“Apple unveiled its new Apple TV streaming device in early September,” Dan Frommer reports for Quartz. “The biggest change: It will now feature its own app store, including games.”
“In a media presentation, Apple CEO Tim Cook said apps were the future of television, and executives provided brief demos of new video search features and some potential apps. Apple has since sent test units to software developers to get started on creating apps,” Frommer reports. “We haven’t heard much about the device since.”
“Apple has touted video streaming, music, sports and weather, gaming, and shopping as early use cases. But this is basically an internet-connected computer that’s going to be hooked up to your TV. What else can we expect? Controlling features of your home, via Apple’s HomeKit platform, seems like an obvious feature, and something Apple hasn’t talked much about yet,” Frommer reports. “Will Apple eventually create some sort of camera accessory for living-room-couch FaceTiming? Is this where we’ll shop for vacations—or food delivery?”
“The other big question is what sort of an effect the new Apple TV will have on the TV, cable, internet, advertising, news, and sports industries,” Frommer reports. “The iPhone, after all, was a bigger deal than anyone saw coming.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We do know one thing: We want our new Apple TVs ASAP!
I want it ASAP too!
I want the couch Facetiming by Christmas so I can “Room share” with remote family on Christmas morning!
Guessing this won’t happen by then, but it would be nice.
I’d be interested to know if the Universal Search works for our own iTunes libraries. It would be a shame if it found something you’d bought in iTunes but wasn’t smart enough to realise you’d already downloaded it and made you stream it from the net rather than your own library.
If you go to “purchased” it will stream it from Apple. If you go to “computer” it will stream it from your computer. If you have unlimited data on your plan you don’t care which one it streams from.
You do if your connection is only 6 meg because your road won’t be upgraded to fibre. Unlimited data isn’t the issue, it’s speed. I also have content I have added from dvd/cd and it would be cool if it did search that by way of it being in iTunes
We also don’t know if it’ll support 4K. Even if it doesn’t support it out of the box, it could support it later. It has an HDMI 1.4 port, which supports 4K. As long as the ARM SOC can handle 4K video playback, the fourth generation T.V. should support 4K video playback. It seems like 4K-capable hardware is there, so it just needs to be enabled via software, much like when Bluetooth was enabled for 2nd and 3rd generation TVs; the hardware was there, it just had to be enabled via a software update.
I thought the Apple TV was already tore apart (ifixit) and proved it did not have 4K..
I’m ready for at least 1, and I know someone else that is tossing their roku for an Apple TV now.
Personally I don’t care if it supports 4K or not, I still don’t own a 4K tv. (And am not looking to purchase one right now either) most of my “tv” viewing is on my iMac or the 39″ tv next to my desk. When 4K is actually in more homes.. Then yeah Apple TV had better support it, but 4K has a pretty low install rate.
Take my money, already!
=:~)
What we don’t know ?
UK pricing for a start.
I was really hoping for some news by now of release date, oh well…
In relation to HomeKit, the frameworks are not available in the latest tvOS and no word from Apple when and if they will be included. I’ve got to say this totally sucks as I imagined it would be the centre of an Apple controlled home!
In the meantime the Xfinity X1 is pretty sweet.
I use my Apple TV only for AirPlay. Will the new Apple TV be better at AirPlay than the old one?
Of course! Ha, ha.
Really, you should use it for more than just AirPlay. Especially the new one with apps and games. I don’t have cable so I sue my for almost all of my TV viewing.
I want the new AppleTV ASAMWWLMBIWIPN! <—(translation: as soon as my wife will let me buy it which is probably never!)
The waiting is the worst part. I’ve been waiting for this for 2 years.