Apple is finally adding full web previews for tvOS apps

Apple is finally getting around to adding web previews for tvOS apps — correcting this rather baffling and prolonged omission. The addition was first noticed by Slide to Play’s Jeff Scott, who, having a tvOS app himself, was surely thrilled at the news.

Web links for tvOS apps were previously kind of accessible if you knew where to look, but they were limited in functionality: no screenshots, no metadata, no download link. And there still isn’t a download link on the newly activated pages.

For now it appears to be only tvOS native apps that show up like this; universal apps with tvOS versions (Netflix, for instance) still don’t show screenshots in Apple TV format. Kevin MacLeod, creator of third-party web app browser AfterPad, told MacStories that the API is returning similar data.

This should make it much easier to browse apps for your Apple TV from… well, somewhere other than your Apple TV. You can probably expect a more complete rollout of the new app pages over the next few weeks; we’ve asked Apple for more information.