Till a couple of days back, finding Apple TV‘s product page on Apple.com was a bit difficult thanks to its mysterious location in the Accessories section for iPods. Generally I used to resort on Google to find it rather than taking the pain in browsing through the website. However, that shouldn’t be a problem from now on, as Apple TV has been promoted to occupy one of the tabs besides Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad at the Apple online store. In addition, Apple TV now has its own pages for accessories, community and refurbishes.

So why would that be – Apple graduating one of their devices from a mere ‘hobby accessory‘ to a ‘new product line‘ after seven years of initial release?

A lot of reports on the next Apple TV has been circulating lately. According to one of them, Apple TV 4 will be a complete revamp of the device, at least software wise. The new firmware will be iOS-based and will come with an in-built Apple TV App Store. This would open the doors of HDTV to third-party apps and games. A Bluetooth controller is also said to be in the works.

Now, the guys at 9to5mac have received new information on Apple TV 4 from a reliable source.

These claim that the next generation of Apple TV will come with integrated Airport Express components, i.e. they will have a router welded into the core. This makes a lot of sense, especially for those who connect the Apple TV via Ethernet, because they will no longer need another router for iTunes Home Sharing. Also Airplay Mirroring will be more stable and of better quality since the intermediary modem is eliminated.

Another report suggests that the games on Apple TV will be seamlessly linked to other iOS devices. Apple TV 4 games are expected to utilize the iDevice themselves as the controller. MFi controllers could be used as well. Maybe one more app will join the App Store under the Apps by Apple category – Apple TV Joystick?

And the last rumor claims that the Apple TV 4 will come with a TV tuner card for use with your existing cable subscription. This will again simplify the process of enjoying video content since you can use the same set-top box for online streaming as well as for cable channels.

The launch of Apple TV 4 seems imminent as the speculations are piling up. If  all the above rumors turn out to be true, we’re looking at a major deviation in the Apple TV lineup and we think it’s apt that the small black box has rose from being a simple accessory to a mainstream iOS device.

You might also want to read: Where is Apple taking TV in 2014?

The post New rumors on Apple TV 4 surface as Apple TV gains special profile at Apple official website appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Yesterday Apple released their 2013 Q4 numbers and spoiler alert – they sold a lot of stuff. Specifically, they sold a lot of iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, and iTunes content, providing specific sales numbers for each of these categories. What wasn’t detailed is how many Apple TV’s were sold.

Very little is done without a reason at Apple, and the lack of clear communication surrounding the Apple TV may well be strategic. The last announcement of Apple TV sales was in May 2013 at the D11 conference, when Tim Cook stated that 13 million had been sold, with half sold in the prior year. Eight months have passed, and assuming the sales have held somewhat steady, it’s difficult to see how Apple can justify calling a product that has sold in the neighborhood of $2 billion a “hobby.” So why the silence?

Perhaps it’s time for Apple to “disrupt” the television space. If that is the plan, they are doing it in a classic Apple way, quietly building an installed base of around 20 million Apple TV’s. While that number pales in comparison to the number of iPhones, iPads, and iPods, it is a fairly significant number of larger screens. Let’s put it in perspective:

The top 5 US cable companies are:

Based on market share (numbers of subscribers)
Currently – January 2013 (numbers are approximate)

1. Comcast Corp.: 23 million
2. Time Warner Cable: 12 million
3. Cox Communications: 4.595 million
4. Verizon: 4.592 million
5. AT&T: 4.3 million

[source: Wikipedia]

Apple now has nearly the power of Comcast in terms of subscribers to their television service, and just like they did with music, they are going to the content producers instead of the retailers. Think of PBS, ABC, Disney, and HBO as analogous to the music labels, and Comcast and TW are today’s Blockbuster Video. Give the customers what they want, at a reasonable price, and remove players that add no value.

Everyone hates their cable company. Everyone. They are “safe” today for one reason and one reason only – most of the content producers are contractually tied to only offer much of their content only to paid cable subscribers. That is why most of the Apple TV “networks” require you to sign in to AT&T or COX before you can view live content, although we are seeing a trend to offer more and more content without this login requirement where possible.

As Apple reaches critical mass, they will have the same negotiating power that Comcast has, and those contractual handcuffs will fall by the wayside. The content producers will quickly realize that, in order for them to survive, they can’t ignore 20 million TV’s and 700 million smaller iOS screens that Apple brings to the table. Those numbers make Comcast seem pretty insignificant in comparison, and if they aren’t scared, they should be.

The other disrupting force in this market is Netflix. By provoking exclusively on-demand content, and branching out into original productions, Netflix has grown to 33.4 million subscribers, certainly giving HBO and Showtime pause. Netflix is able to build a direct relationship with its customers, and leverage rapidly evolving technology to satisfy their early-adopter customers and support 4K years before the cable TV companies will have upgraded their infrastructure. The combination of Apple TV and Netflix will force HBO and Cinemax to make changes to their business model, and that combined pressure will become an unstoppable force forward.

Apple has created a premium market and product suite for entertainment. Music, movies, books, and casual games exist on large part with Apple as one of, if not the, primary market and source of revenue for many developers and content producers. To date, Apple has limited Apple TV gaming to AirPlay from another iOS device or, more recently, OS X. So the final interesting possibility here is the A7 chip and it’s 64-bit capabilities. Few would argue that the iPhone 5S and iPad Air are unable to make full use of this chips possibilities, primarily due to power and space concerns. When these constraints are removed, the gaming possibilities of this platform become very interesting as well. Rumors are circulating, as they have before, that Apple is going to release an Apple TV SDK and open the platform to developers.

Apple has been quietly adding select content providers to their Apple TV ecosystem. This has allowed them to accomplish a few specific goals: stay under the radar of the cable providers, allow the device to gain more marketshare and approach that “critical mass,” and mature their API in infrastructure. There is a very big difference between selling a 4-minute song and streaming live video to tens of millions of devices. But don’t think for a second they they don’t have a plan and that they will, as they have done time and time again, disrupt an entire industry in the guise of releasing a product.

It’s what they do.

The post Opinion: Where is Apple taking the TV in 2014? appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

We’ve been waiting for the fourth generation Apple TV for quite sometime now. Initially we thought it would be announced in the iPad event in October, 2013. Later it was speculated that Apple will hold a separate event for the next Apple TV in November. And after the acquisition of PrimeSense, it was deemed that Apple will come up with gesture-recognizing control system for the same. Now, iLounge has learned something exciting and believable from their reliable source. Wait for it.. the next Apple TV will support native gaming!

Yeah, looks like another Christmas is upon us, Apple TV lovers.

According to the report, the Apple TV 4th gen. is already past the development phase and can hit the shelves as early as this March. We’re unaware of any changes in the pricing, design or 4K support but we’re told that it will ship with a revamped iOS-based firmware. An Apple TV App Store will be set up and will include native games.

Apple still seems to be working on Bluetooth controllers for the same but that doesn’t seem to be a great challenge as newer iOS 7 devices already support MFi controllers. And here is the best part for all you current Apple TV owners: the new OS is said to be backward compatible and that means your device can also be upgraded to access the App Store and all its goodies.

So here is what we think.

Unlike many of the previous Apple TV rumors (which we were a little skeptical about), this one seems close to true. Gaming on Apple TV has been rumored for a number of years and it’s become necessary for Apple to finally come up with an Apple TV App Store. However we’re not so positive about the backward compatibility part. In order to play the games on Apple TV you’d need to download them into the device first. The Apple TV 4 will probably come with 40GB or 160GB capacities like the first gen. and wouldn’t have much trouble dealing with this. But how this problem is tackled by the 2nd and 3rd ones has not been proposed by the reports. However, Apple may be preparing a cloud-based gaming system with iCloud, similar to Sony’s PlayStation Now or OnLive – we never know.

Anyway, only time will tell what Apple truly intends to do with their set-top box and hopefully, we needn’t rely on AirPlay mirroring anymore to play Asphalt 8 on the 40-inch screen. Vote below to let us know what you guys think.

Stick around here at Apple TV Hacks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) for more coverage on the new Apple TV.

The post Native gaming on Apple TV could soon become a reality as a new Apple TV with its own App Store is on the way, sources say appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Have you ever been jealous of that Nintendo Wii controller or Playstation Move? It is really cool use a hand controller as a baseball stick or a lightsaber and jump into action. Feels much more realistic than common controls, too. Well now, with an Apple TV and an iPhone, you could have that too. This is not a hack, but an awesome concept in the form of an app.

Thanks to an India-based company Rolocule Games, and its rolomotion technology, your iOS device turns into a wii style controller while the AirPlay mirroring makes your Apple TV the screen. Proud as the first app of its kind, Motion Tennis rushed into the App Store yesterday, promising to rock your drawing rooms.

Connect the game wirelessly to your Apple TV. Load the Motion Tennis game, enable AirPlay. And just serve, literally! Use your iPhone or iPod as a racket and serve aces, do backhands and pretty much everything you would in real life.

There is more. If your friend shows up, you can pair up and dive into a doubles match. With Wimbledon going on, you can have a little action of your own.

Motion Tennis is now available in the App Store for $7.99. Device requirements are also important as iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5 are only supported and you’ll need an Apple TV, too. There is no need for extra sensory and gaming hardware.

Hopefully, Motion Tennis is only the first of a lot. The developers promise that “more games using this technology, specifically developed for Apple platform, will soon change the way you look at your Apple TV.” Oh, I can’t wait to use my iPhone as the sword in Infinity Blade!

The post Motion Tennis brings Wii style gaming to Apple TV appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.