We love our Apple TV (and the new Full HD Apple TV looks fantastic), but we're not sure
Apple does: the firm's more interested in getting iPads into your living room
than Apple TVs under your flat screen.
Apple says the
Apple TV is a hobby, but it turns out Apple is thinking bigger. Much, much
bigger: it wants to sell you the entire TV set, not a little box beneath it.
In a 15 February
2012 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted again at the release of something
bigger and better than the current Apple TV (creditCNN Money).
"With
Apple TV, however, despite the barriers in [the TV set top box] market, for those
of us who use it, we've always thought there was something there. And that if
we kept following our intuition and kept pulling the string, then we might find
something that was larger.
"For those
people that have it right now, the customer satisfaction is off the charts. But
we need something that could go more main market for it to be a serious
category."
Here's all the
rumours and speculation surrounding the next-generation new Apple TV.
Apple
iTV design
Forget the
current hockey-puck form factor: the rumour mill is unanimous that the next
Apple TV will be a proper TV.
The Telegraph
says that "sources within
the company" say that Jeff Robbin, the man who helped create the iPod, is
leading the team.
The latest reports point at a late 2012 Apple iTV release
date.
Apple
iTV specifications
Engadget
predicts an A5 processor and
1080p video - neither of which are a huge surprise, granted.
Australian tech
site Smarthouse says that the Apple iTV will come in three
sizes, including 32-inch and 55-inch models.
Sources at
"a major Japanese company who are involved in manufacturing the TV"
reckon the sets will have the same processor as the forthcoming iPad 3, which
presumably means an Apple A6.
Smarthouse isn't
usually the go-to site for Apple rumours, but its report echoes similar claims by respected Apple
analyst Gene Munster, who told the recent Future of Media conference
that Apple will make its TV in a range of sizes.
The supply chain
for the iTV is set to get going during the first quarter of 2012. That's
according to Digitimes on 27 December 2011.
March 2012
rumours pointed at Sharp being the manufacturing partner and
that production would start in
May. SlashGear says work on components is already under
way.
Apple
iTV operating system
As with the Apple TV, any iTV is likely to run iOS, albeit in
slightly disguised form. Compatibility with other iOS devices is a given:
current Apple TVs already accept video streamed via AirPlay and access shared
iTunes libraries. We'll be amazed if the iTV doesn't get apps.
Apple
iTV and iCloud
Steve Jobs told his biographer: "I'd like to create an
integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be
seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the
simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
Apple
iTV remote control
Apple's voice
recognition system will be the heart of the new Apple TV, enabling you to
choose channels and control the TV's functions with voice alone. That means
" the simplest user interface you could imagine" is voice.
However,
according to a new patent filed in March 2012, Apple has come up with the design for an advanced universal remote that
would also be compatible with your iPhone and iPad.
Apple
iTV AirPlay mirroring
After AirPlay mirroring from Mac to Apple TV was present in the
developer preview of OS X 10.8
Mountain Lion, it's not a great leap to suggest that the Apple iTV could mirror
the display of your Mac or iPad wirelessly too. AirPlay mirroring is now 1080p
with the new iPad and new Apple TV.
Apple
iTV programmes
While the iTV will get content from iTunes and iCloud, it's not
going to be completely separate from current TV broadcasters: Munster
We're not sure
whether it would play nicely with Freeview and Freeview HD here in the UK
As of 6 March
2012, rumours were continually doing the rounds that, as the New York Post
reports.Apple is planning to launch a music streaming service this side of
Christmas.
On 13 March, Les
Moonves, who is CEO at CBS, says he was the recipient of a pitch from Steve
Jobs regarding his network's participation in asubscription-based service, but
turned him down.
His reasoning?
Moonves says he was worried about damaging the network's existing revenue
streams through broadcast and cable television.
Apple
iTV price
Gene Munster reckons that the iTV will be twice the price of a
similarly sized TV. Ouch. However, new March 2012 rumours point at a subsidised
launch -courtesy of various partners.
Apple
iTV picture quality
If the iTV does appear, it won't leave manufacturers quaking in
their boots. That's according to Samsung's Chris Moseley who told Pocket-Lint in early February 2012 that the firm
isn't overly concerned with what Apple launches if it decides to enter the TV
market
"We've not
seen what they've done but what we can say is that they don't have 10,000
people in R&D in the vision category," he says.
"They don't
have the best scaling engine in the world and they don't have world renowned
picture quality that has been awarded more than anyone else."
Apple
iTV release date
Most rumours predict a 2013 Apple iTV release date, but the more
optimistic observers think Apple won't want to miss 2012's Christmas shopping
season. The New York Times says that price, not technology, is the
problem: Apple is waiting for the cost of large LCD panels to fall further
before building iTVs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment