在三年多的時(shí)間里，蘋果公司首次宣布了蘋果電視(Apple TV)的進(jìn)展，這款產(chǎn)品的應(yīng)用成為這次通報(bào)的核心內(nèi)容。蘋果要讓人們相信，應(yīng)用才是電視機(jī)的未來(lái)。

距離這個(gè)夢(mèng)想的實(shí)現(xiàn)之日，可能還有好幾個(gè)月，甚或好幾年。但軟件開(kāi)發(fā)商正忙著為一個(gè)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)大于我們隨身攜帶或者放在桌上的設(shè)備的屏幕，升級(jí)現(xiàn)有的iOS應(yīng)用，并打造全新的使用體驗(yàn)。

那么，為Apple TV開(kāi)發(fā)媒體應(yīng)用時(shí)，開(kāi)發(fā)者們究竟遇到了哪些挑戰(zhàn)，目前已取得了哪些成就？針對(duì)這一問(wèn)題，《財(cái)富》日前采訪了Plex公司聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人斯科特?奧列喬斯基和艾朗?范戈?duì)柕隆?/p>

在家庭電腦或服務(wù)器上安裝Plex應(yīng)用之后，用戶就可以隨時(shí)隨地使用幾乎任何設(shè)備訪問(wèn)私人媒體庫(kù)，瀏覽電影和電視節(jié)目，聽(tīng)音樂(lè)，看照片。

到目前為止，想要在Apple TV上訪問(wèn)Plex媒體庫(kù)，需要足夠的技術(shù)水平來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)一些變通辦法。這些方法可使這款應(yīng)用發(fā)揮更大的效果，但大多數(shù)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(tái)如Roku、亞馬遜Fire TV和微軟Xbox One上提供了應(yīng)用，不過(guò)Apple TV永遠(yuǎn)是一個(gè)無(wú)需動(dòng)腦的選擇。

奧列喬斯基表示：“我們多年來(lái)一直想做這件事。最大的問(wèn)題是我們能否克服各種障礙，獲得足夠的用戶？這個(gè)平臺(tái)能否配合我們?cè)趹?yīng)用商店發(fā)布這些應(yīng)用？”

Plex只用了5周時(shí)間就開(kāi)發(fā)出這款A(yù)pple TV應(yīng)用。如此短的開(kāi)發(fā)周期，還要?dú)w功于該公司獲準(zhǔn)使用兩臺(tái)用來(lái)進(jìn)行原型設(shè)計(jì)和測(cè)試最終產(chǎn)品的Apple TV樣機(jī)。而蘋果的開(kāi)發(fā)工具也讓Plex得以重復(fù)利用iOS應(yīng)用中“80%至90%的核心代碼”來(lái)開(kāi)發(fā)其Apple TV應(yīng)用，從而縮短了開(kāi)發(fā)周期。（Apple TV使用的tvOS系統(tǒng)與iOS有些類似，但它們是兩個(gè)不同的系統(tǒng)。）范戈?duì)柕骂A(yù)計(jì)，為其他平臺(tái)開(kāi)發(fā)類似規(guī)模應(yīng)用所需的時(shí)間可能會(huì)增加5至10倍。

盡管Plex無(wú)需重新考慮其應(yīng)用如何在更大的屏幕上運(yùn)作（這正是他們開(kāi)發(fā)這款應(yīng)用的初衷之一），但其他許多軟件開(kāi)發(fā)商就沒(méi)有這么幸運(yùn)。例如，我們習(xí)慣于在智能手機(jī)和平板電腦的小屏幕上使用Airbnb和Zillow等房地產(chǎn)應(yīng)用，但在全尺寸電視上，它們應(yīng)該是什么樣子？和小屏幕同樣的使用體驗(yàn)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(yīng)用作為其移動(dòng)和桌面應(yīng)用的直接替代品。通過(guò)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(yīng)用作為一種獲取想法、激發(fā)用戶對(duì)新景點(diǎn)興趣的途徑。Airbnb正在展示其照片列表，突出顯示用戶在每個(gè)目的地可以留宿的地方。在電視上，你不能閱讀評(píng)論或查閱其租賃狀況。用戶可以使用電視應(yīng)用來(lái)保存那些地點(diǎn)，以備進(jìn)一步研究，然后通過(guò)網(wǎng)頁(yè)或移動(dòng)應(yīng)用完成預(yù)定流程。

Zillow的方式則是幫助用戶了解當(dāng)?shù)胤康禺a(chǎn)的最新信息。更有趣的是，該公司還把Zillow TV平臺(tái)添加在它的Apple TV應(yīng)用之中。用戶可以觀看改進(jìn)家居設(shè)計(jì)方式和竅門的視頻，這項(xiàng)功能之前只在Zillow的網(wǎng)站提供。

就蘋果對(duì)文件大小的要求（Apple TV的所有應(yīng)用都必須小于200MB）對(duì)開(kāi)發(fā)有何影響這一問(wèn)題，《財(cái)富》也采訪了許多開(kāi)發(fā)者。大多數(shù)開(kāi)發(fā)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(yīng)用在需要時(shí)加載內(nèi)容，例如游戲的新關(guān)卡。游戲開(kāi)發(fā)公司Hibernum利用這一工具，重新為Apple TV制作了《李小龍：進(jìn)入游戲》這款游戲。

在Hibernum副總裁兼首席品牌官路易-勒內(nèi)?奧克萊爾看來(lái)，這種要求看似嚴(yán)格，但從長(zhǎng)期來(lái)看其實(shí)有利于該公司的應(yīng)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(yīng)有的存儲(chǔ)空間。一旦到位，整個(gè)過(guò)程對(duì)開(kāi)發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)都是透明的。由于我們已經(jīng)在Apple TV上試驗(yàn)了這項(xiàng)技術(shù)，我們未來(lái)推出的iOS移動(dòng)產(chǎn)品上也可以利用它?！?/p>

接受《財(cái)富》采訪的軟件開(kāi)發(fā)者都異常興奮，也非常好奇。沒(méi)有人真的知道Apple TV上的應(yīng)用在未來(lái)幾個(gè)月內(nèi)會(huì)是什么樣子。Plex的游戲和娛樂(lè)應(yīng)用顯然很適合Apple TV，但人們很感興趣的另一個(gè)問(wèn)題是，哪款應(yīng)用未來(lái)能在Apple TV上取得突破？

無(wú)論它是什么，根據(jù)與多名開(kāi)發(fā)者的交談，我們很清楚地知道，蘋果給tvOS應(yīng)用開(kāi)發(fā)者提供的工具絕不會(huì)成為開(kāi)發(fā)的阻礙。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)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.