“The long-awaited next iteration of Apple’s TV box will not be coming this year,” CNBC reports. “Engineers working on Apple’s latest foray into television have been told not to expect a launch any time this year, according to tech news site The Information, citing ‘a person familiar with the plans.'”
“Instead, the tech giant is not aiming to launch the product until next year in part because cable companies are “‘dragging their heels’ and the industry is watching the pending Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, The Information reported,” CNBC reports. “‘All in all, behind the scenes, everyone is pointing fingers, and it remains unclear if and when Apple’s grand vision for consolidating all video watching, along with apps and gaming, might see the light of day,’ The Information wrote.”
Brief article in full here.
MacDailyNews Take: Or until Jimmy has enough time to get the ink that Eddy couldn’t.
boooo!
Waaaaaa, I am sad to hear this. But Apple will wait and get it just right.
So an unannounced product with speculated features without a release date is now late. Someone met still be trying to keep Apple below $100.
Apple could release a new AppleTV with apps and gaming any time that it wants. If Apple is also seeking to tie in TV/movie content and that is delaying the product release, then I vote for Apple to ship a new version with apps and gaming while the company continues to negotiate with content providers.
I agree but we all know that Apple likes to make big announcements and big launches punctuating its periods of gradual improvement. In fact for Apple TV to seriously take off it will need to have that sort of transformational relaunch I think, so I do have some sympathy with that plan in this case. However holding back much longer is going to let others move significantly ahead if they aren’t careful so surely a launch early next year is as late as they can leave it and yes if the TV side cannot be agreed by then then launch the apps and games side and make it ‘tv developments’ ready for when that becomes available and have a second launch of it later. However that’s a planning led solution, costs, technical issues and manufacturing might not be sympathetic to that.
> The long-awaited next iteration of Apple’s TV box will not be coming this year
Yes, another case of “waiting” for a product that Apple never announced, as if Apple has failed to meet some imaginary deadline imposed by the media… 🙂
> it remains unclear if and when Apple’s grand vision for consolidating all video watching, along with apps and gaming
along with some imagined “grand vision,” from by media reporters who lack any “real” imagination.
I think the apps and gaming portion will come as an extension to apps and games on iOS (running on iPads, iPhones, and iPod touch). The games reside on and run from the iOS device, and extend the user experience through an Apple TV to the HDTV screen, while turning the iOS device screen into a customized “control pad” for the game/app.
You can already do this (in a limited way) now. Apple just needs to extend the capabilities of this “AirPlay Mode.” Apple TV is no longer a “hobby” when every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customer (who has an HDTV) becomes a potential customer for a $99 Apple TV, that extends their iOS experience.
Making it happen as part of the existing iOS ecosystem eliminates the need to create a separate market for Apple TV games and apps. It also eliminates the need to include special input devices (game controllers) with Apple TV (beyond the current simple remote), because the iOS device becomes the customized controller for the game/app. And it eliminates the need for Apple TV to have a large amount of its own local permanent storage. It allows the price to stay $99. Developers will enthusiastically jump onboard and add “AirPlay Mode” to their games/apps, just as they extended their iPhone games/apps to fully supported iPad.
I’d like the airplay if they can solve the latency issue as well as the fact that the iOS touchscreen doesn’t give tactile feedback with respect to button placement. If they can’t solve this they need to ship a game controller and a lightning to HDMI cable.
The “latency” issue should be solved by the iOS device sending a portions of the game/app (as needed) to the Apple TV (when AirPlay Mode is activated), to RUN ON the Apple TV. To give a simple example of this working today, when you use the Apple TV remote app in an iOS device, the remote app is running on the iOS device and controlling the Apple TV’s “interface” app. The iOS device is NOT running “everything” and sending the HDTV’s screen (frame-by-frame) to the Apple TV. The Apple TV is doing the heavy-lifting, and the iOS device is just acting as the controller (and data storage). This greatly reduces the data going over the local network. This also put the “energy drain” on the Apple TV, which is connected to a wall power outlet, and not the battery-powered iOS device.
As for the controller, there would be nothing preventing third parties, and even Apple itself, from providing physical controller accessories, at extra cost. But it is important that Apple TV remain priced at $99. Some people will buy one mostly to watch movies and TV shows, and only play simple games “casually.” Also, there is something to be said about the being able to create a fully customized interface (on the iOS device) for each game. Some “experts” claimed that the iPhone onscreen keyboard was not acceptable for “serious” users, because there was no tactile feedback. But that turned out to be wrong (users got used to not having tiny buttons); the advantages of a fully customizable onscreen keyboard (in any language and layout) out-weighed tactile feedback. Also, games that currently run entirely on iOS devices are extremely popular despite not providing physical buttons that provide tactile feedback.
Tactile feedback is critical when you can’t look at the controls while watching the game on the TV. It works on a touch screen because you are LOOKING at the screen it won’t work when the game gets projected on the TV.
Nope. The game interface on the iOS device can be based more on motion sensing, and the (non-targeted) movement of a finger touch on the screen, instead of repetitive crazed pressing of a particular button, which is often unrealistic as a physical action that controls an onscreen action.
In other words, you’ll be able to MORE realistically control the action on the screen without the need to find a particular spot on the iOS device screen to touch repetitively. Plus, even the equivalent of pressing a button can be a general area of the screen, not a particular (button-like) spot. Keep those eyes on the HDTV screen; no need to look at the screen on the iOS device. Game designers are VERY clever people, and they will create customized interfaces that are a VAST improvement on a never-changing piece of shaped plastic with buttons.
I hope you are right. However, the only thing I’ve seen that work for are simple driving and flying games.
A well reasoned and thoughtful post from a person who is obviously sane.
What are you doing here ? 😎
That’s rich. Jimmy is the cool that will get people to dreaming again. An old proverb, “a house without a vision will perish” as well as, “a company without a visionary will not get the ink” lol
Your right Apple hasn’t announced anything, but the Apple TV needs an update badly. It needs a much better search system than it has now. I don’t care about a box that does everything for everybody. Just give us what everyone using the box now really needs.
CNBC is the network for the shorts.
Baseless article!
For one… Apple does not announce release date to engineers working on projects. Some dont even know how their projects and work are relevant to the big picture!
They have deadlines.. But only the top tier management knows whats scheduled for release and when .
The next generation AppleTV also needs to work with big, 4K HDTVs. I wonder if this means Retina HDTVs are delayed?
Yep, another possible rumor from maybe someone connected to a project, overheard by a deaf person, that maybe had an inside tip from a dead person, that was possibly contacted by someone that lives within a 100 miles of a potential location where this probable new product is hopefully being designed. Time to sell the stock.