TUAW is reporting that Apple has now made it easy for users to configure their Apple TV ( 6.0) using an iOS device running iOS 7.
This is reportedly done via Bluetooth LE technology. The guide for the new feature can be found here.
“Once the Apple TV is connected to your TV and showing the setup screen, you just unlock the iOS 7 device, making sure that Bluetooth is enabled and you’re connected to the Wi-Fi network that you want the Apple TV to be connected to,” Steven Sande reports for TUAW. “You then touch the iOS device to the Apple TV, after which prompts appear on both the iOS device and Apple TV.”
“After entering your Apple ID and password on the iOS device and answering two simple questions, the configuration of the Apple TV takes place,” Sande explains. “It’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, activated, and is set up with your iTunes Store account.”
We recently reported that Apple appears to have big plans for the Bluetooth LE technology, more specifically iBeacon protocol. iBeacon was part of the developer SDK announced with iOS 7.
“Apple is using technology similar to the kind it describes as ‘iBeacon‘, a Bluetooth LE device that broadcasts a data payload to any compatible BT device in the area,” Matthew Panzarino writes for Techcrunch. “This can enable complex interaction without having to be on the same WiFi network or even paired with a target device. But it also may use the iPod Accessory Protocol, also supported by BLE.”
