“With a long-awaited update to its TV set-top box, Apple on Wednesday revealed a glimpse of its plans to conquer the living room, which analysts say the tech giant has neglected as its other gadgets deepen their hold on consumers,” Julia Love and Lisa Richwine report for Reuters. “Apple gave Apple TV a makeover, complete with a full-fledged App Store, integration with Siri and a new touch-sensitive remote control.”
“The new Apple set top boxes go on sale at the end of October starting at $149. The iPhone maker has already changed TV viewing, making it easier to watch shows almost anywhere. But the living room remains a coveted destination for tech companies as the site where consumers end their days and gather with their families,” Love and Richwine report. “Apple TV could become a significant source of profit for the company, analysts say, but revenue from programming and services will be key. Wednesday’s announcement did not include an Apple streaming TV service that bundles cable channels, which industry executives say the company is exploring.”
“The new App Store opens what had been a mostly closed environment to thousands of developers, said Jason Krikorian, general partner at DCM Ventures and a co-founder of Sling Media, creator of the Slingbox streaming media device,” Love and Richwine report. “The new Apple TV tackles one of the most frustrating parts of modern TV viewing – finding what to watch. The Siri voice feature lets people search with simple commands such as ‘find movies with Jason Bateman,’ based on a demonstration at Wednesday’s event… Smart TV holdouts might find themselves entranced by Apple TV if they give the gadget a chance, Carolina Milanesi, chief of research and head of U.S. business at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, predicted. ‘It draws you in,’ she said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: At just $149 for a 32GB model and inly $199 for a 64GB, Apple TVs are going to sell like hotcakes this holiday season. There’ll be millions of units in Christmas stockings next quarter!
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