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New Apple TV in development, could arrive as soon as next month

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Apple is working on a new version of the Apple TV, and according to MG Siegler, it could arrive as soon as next month. We have independently heard that a new version of the Apple TV is in development, but our sources have not provided a clear picture in terms of a launch timeframe.

Siegler says that the launch could occur in October, which is the month that we’re expecting new versions of the iPad arrive. It would make sense for Apple to launch the new Apple TV and iPads in tandem as this is a launch combination that it has done in the past (iPad 3 + Apple TV 3 in 2012)…

It is unclear what the form-factor of this new device is. We’ve independently heard of Apple working on both a full-fledged TV set and a revamped set-top-box that is similar in form-factor to the current model. But no matter the hardware design, we have been consistently hearing from our sources that Apple is thoroughly testing Xbox Kinect-like motion sensors for future TV-related products. When Apple plans to release motion-controlled TVs, however, is uncertain.

While the motion technologies seem like features for farther into the future, perhaps the new Apple TV hardware design revolves around outputting improved video quality. Later this year, Apple will launch a new version of the Mac Pro that could drive 4K displays, so perhaps this new Apple TV hardware is designed to power the 4K displays already on the market. As demonstrated with the iPhone 5s’s A7 processor, Apple currently has the capabilities of pushing desktop-class, high-powered chips into tiny spaces.

With little content available for 4K TVs, Apple could use its own hardware to jump on the 4K bandwagon before any other media hardware company.

Besides new Apple TV hardware, Apple has some software updates for the living room up its sleeve. Next week, alongside iOS 7 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Apple will provide an update that activates new features like iTunes Radio. Also in the pipeline is an update for compatibility with OS X Mavericks’s improved multiple-display mode. A report from AllThingsD this morning claimed that next week’s update will activate some Google Chromecast-like functionality.

Also on the roadmap for later this year are a slew of new Macs, at least two new iPads, and some new software.

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Comments

  1. Steve Lawrence - 11 years ago

    I really hope they don’t change the form factor. Being able to attach it to the back of a wall-hung TV is so neat… I’d hate it if they suddenly made that impossible.

  2. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 11 years ago

    Nobody is going to touch 4k for YEARS yet. It’s a tech which will probably never happen – we’ll just go direct to 8k, but not for at least a decade. Until monster screen sizes (85″+) are commonplace, there’s simply no reason to go higher than 1080p.

    As for a new ATV, Apple could transform the current ATV in a matter of weeks simply by releasing an SDK and an app store. In the UK the ATV is currently utterly useless, as it lacks virtually all UK streaming services.

    • Charles Ramsdell - 11 years ago

      I couldn’t disagree with you more about 4k TV’s. I’ve been watching this tech for a couple years and the consumer displays are already *almost* affordable; not to mention stunning to look at. They allow for much larger displays to be placed in smaller rooms which are currently restricted by the distance requirements in current resolution displays. Content is sparse at the moment and will continue to be for the foreseeable future at least from TV providers (1 year +) but movies like The Hobbit and dozens of others have been shot using native 4k cameras as have dozens of other feature films and thats certainly not going to stop. I believe the content shortage might be an issue currently, but it won’t be for long.

      As for the ATV’s lack of an AppStore I couldn’t possibly agree more. It’s lunacy that there is no way for users to add 3rd party apps to this amazing little device. I am particularly peeved about the lack of a legitimate native PLEX client but there are other “channels” I would LOVE to see (like TED Talks). Apple is ignoring literally hundreds of millions in revenue by crippling the ATV’s potential as a content portal beyond the pay per view iTunes model they currently cling to. For christ sake push an AppStore to the device and let us use the thing. I’ve been relegated to buying roku’s and although I despise their software at least I can add usable content!

      • P K (@dragon376) - 11 years ago

        I doubt Apple will allow an App Store on the current hardware. Apple TV processor is too weak (single core A5) and apps (games) would look crappy. Apple TV needs an upgrade with a 64 bit A7 maybe, and a better input system. Then it can have an App Store that will start filling up with apps & games…

      • Adam Siemaszko - 10 years ago

        Streaming 4k would be impossible to nearly everyone, and a download would be AT LEAST 160gb… And then there is content… not a whole lot. Studios are capable of making 4k movies, but release and distribution is another decade away. 1TB ipad? you’re dreaming.

        The world still isn’t really 1080p HD. A percentage of the population still sadly watches on tube televisions, a larger percentage have 720p and not 1080p due to costs or how much they value good TVs in general, and then the whole distribution problem. Have you noticed HD streaming on Netflix, etc. has obvious compression? not real HD. Sudo HD. Remember how much Blue Rays were when they first came out?
        The players?. oooo the players. A player would have to have some decent system muscle to support 4k play, even for .H265. Players are a long ways away from a $100 device. Do you remember playing high quality, several gigabyte files on the first crop of decent Android devices? Or even the iPhone 3GS? We aren’t talking about playing 300mb files anymore.

        Then the cable and sat companies. How much 1080p content do they broadcast? They are still catching up from the 720p era. Prime time and sports are 1080p, but not much else.

        Let’s just be happy more networks are taking advantage of 1080p, internet speeds are increasing to stream near HD, and TV prices are going down :-)

      • pgarrity245 - 10 years ago

        The podcast section offers content from such as TED Talks, NASA, PBS and CNET.

    • The prices of displays is coming down very quickly. And we’re less than a year away from proper delivery via h.265.

      If people are questioning the relevance of 4K in most home scenarios (which they should be), then the benefit of 8K is even more marginal. I sit 8 feet from a 92″ projection screen. I will absolutely benefit from 4K. There is a market- it won’t be everyone and it doesn’t have to be.

      An SDK for the existing aTV is going to be VERY RESTRICTIVE. There’s really only room for the kind of content delivery apps that already exist. There’s very little raw storage space on an aTV, and most of that is needed for buffering of media. But if you mean apps as channels- I agree completely.

      • smigit - 11 years ago

        Even with the cost going down, I’d question whether there is the profit margin Apple would be no doubt wanting to achieve in a cost effecting 4K TV. I think the tech isn’t far off, but I also think any TV released in the next 12 months would be a 1080P display to keep it affordable while still allowing Apple to have a solid profit margin on the device.

        A standalone box that can output to 4K seems more likely currently than a 4K TV set personally.

  3. I just want the iTunes extras to work on Apple TV!

  4. What about a tie up with motive tv that would be awesome.anywhere anytime tv on your iPad.

  5. H.Murchison (@hmurchison) - 11 years ago

    It won’t support 4k because that would require HDMI 2.0 which just was announced or Thunderbolt 2 which only works on Intel based devices.

    If I’m a betting man I see that there may be a unique ARM based processor designed the Apple TV or it could be just an A6 processor with a core shut off just like the currently available model.

    What’s going to spur 4K playback is the HEVC codec which will deliver up to 50% compression over todays h.264. This still makes a 4K large but not 4x as large.

    I’d love high bit rate support (24/96) and 802.11ac support for faster networking. HEVC support would be a huge bonus. iTunes is going to eventually have to move to HEVC.

    • HDMI 1.4 already supports 4K. The 2.0 spec does bring some improvements, but many of those may be irrelevant to the aTVs capabilities.

      Also, it’s already been announced that several cameras shipping with HDMI 1.4 will be able to be upgraded to 2.0 via firmware. So it’s not impossible that aTV could do the same if necessary.

      It certainly seems likely that the HDMI 1.4 port on the MacPro will get updated if the 2.0 spec isn’t ready at launch.

  6. PMZanetti - 11 years ago

    What if they simply continue to produce an AppleTV set top box…

    And also release new 4K displays, 30″ and 50″?

    Make the AppleTV set top box support and output 4K resolution and then they have it covered. Is there really much difference in a 4K display at 30″ & 50″ than a 4K “TV” of the same size? At this point are they finally the same thing?

  7. mtwagner (@mtwagner) - 11 years ago

    All I want is an SDK for the AppleTV. 3rd party apps. FaceTime TV Video Conferencing.

  8. Henry Higgins - 11 years ago

    Bah. I want apps (even if it can’t support high-end games). Specifically, I want a FiOS app.

  9. Hausverwaltung Essen - 10 years ago

    Its on time. The box is since 2 years unchanged.
    But what could be there a big feature to buy a new one?