need your infrared remote anymore to control your Apple TV via the iOS Remote app. Now, you can pair your iDevice directly with your Apple TV and control it via Bluetooth. As the feature requires Bluetooth 4.0, only newer iOS devices are supported. We’ve been seeing a similar feature on Android mobiles recently using the NFC.

So look out for the final release to enjoy these new and improved features.

Here is the full release note:

You can now use an iOS 7 device to set up an Apple TV after restoring or resetting all settings. (iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are not supported.)

Fixed in Seed 3
• Apple TV may not connect to the Internet on first boot after an iTunes Restore when using Ethernet.
• Music playback may skip over tracks when AirPlay is engaged.
• AirPlay of audio from the Music app may fail to start up properly.
• Attempting to delete a station in iTunes Radio may cause Apple TV to crash.
• Switching between Apple IDs may cause music libraries to fail to load.
• Audio volume may increase dramatically during AirPlay.
• When using AirPlay to send music to Apple TV, advancing to the next track may fail.
• You may notice these issues when fast-forwarding 3rd party content:
• Audio continues to play while video is fast-forwarding.
• Resuming playback after fast-forwarding can result in a temporarily stuck video frame.
• Apple TV may become sluggish or unresponsive immediately after signing in to an iTunes Store account.
• iTunes Match or Purchased music content may not be listed alphabetically. Use Search as an alternative
for finding content.

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