Ahead of the launch of the much-anticipated Apple’s online TV service, Comcast announced a beta test of its new streaming cable service called Stream. The new service requires no extra device or additional equipment… or even a TV.

With Stream, Xfinity internet customers can watch live TV or on demand content from about a dozen networks – including all the major broadcast nets and HBO – on laptops, tablets and phones in their home.

It includes thousands of on demand movies and shows to watch home or away and even comes with access to TV Everywhere and a cloud DVR so you can record all your favorites and watch them later.

Stream will be available to Xfinity Internet customers for $15 per month. Comcast is launching the service in Boston at the end of the summer and they will take it to Chicago and Seattle next, with plans to make it available everywhere in their footprint by early 2016.

The Wall Street Journal reported back in March that Apple was planning to launch its own online television service that would include about 25 channels from broadcasters such as ABC, CBS and Fox and would be available on Apple TV as well as on iPhone and iPad.

Apple Web TV service is expected to be priced at $30/$40 per month and it’s reportedly scheduled to be launched in September.

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It is almost certain now that the Apple TV 4 will be launched on June 8th at the WWDC 2015. Among many other details leaked, it was rumoured that the next Apple TV could ship with Apple’s own video streaming service. But “several people with knowledge of the situation” have told Re/Code otherwise:

The Cupertino technology company has told network executives the planned unveiling will be postponed because Apple has yet to finalize the licensing deals. 

Technology and money issues remain sticking points.

We reported a few days back that Apple is looking to include local US channels to the TV service, which would enable complete cord cutting and lure in cable subscribers. According to today’s report, Apple hasn’t been able to reach a financial agreement with the channels and they also currently lack the technology that could broadcast these local stations to the streaming service.

These reasons are forcing Apple to launch the Apple TV 4 without the TV streaming service. The sources now expect the service to be launched later this year, or early 2016.

The rumoured TV service, charging $30-$40/month, is expected to bring over 25 channels to the Apple TV, including CBS, ESPN and FX .

According to The New York Times, the next Apple TV is scheduled to be launched on Monday, with a slimmer profile, new operating system and interface, support for Siri and its own App Store.

If you are as curious as we are, you can catch the live stream of the WWDC 2015 keaynote right on your Apple TV via the updated Events channel, at 10 am PT on Monday.

We will surely keep you updated as well.

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Finally, we have some reliable info on the next Apple TV. Reputed blogger John Paczkowski (formerly Re/code and AllThingsD) posted today on BuzzFeed some authoritative details on the specs, new features and release date of the much-awaited Apple TV 4.

According to “sources familiar with the company’s plans”,  Apple “intends to show the device off” at the World Wide Developer Conference, expected to be held in early June.

There is a reason Apple chose the developer’s arena. The new Apple TV will sport a redesigned operating system with support for third party apps and of course, have a separate App Store for them. So Apple wants its developer community to get to work as early as June and populate the App Store by the time Apple TV 4 reaches the hands of users.

Hardware wise, the refreshed Apple TV will reportedly pack an A8 chip or at least a variant of it, making it much more powerful and a huge improvement over the current single-core A5 ones.

New Apple TV will also harbor a better flash drive with much larger capacity than the present 8 GB ones. The set-top box is said to come with a redesigned, tactile remote too.

The Apple TV 4 will also bear an intuitive user-interface and voice navigation feature like the Amazon Fire TV, thanks to Siri integration.

And as we heard before, the new Apple TV will also be instrumental in remotely controlling your HomeKit smart devices via Siri.

Paczkowski reports:

Sources say Apple’s new Apple TV is a significant overhaul of the device, one intended to undergird Apple’s vision of what the TV viewing experience should be […]

If I’m understanding the company’s strategy correctly, the new Apple TV isn’t just a play for a stake of the streaming TV market, but for the mythical digital living room. Think TV, music, apps and a little bit of home automation as well.

Reading along the other recent rumors, the video content available on the Apple TV 4 will be more appreciable to cord cutters too, as it will come with Apple’s own streaming service and the HBO NOW service.

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The Apple TV streaming service has been talked about so much in the last 24 hours that it is almost visible on the horizon. In case you missed it, Apple is rumored to be working on their own $30-$40 video service, which is set to be launched somewhere around September.

It seems that Apple is currently in talks with content owners like Fox, ESPN, Disney, CBS and more, to get their programming on board for the streaming service. And according to New York Post, to make dealings go in the right direction, Apple is even promising viewer details like their personal info, watching habits, and locations, to program owners.

The company is willing to share details on who its viewers are, what they watch and when they watch it to entice broadcast networks and others to go along with the service, sources said. [..]

“They’re allowing a lot more decision-making by the content owner,” said one source familiar with the talks, adding that Apple has told potential partners, “It’s up to you, whatever you guys want to do.”

This data will be used by content providers to localize niche audience and better target their ads.

But such a move sounds odd to come from Apple, as they have always upheld user privacy. It is worth noting that other providers like Netflix and Amazon have previously turned down similar requests from content providers, on their corresponding streaming services. This makes it even less likely for Apple to entertain the demand for user data.

If this turns out to be true, it will show how badly Apple wanted their streaming service to get off the ground. But even if Apple caves, the service will probably come with an ‘Opt out’ option, in case you don’t want your watching habits to be tracked.

Read more on the Apple TV Streaming Service and the HBO NOW service which is coming to Apple TV next month.

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The news of Apple’s standalone streaming service is getting hotter hour by hour. As The Wall Street Journal now reports, Discovery and Viacom are currently in talks with Apple to bring their channels to the service as well.

The Discovery group owns The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC while Viacom rules over MTV, Comedy Central, TV Land, WH1, CMT and Nickelodeon. And if the reported talks turn around as we hope them to, these popular channels will become a part of the 25+ channels already lining up for the Apple Web TV.

As we reported earlier, Apple is developing a $30-$40 streaming package which lets you select a set of channels to view on the Apple TV. The service is expected to include a “skinny bundle” of channels with the likes of Fox, Disney, ESPN and more, and will launch in September this year.

According to WSJ:

Adding additional channels would also make Apple’s service more likely to succeed. Currently, Sling TV offers live streaming of 17 networks at $20 per month, while Apple is supposedly going to offer 25 networks at $30 to $40 each month. The math just doesn’t add up for the service to be double the cost of Sling TV but only offer eight additional channels.

It is worth noting that HBO NOW streaming service is coming to the Apple TV next month and that NBC is bringing a standalone channel later this year. And with the new pricing of just $69 (or just $67.87 on Amazon), there has never been a better time to cut the cord and get an Apple TV.

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