在三年多的時間里，蘋果公司首次宣布了蘋果電視(Apple TV)的進展，這款產品的應用成為這次通報的核心內容。蘋果要讓人們相信，應用才是電視機的未來。

距離這個夢想的實現之日，可能還有好幾個月，甚或好幾年。但軟件開發商正忙著為一個遠遠大于我們隨身攜帶或者放在桌上的設備的屏幕，升級現有的iOS應用，并打造全新的使用體驗。

那么，為Apple TV開發媒體應用時，開發者們究竟遇到了哪些挑戰，目前已取得了哪些成就？針對這一問題，《財富》日前采訪了Plex公司聯合創始人斯科特?奧列喬斯基和艾朗?范戈爾德。

在家庭電腦或服務器上安裝Plex應用之后，用戶就可以隨時隨地使用幾乎任何設備訪問私人媒體庫，瀏覽電影和電視節目，聽音樂，看照片。

到目前為止，想要在Apple TV上訪問Plex媒體庫，需要足夠的技術水平來實現一些變通辦法。這些方法可使這款應用發揮更大的效果，但大多數用戶都不必這樣做。奧列喬斯基表示，公司還在其他流媒體平臺如Roku、亞馬遜Fire TV和微軟Xbox One上提供了應用，不過Apple TV永遠是一個無需動腦的選擇。

奧列喬斯基表示：“我們多年來一直想做這件事。最大的問題是我們能否克服各種障礙，獲得足夠的用戶？這個平臺能否配合我們在應用商店發布這些應用？”

Plex只用了5周時間就開發出這款Apple TV應用。如此短的開發周期，還要歸功于該公司獲準使用兩臺用來進行原型設計和測試最終產品的Apple TV樣機。而蘋果的開發工具也讓Plex得以重復利用iOS應用中“80%至90%的核心代碼”來開發其Apple TV應用，從而縮短了開發周期。（Apple TV使用的tvOS系統與iOS有些類似，但它們是兩個不同的系統。）范戈爾德預計，為其他平臺開發類似規模應用所需的時間可能會增加5至10倍。

盡管Plex無需重新考慮其應用如何在更大的屏幕上運作（這正是他們開發這款應用的初衷之一），但其他許多軟件開發商就沒有這么幸運。例如，我們習慣于在智能手機和平板電腦的小屏幕上使用Airbnb和Zillow等房地產應用，但在全尺寸電視上，它們應該是什么樣子？和小屏幕同樣的使用體驗仍然有意義嗎？

出于這種原因，這兩家公司都不打算將其Apple TV應用作為其移動和桌面應用的直接替代品。通過展示目的地，突出顯示那些可租賃的房屋，Airbnb正在將其Apple TV應用作為一種獲取想法、激發用戶對新景點興趣的途徑。Airbnb正在展示其照片列表，突出顯示用戶在每個目的地可以留宿的地方。在電視上，你不能閱讀評論或查閱其租賃狀況。用戶可以使用電視應用來保存那些地點，以備進一步研究，然后通過網頁或移動應用完成預定流程。

Zillow的方式則是幫助用戶了解當地房地產的最新信息。更有趣的是，該公司還把Zillow TV平臺添加在它的Apple TV應用之中。用戶可以觀看改進家居設計方式和竅門的視頻，這項功能之前只在Zillow的網站提供。

就蘋果對文件大小的要求（Apple TV的所有應用都必須小于200MB）對開發有何影響這一問題，《財富》也采訪了許多開發者。大多數開發者都指出，蘋果向他們提供了所謂的“按需資源”（ODR）工具，可以讓應用在需要時加載內容，例如游戲的新關卡。游戲開發公司Hibernum利用這一工具，重新為Apple TV制作了《李小龍：進入游戲》這款游戲。

在Hibernum副總裁兼首席品牌官路易-勒內?奧克萊爾看來，這種要求看似嚴格，但從長期來看其實有利于該公司的應用。奧克萊爾表示：“借助于蘋果推出的ODR功能，我們能夠大幅度降低應有的存儲空間。一旦到位，整個過程對開發團隊都是透明的。由于我們已經在Apple TV上試驗了這項技術，我們未來推出的iOS移動產品上也可以利用它。”

接受《財富》采訪的軟件開發者都異常興奮，也非常好奇。沒有人真的知道Apple TV上的應用在未來幾個月內會是什么樣子。Plex的游戲和娛樂應用顯然很適合Apple TV，但人們很感興趣的另一個問題是，哪款應用未來能在Apple TV上取得突破？

無論它是什么，根據與多名開發者的交談，我們很清楚地知道，蘋果給tvOS應用開發者提供的工具絕不會成為開發的阻礙。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

審校：任文科

When Apple announced the first update to Apple TV in more than three years, applications were at the heart of the announcement. Apps, as Apple would have you believe, are the future of television.

We’re still months—perhaps years—away from coming close to realizing that dream. But software developers are busy working on updating existing iOS apps, as well as creating all-new experiences, for a screen much larger than the one we carry around in our pockets or rest on a desk.

Fortune spoke with Scott Olechowski and Elan Feingold, co-founders of Plex, about the challenges and triumphs of developing their media collection app for Apple TV.

Users install the Plex app on a home computer or server. With it, a person can access his or her personal media libraries—spanning movies, TV shows, music, and photos—from anywhere and on nearly any device.

Until now, accessing a Plex library on the Apple TV required enough tech-savvy to implement workarounds that made the app more work than it was worth for most users. The company also offers apps on other streaming platforms including Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Microsoft’s Xbox One, but Apple TV was always a no-brainer, Olechowski says.

“We wanted to do this for years,” Olechowski said. “The bigger debate was can we move enough stuff aside and get enough people? And would the platform be cooperative enough for us to be [in the App Store] at launch?”

Plex developed its Apple TV app in five weeks. That short span came thanks to the company’s access to two development Apple TV units used for prototyping and testing the finished product. The development cycle was also accelerated by Apple’s development tools, which allowed Plex to reuse “80% to 90% of the core code” found in its iOS app to power its Apple TV app. (The Apple TV is powered by tvOS, a similar but different operating system than iOS.) Feingold estimates developing the same “caliber” of app for another platform would have taken five to 10 times longer.

Though Plex didn’t need to rethink how its app would function on a larger screen—its purpose fundamentally incorporates that perspective—many other software developers aren’t as lucky. For example, we’ve grown used to real estate apps from Airbnb and Zillow on the small screens of smartphones and tablet computers. But what should they look like on a full-size television? Does the same experience still make sense?

For that reason, neither company is positioning its Apple TV app as a direct replacement for its mobile and desktop offerings. Airbnb framing its app as a means to get ideas and spark interest in new vacation spots, by presenting destinations, and highlighting places available for rent. Airbnb is putting its photo catalog on display, highlighting places you can stay in each destination. You can’t read reviews, or check availability using your TV. Users can save places using the TV app, for further research and completing the reservation through the website or mobile app.

Zillow’s approach is to help its users stay up to date on local real estate trends. More interestingly, the company has added its Zillow TV platform to the app. Users can watch videos containing home improvement inspiration and tips, a feature previously only accessible through Zillow’s website.

Fortune also asked various developers about the impact that Apple’s file size requirement (all Apple TV apps must be less than 200 megabytes) would have on the development process. Most quickly pointed out that Apple has provided developers with a tool it calls “On-Demand Resources” making it possible for apps to download content, such as new levels in games, only when needed. Game development company Hibernum rebuilt one of its titles, Bruce Lee: Enter the Game, for the Apple TV with help from the tool.

According to Louis-René Auclair, vice president and chief brand officer at Hibernum, the seemingly strict requirements will actually benefit the company’s apps in the long run. “With the ODR feature introduced by Apple, we were able to drastically decrease the required storage space. Once in place, the process was transparent for the development team,” Auclair said. “Since we’ve now explored this technology on the Apple TV, it will also allow us to take advantage of this feature on our future iOS mobile productions.”

The overall consensus among the software developers Fortune spoke with was one of excitement mixed with curiosity. No one truly knows what the app landscape is going to look like on the Apple TV several months down the road. Gaming and entertainment apps such as Plex are an obvious fit, but one has to help wonder what the breakthrough app for Apple TV is going to be.

Whatever it is, after talking to numerous developers, it’s clear the tools Apple has given developers of tvOS apps aren’t going to get in the way.