Apple says its new TV app will change the way you watch television

Apple's Jen Folse presents the new Apple TV
Apple's Jen Folse presents the new Apple TV

Apple (AAPL) on Thursday announced a slew of updates in an effort to make Apple TV your one-stop shop to discover, stream and watch TV and video content.

“Now with the TV app, there’s no reason to watch TV anywhere else,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif.,-based headquarters.

TV, as the new app is called when it launches this December, will let Apple TV users more easily browse content via categories such as TV Shows, Movies, Collections and Movie Spotlights.

Apple TV users can also ask Siri to bring up different kinds of programming. Want to watch CBS? How about this afternoon’s football game? Simply ask Siri, “Siri, I want to watch CBS,” or “Siri, I want to watch that Louisville game.”

Apple also announced that the wildly popular game Minecraft is coming to Apple TV. To date, Minecraft has sold over 100 million copies.

Apple also highlighted a new partnership with Twitter (TWTR) that integrates live tweets into live programming like say, a football game. Basically, a Twitter stream will appear on the right side of the screen, as content plays on the rest of the screen.

There are now over Apple 1,600 apps focused on video content and roughly 8,000 Apple TV apps total, Cook said Thursday.

JP Mangalindan is a senior correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

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