Apple announced that the new Apple TV “will be available at the end of October,” but it looks like you won’t put your hands on the new hardware before the first week of November. According to 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman, Apple TV 4 “will begin showing up in Apple Retail Stores for sale during the first week of November.” And although, as Gurman claims, the new Apple TV will go on sale via Apple’s website in late October, “it’s likely that the first online orders will reach customers in early November.”

Giveaway: Win a brand new Apple TV 4!

More on Apple TV 4:

• MAME emulator running on Apple TV 4
• Official Plex app is coming to the new Apple TV
• VLC coming to the new Apple TV
• tvOS not coming to Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3
• How Apple is fixing what’s wrong with console gaming today

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It is highly expected that Apple will announce a new Apple TV model at its annual September’s event, which will very likely be held on Sept. 9th. 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman has recently provided some new details about the next-generation Apple TV:

• Apple TV 4 will be the first model to run a full-blown iOS core and it will run a TV-optimized version of iOS 9;
• it will look like the prior Apple TV, but will be slimmer and slightly wider;
• it is likely that it will retain a plastic body for the best compatibility with routers and Bluetooth remotes;
• the new remote control will not only include touch-based input but also gesture support. Perhaps it will also feature Force Touch technology;
• “the new remote will likely pack enough technology to deter users from losing the controller”;
• Apple is planning to include a support for a system-wide search on the new Apple TV (just like the Proactive search on iOS 9) but 9to5Mac was told that “the company may wait to integrate the new search features until the Apple TV is populated with third-party applications”;
• as for the Apple TV apps, Apple has fosuced on video-centric applications, “which would allow media companies to release new channels on the Apple TV on their own schedule”;
• the new Apple TV will include a refreshed, more iOS-like interface, however, “the general aesthetic will be similar to the current look”. 9t5Mac was told that the new OS looks somewhat like the mockup below:

• the new Apple TV iOS 9 builds internally run on both the current J33 (Apple TV 3) and future J34 (Apple TV 4) models, “but internal testing does not always accurately forecast public launch plans”;
• it appears that Apple’s long-rumored online TV service won’t launch until at least next year.

More about Apple TV 4:

• Apple TV 4 hardware, software, release date detailed by Mark Gurman
• Multi-touch Bluetooth remote for Apple TV referenced in El Capitan beta 2
• Apple working on its own web TV service
• WSJ: Apple to launch $30-$40/month online TV service in September
• Reading between the lines of WWDC 2015 keynote

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

The post New details about Apple TV 4 revealed appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is 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.

The idea is to offer consumers a “skinny” bundle with well-known channels like CBS, ESPN and FX, while leaving out the many smaller networks in the standard cable TV package.

Some media executives said they believed Apple was aiming to price the service at about $30 to $40 a month. The company is aiming to announce its new service in June and launch it in September, according to people familiar with the matter.

WSJ reports that Apple is in talks with Walt Disney Co., CBS Corp., and 21st Century Fox Inc., among other media companies.

Last week Apple announced that the new HBO NOW streaming service is coming exclusively to Apple TV in April. According to WSJ, “that deal was designed as a kind of appetizer for the main meal plans to be served later this year.”

Apple has also dropped the price of Apple TV to $69 (and it’s now just $67.87 on Amazon), which 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman thinks is a sign that the company is making room for “a groundbreaking new set-top box.”

9to5Mac reported that Apple is working on a new, slimmer Apple TV model with a more capable and tactile remote control and a redesigned OS bundled with an App Store.

We shouldn’t be surprised if the new Apple TV launches in September, along with Apple’s online TV service.

Be sure to follow Apple TV Hacks on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ for all the latest Apple TV-related news.

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9to5Mac’s Senior Editor, Mark Gurman is riding a high tide now, as most of his predictions regarding the Apple Watch and the new ultra-thin MacBook were proven right. In an interview given to CNBC, Gurman shares his views on where Apple TV is going and the possibility of an Apple television set.

Along with other Apple stuff, the CNBC reporter asked Gurman about his thoughts on the $30 price cut for Apple TV 3 and the 3 month exclusivity of HBO NOW for Apple TV. This is what he had to say:

I think this $69 price point ($30 price drop) is a big deal because it indicates that they try to make room for something. They are trying to sell a lot of these Apple TVs. They are trying to use it as a marketing tool to really allow for customer discovery of these living room solutions. So I think it is a big deal in getting the Apple TV out there.[..]

Even bigger is the HBO exclusivity deal because it represents that the Apple TV with the cable networks and show providers have the technology to do a subscription service without the cable box. And I think HBO is just the first of many.

And I think the overall solution Apple has in the works is just a bunch of different programs and apps, that are not on a pay-per-view subscription but like perhaps a weekly, monthly or yearly plans.

Gurman was also asked about the possibility of a standalone Apple TV set:

I don’t think [Apple TV set] is currently in the works or is currently the plan. I think the plan is to make a groundbreaking new set-top box that really changes the model path of how people get TV. I think more services-backed model is where they are headed instead of screen-based hardware.

I think the next version of Apple TV, in terms of appearance, will look really a lot like the current one. It probably will be thinner, have a larger more tactile remote control. But in terms of a screen-based set, I don’t think that is happening in the near future.

You can catch the whole 5 minute interview here.

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