Apple held it’s highly-anticipated WWDC event today, and Tim Cook unveiled a new MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6 — as well as Facebook integration, Facetime without WiFi and a replacement for Google Maps. But despite the rumors, no new Apple TV, no TV apps and no TV set. However, there was one announcement that caught our attention.
A potentially disruptive feature of the upgraded OS X enables Mac users to mirror their laptop’s display on their TV sets with one click, via Apple TV and AirPlay. Until now, porting video to your TV set outside iTunes required running a cable from your laptop to your TV. But now, if you’re watching a clip on Hulu or a TV website (or playing a game, editing a document, etc.), just click and watch it on the big screen. That alone may be worth the $99 for Apple TV, which becomes a wireless receiver, to boot.
You may remember when Google TV launched, Hulu and several TV websites blocked video playback in the Google browser so they could control/limit the TV experience. It’s unlikely this will be possible with a mirrored-display feature, since it’s not a TV-specific browser.
Developers can already add AirPlay functionality to iPad apps, so users can port video straight to TV. But that’s a feature decision controlled by developers, not by Apple.
The new Mountain Lion OS X is coming next month.