Apple TV universal search gains Disney, ABC integration, and more

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Siri can now surface Disney content on your Apple TV.
Siri can now surface Disney content on your Apple TV.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

It just got a little easier to search for Disney content on the Apple TV, now that Disney properties such as the Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, and Watch ABC are  searchable through the Apple TV’s universal search API.

For fourth-generation Apple TV owners, this means you can search for, say, Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels using Siri, and call it up as an option to watch in the appropriate tvOS app… even if that app isn’t installed yet.

The same goes for anything else you search for: if it’s available on a Disney affiliate, the Apple TV’s universal search will now let you know about it.

Universal search is one of the best new features in the fourth-generation Apple TV. tvOS apps tapping into Universal Search can surface their programming (and therefore, their apps) through Siri searches.

When the Apple TV launched, Universal Search was limited to iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime and HBO, but with Disney now joining, the list of developers now tapping into Universal Search is growing by the day. It’s a very good trend we can only hope continues.

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