Apple's new TV app goes live with unified search
An update to Apple's iOS mobile software also brings hundreds of new emojis to your iPhone and iPad -- and keeps that beloved butt-looking peach.
Apple's long-awaited TV app is now live. But there's still no Netflix.
The company's new app for Apple TVs, iPhones and iPads, simply called "TV," makes it easier to discover TV shows and movies across all of your different apps. It displays content from all of the supported apps you subscribe to, content you've purchased from iTunes, and new apps that offer video.
Notably missing from the app is Netflix, the most popular video streaming service. Users can still access Netflix as a separate app on Apple TV, but it's not part of Apple's new universal search TV app.
The update came as part of iOS 10.2, Apple's newest mobile software release. Along with the TV app, iOS 10.2 brings hundreds of new emojis, like face palm, shrug and fingers crossed. It also keeps the beloved peach butt, which Apple had initially redesigned in beta versions of iOS 10.2.
The TV app contains four sections -- Watch Now, Library, Store and Search -- and incorporates Apple's single sign-on feature, which makes it easier to authenticate the various apps, like Watch ESPN and FX Now, that need a cable subscription for full functionality.
Watch Now allows you to continue watching a show from where you left off, and suggests new shows based on previous activity, surfacing those from services to which you're subscribed. It also provides suggested new shows and movies in Spotlight and What to Watch sections. And you can ask Siri to do things like continue watching a show where you left off or tell you which football games are on right now.
The app is designed primarily for use on the big screen with Apple TV, but looks the same and offers the same functions on iPhone and iPad.
CNET's David Katzmaier contributed to this report.