When Apple's next-generation Apple TV arrives at market in October it will include a new universal search feature that will allow you to search for a movie or TV show once, and see results from all sorts of different sources. It's a tentpole feature of the diminutive set-top box and one for which Apple has big plans. The company will roll it out with support for a handful of services initially. But it has far bigger plans for it.

In a recent interview with BuzzFeed News' John Paczkowski, Apple CEO Tim Cook said universal search in Apple TV is not something that the company plans to reserve for key content partners. "At launch we'll have iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, and HBO — so we'll have five major inputs into universal search initially. But we're also opening an API, so that others can join in."

Cook added that "I think that many, many people will want to be in that search and that's great for users. Think about your experience today. Even if you're fortunate enough to have the content you want to watch in an app, you sometimes don't remember exactly where that show is, so you're going to Netflix or Hulu or Showtime. You shouldn't have to do that. It should be very simple." Apple TV is set to launch later this month.

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