Update: Apple has confirmed the promo, and according to the T&C online orders are also eligible.
According to our sources, Apple retail employees were informed this morning that beginning today, anyone who purchases an Apple TV from Apple will receive a free $25 iTunes gift card. As of right now this promotion seems to only be available at brick and mortar locations, but we will update this post if it pops up at the Apple online store. The promotion is scheduled to end on March 5th. iTunes gift cards can be used to download movies, music, apps, and more.
Here’s what we know so far about the incoming next-generation Apple TV hardware:
Back in January we reported that Apple was testing the new Apple TV hardware that could include a revamped operating system and possibly app and game support for sometime in the first half of 2014. We also reported that Apple was working on new hardware that included a built-in AirPort Express 802.11ac router and others with built-in TV tuner functionality to control existing cable boxes. Most recently we reported that code in recent builds of iOS 7 point to refreshed hardware, at least internally. Bloomberg followed up by confirming a couple of the same details including a new interface for navigating content. It also said the hardware will include a faster processor and get an introduction in April ahead of a Christmas launch. Despite Apple adding a ton of new content in recent months, the most recent reports originating from The Wall Street Journal claimed Apple’s plans could get scaled back as it continues to negotiate with content providers and cable companies.
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Any word on price? if they’re including Airport Express functionality, are they going to bump the price up? I can only convince my wife to let me sell my current AppleTV early to buy this one if I have a good reason to assume they won’t jack the price too much…
That’s the point!
I’m ready to sell both Apple TV and one of the Airport Express, but would this be worth?
I’m afraid with the prices
How do you “include Airport Express functionality” when the Apple TV needs a wireless router to exist in the first place in order to work? Your AppleTV is going to then double as a wireless access point? Assuming that is even a good idea (its not).
If you run Ethernet to it from your primary router however…sweet deal, Unfortunately I’m one of the the only ones who do that.
I’ve wondered the same thing about the wifi router thing, but it’s been mentioned in previous 9to5 stories, as well as elsewhere on the web, and repeated again in this story, so I’m just wondering if functionality like that would cause them to bump up the price if it did end up making the final cut.
As for why they would do it, I would imagine that they’d market it it similarly to the current Time Machines as a router you would plug into ethernet from your primary router/modem and then run that as your main wifi hub. And if your internet provider doesn’t provide 802.11ac routers for lease or to buy, then it would be nice to have this as a cheaper option than buying another ac router.
But even if you don’t use the AppleTV as your internet router, it still might help to have gigabit wifi when you’re using it as a wireless second screen or streaming things between devices, although it would be somewhat annoying to have to switch wifi networks for that… I don’t know.
The appleTV is simply a small computer with both ethernet and WiFi. Allowing it to act as a router is simply a matter of software. As to those who have their AppleTV’s somewhere that it would be difficult to utilize as their primary router (cable modem not currently next to their TV). They have two choices.
1) Move your cable modem. You probably have a cable drop next to your TV so….presto!
2) Use it as a range extender. This doesn’t have to be your primary router to be a benefit. If it provides the strongest signal for lets say people watching TV, it could be the connection point for AirPlay. In which case you could stream directly to the AppleTV without burdening the rest of your network or transmitting video signals back and forth multiple times.
The biggest win with this is Boardrooms, and conferences where you want to give access to stream data but don’t want people on your main network (although that would be cool for guests at your house as well).
> How do you “include Airport Express functionality” when the Apple TV needs a wireless router to exist in the first place in order to work?
As you note yourself later on, that’s not accurate: AppleTV can work off Ethernet (and many people use that). So for those people, using the included WiFi hardware is in fact a potentially attractive idea.
However, I doubt that would be the primary use for the onboard WiFi router. Instead, I suspect the goal is to enable a better ad-hoc channel between MU-MIMO-enabled iPhone/iPad/iPods and the prototype AppleTV (by avoiding having both access another router at the same time the iPhone/iPad/iPod downloads contents through that other router, or having yet another device clog the other router’s channel).
In other words, this could make future iPhone/iPad/iPods (and even Macs) much better AirPlay sources and, potentially, high-bandwidth big-screen app controllers.
Really when you think about what you get for $99 right now its a mega sweet deal. So I wont mind paying $199 for a device with the basestation included. BUT.. I don’t need a Basestation, I have wireless N, and its working fine.
Granted 802.11ac is a step up.. I just dont need it. So I’d be one of the people that gets the standard apple tv and buys the games and apps. I wonder what controller we can use? Are they going to sell one specifically for the apple tv?
I bought a new Apple TV few days back for my new TV. Oops I should have waited. But again I assume the new Apple TV will be priced higher.
I could NOT live without my Apple TV. I have JUST wireless here, so I use it for EVERYTHING. I have Hulu + and a cable bill. Get all of my news from Digital TV and Skye News (out of England with NO American politics). This way I don’t have to get fake news from all of those stupid channels like FOX and MSNBC.
Um, you know Sky is owned and run by Rupert Murdoch same as Fox don’t you? Try BBC or Al Jazeera for anything approaching balance.
I am pumped. This is a great sign that the new Apple TV is coming sooner rather than later. If they have a Apple TV + WiFi Router + Time Capsule combo unit, I probably won’t like the price but I’ll probably buy it. If it is a Apple TV + Cable Box unit, I won’t care at all – over the air broadcast is just fine for me. I think it’ll probably be just an Apple TV with some expandable storage and a small App Store, which will be nice since it probably won’t bump up the price.
Reblogged this on Taste of Apple and commented:
Great deal…unless you want to wait for the new Apple TV that is expected to be out in a few months.