Apple TV Could Gain Handoff Feature This Fall

Apple TV could gain Handoff and Continuity features, according to users running iOS 8, Mac OS X, and Apple TV beta software. Handoff is the new feature Apple introduced earlier this month when it unveiled OS X Yosemite and means that users can start writing an email (for example) on an iPhone and continue that action on another Apple device. Handoff is part of the Continuity suite that will arrive later this fall with the launch of the new desktop operating system.

Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac points to a notification appearing on some Macs running OS X Yosemite on the same local Wi-Fi as Apple TV. The latter is running the latest beta software, indicating that some Macs will be able to integrate with the Apple TV via Handoff.

Handoff should not be confused with AirPlay, since there is no streaming involved. As noted by Apfeleimer (via MacRumors), the Handoff feature will be limited to Macs with Bluetooth LE, and the latest Apple TV does include that feature, while the second generation doesn’t.

This could just as easily be a bug as a new feature of Apple TV, but we are hoping the latter is true, which could make sense in the light of new Apple TV hardware rumoured to launch in April and sell during the holiday quarter.