Plex appears to be exploring an integration with Apple’s streaming app.
The feature, which was spotted and shared on Twitter by Will Sigmon and reported by 9to5Mac, surfaced in the most recent TestFlight beta version of the Plex app. Screenshots of the feature show a prompt to connect Plex to the Apple TV app, with on-screen language stating that the “participating app will share what you watch with Apple.”
It doesn’t appear that the feature would pull from a user’s server, however. What seems most likely based on the way the Apple TV app behaves with other streaming services is that it would pull from Plex’s continuous viewing service and its catalog of ad-supported, on-demand content. That would potentially make it a useful discovery tool for users who tend to spend a lot of time on Plex over other streaming apps but who still rely on the Apple TV app for recommendations.
When reached for comment by Gizmodo, a spokesperson for the service pointed to a Reddit thread from a Plex employee about the integration. That thread stated that the tool “will only work with our free on-demand movies and TV shows,” which makes sense.
“We’d love to integrate personal media as well but that’s not technically possible for a couple reasons,” the user added. “To make this work we provide Apple with a list of content we have available for streaming. As detailed in our privacy policy, we don’t know what content our users have in their personal media libraries.”
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It’s unclear whether the feature is guaranteed to roll out publicly down the line. Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.
Plex launched a Live TV streaming service last year as an ad-supported, continuous viewing experience (rather than an actual live broadcast product). The idea is that it doesn’t require a tuner and antenna to view any of its 80-plus continuous channels, though the service does offer a separate tuner and antenna-based HD broadcast package for $5 per month that includes DVR and other premium features. The service also offers free on-demand movies and shows.
It might be an imperfect recommendation system, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
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