iTunes Remote (also known simply as Remote) is a software application developed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

devices that allows for remote control of

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

library in an area with

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

connectivity using the proprietary

Digital Audio Control Protocol Digital Audio Control Protocol (DACP) is a protocol used by iTunes and other audio player and server applications on Mac, Windows and Linux computers, enabling remote control by mobile devices such as iPhone and Android phones and tablet computer ...

(DACP). It is currently available as a free download from the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

for

devices such as

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a po ...

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

, and

Apple Watch The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates wit ...

History

On July 10, 2008, Apple released iTunes Remote app on the

. That same day, Apple released the Apple TV 2.1 software update that added recognition for the iPhone and

as remote control devices. Later revisions added support for the

, and introduced support for new features as they were added to iTunes. The remote application was intended as a software alternative to the Apple Remote, allowing users to control their media collection via their iOS device.

Patent filing

Unofficial software modifications for including this functionality in both iOS and the

OS had existed previously, but rumors of Apple giving remote control capabilities between iOS and Apple TV had existed since early 2007, when the U.S. Patent Office published a patent filed by Apple on September 11, 2006 that depicted a "media-player with remote control capabilities" alongside a "multi-media center for computing systems".

Features

History

The initial release, version 1.0, allowed users to control the basic functions of their media library, limited to much the same functions of the physical

Apple Remote The Apple Remote is a remote control introduced in October 2005 by Apple Inc. for use with a number of its products with infrared capability. It was originally designed to control the Front Row media center program on the iMac G5 and is compat ...

Later revisions of version 1 added the ability to create and edit playlists in iTunes, search the user's media library, and generate Genius playlists. These features were further improved with the release of version 2.0, which added support for the iPad and the then new retina display. Features added in version 2.0 included support for Shared Libraries, and control of AirPlay hardware. Gestures were also supported, allowing users to control their Apple TVs with swipes similar to the navigation through Cover Flow. Subsequent updates to version 2 improved stability of the application, and added AirPlay video support to Apple TVs. Version 2.1 also allowed users to control the internet radio feature of iTunes, and play rented movies or TV shows. Other additions to later releases of version 2 included support for the new iTunes Match feature, and support for iOS 5 and 6. Version 2 also allowed guests connected to a wireless network to request songs to be played using iTunes DJ. The interface was designed to emulate the iOS Music app when used on an iPhone or iPod Touch, whilst iPad users controlled their library using an interface based on the desktop iTunes application.

Current version

With the release of iTunes 11, Apple updated the iTunes Remote application. The new version, which is compatible with most newer

hardware, included a new user interface; emulating the iOS 6 Music application on iPhone and iPod Touch, and iTunes 11's new grid view on iPad. In accordance with the removal of iTunes DJ from the desktop software, the application no longer provides the function for guest to request songs. New features include the ability to see and edit the Up Next list, and an improved dynamic search function that searches content as the user types. This version removes support for users running iOS 4, instead requiring a minimum of iOS 5.0. Users can play, pause, or skip back and forth through their collection. They can also create or edit playlists, generate Genius results, and control the output volume of iTunes or the selected AirPlay device. When multiple iTunes libraries or Apple TVs are found one network, users can select which one they wish to control, and swap between them. Currently, no more than one library at a time can be manually added; this effectively forces any user with two or more devices to enable Home Sharing if they wish to use a single remote for all those devices.

tvOS tvOS (formerly Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. The software for the second-generation and later ...

9.1 (released on December 9, 2015), in addition to the 4.2.3 Remote app update for

and

WatchOS watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc., Apple. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the o ...

, returned basic app functionality to the 4th generation Apple TV; text input, navigation, and control.

References

External links

{{Apple Inc. IOS software Remote Remote control

History

Patent filing

Features

History

Current version

See also

References

External links