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Apple TV overhaul not expected to debut until 2015

 

Apple TV mid 2014 screen

A new report from The Information published today discussing the next generation of Apple TV says the new set-top box won’t be ready for prime time until at least 2015. This expectancy timeline aligns with previous 9to5Mac reporting on the Apple TV development progress.

According to the report, Apple employees managing the project have informed Apple TV engineers working on the next generation set-top box that it is currently not expected to reach completion in time to debut in 2014.

The new Apple TV product, which is said to tackle content access more aggressively than the current product offered, is taking longer than previously expected due to deals with cable companies as well the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger currently pending.

The report specifies that industry partners, however, believe the scope of Apple’s project as a whole is to blame for the current development pace.

That’s Apple perception, to be sure. On the content side, cable executives and TV programmers say Apple has bit off more than it can chew and deny they’re the holdup. They say Apple needs permission from multiple types of rights holders to create the service it wants to offer.

9to5Mac reported earlier this year that Apple has been meeting with TV providers to discuss the development of its updated Apple TV with Siri-powered voice control, and that its launch could be slated for next year.

The new update could also support new types of content such as apps. The new version of the Apple TV software is said to be in development alongside the aforementioned iOS 8.1 release, so it seems likely that the two systems will launch in tandem late in 2014 or early next year.

You can read the report in full at The Information.

 

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Comments

  1. Whoda (@Whodakat) - 10 years ago

    Apple TV is delayed, the iWatch is delayed, the iPhablet is delayed. I can’t wait until next year when they tell us how the 2015 product pipeline is full of new things!

    • nullifiedone - 10 years ago

      How can something never announced be delayed?
      Excuse apple for not keeping up with your rumored released dates for rumored products.

      • rogifan - 10 years ago

        Yeah Apple hasn’t promised anything to consumers so how can we say these things are delayed? The white iPhone 4 was delayed. The new iMac and nMP were delayed. Rumored products that haven’t been announced by Apple aren’t delayed.

  2. chrisl84 - 10 years ago

    I can handle waiting a few months more for a new box but please update that UI for be inline with iOS 8 design this fall!

    • alvinguzman - 10 years ago

      I understand Apple’s desired to bring a complete solution but they could start piece meal – get the new hardware and UI change and then add content as the contracts get signed. None of the content owners are in hurry to do anything – they like things as they are right now.

  3. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    Since we don’t like “Delayed” for a rumor product, I’ll stick with “OVERDUE” because it most certainly is.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Overdue? If you’re speaking about UI update or basic feature updates like App Store or faster processor then yes it’s overdue. As for a TV solution? That’s no where near overdue in that it’s incredibly difficult due to content providers being greedy beyond imagination etc., well it’s still overdue in that TV has been the same putrid experience since it’s inception pretty much.

      It’s really sad that there is such greed and stupidity when it comes to content creators, distributors, and owners. For example, it’s so embarrassingly sad that you can purchase both a rated and unrated version of a film on iTunes. These should come TOGETHER in one purchase, similar to how almost all of them are, when bought on DVD. How outrageous is it that they want to force you to purchase both, at full price? Another thing that screams stupidity is the fact that they don’t offer the ability to upgrade to HD for the price difference between SD and HD… Let’s say you bought an SD movie on iTunes for $9.99, and want to upgrade to HD. You should only have to pay $5.00 to reach a total of $14.99 spent on this particular movie. I hope they’ve done research on this, but personally I can’t fathom how they could make more money by getting the few people that will repurchase the movie at full price, as opposed to the incalculably larger number of people that would upgrade to HD for the price difference. Let alone the fact that they’d probably make far more money, it’s just better for business to be more fair to your customers.

      I buy movies on iTunes, but I love the fact that people pirate, because the studios all deserve it, because they are too greedy and stupid to understand that fairness is the way to lessen the pirating. Look at the music industry, they stopped forcing people to purchase full albums of songs they didn’t want, and piracy went down drastically I believe…

  4. Blue Joker (@BlueJoker_) - 10 years ago

    Jeezus, can we PLEASE get a new interface for “Computers”? Scrolling through an endless list of white text is not a good solution and one that should have been resolved years ago…

  5. Cun Con - 10 years ago

    As long as Apple TV still has current UI, it won’t beat the cable/satellite TVs. Who wants to have 20 app icons on the screen for 20 subscribed channels? And in order to switch from one channel to another, you have to close one first. That’s annoying.
    What’s Steve Jobs’s crack of secret for watching TV?
    Apple should design an UI to allow users to drop all subscribed TV channel apps into one folder and scroll through channels like regular cable/satellite boxes.

  6. zBrain (@joeregular) - 10 years ago

    “I’m just saying we’ve got really great stuff coming in the fall, and across all of 2014.” — tim cook

    the apple calendar consists of only 4-6 months.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Am I the only one living in the reality where plans can change? Apple may have planned products to launch throughout 2014, as in early in the year (like the Apple TV based on this article), but decided to push them back. Apple has learned their lesson with the Maps fiasco I believe. They will no longer release a product that is unfinished or unworthy of their extremely high standards. Then again I’m unaware of any hardware product from them, that they released too soon. They are smart enough to know that you take your time and get it right, you don’t release garbage, and I guess I’m one of the few people that respects them for that. Yes, it’s incredibly hard to wait, but I think it’ll be worth the wait.

Author

Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.