It appears that the time has come for the little black box to grow up and become a significant player in Apple’s ecosystem. Some reports even speculate that the Apple TV will be THE center of the Apple ecosystem in homes; connecting Internet of Things devices via HomeKit, showcasing iCloud & Photos content, playing games and eventually streaming broadcast television. While the iPhone 6s will undoubtedly take center stage at this Wednesday’s event, all signs point to the new Apple TV being the real star of the show.

First, the raw details that first leaked at 9to5Mac and have been quoted through out the web since. The device will run iOS 9 and include an updated remote, likely with an integrated touchpad and accelerometers for rough gesture based input.

The internal hardware will be significantly upgraded from the prior iteration with the inclusion of an A8 processor, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11ac wireless capabilities resulting in a $149 price point. It appears the price may be tied to the internal storage space with several variants being considered, likely 8 and 16GB models.

While this will create a very formidable little box, the current rumor is that it will not support 4k video.

One of the biggest improvements with the new device is said to be the interface. While initially ‘clean and simple,’ the grid based icon layout of the current Apple TVs has become a sea of never ending icons and is far from pleasant to use. Frankly I have all but ditched mine as the speed to arrive at an application and then load it is easily surpassed by competitors such as the Roku 3.

Thankfully, iOS 9’s new Proactive Spotlight Search capabilities provide a handy tool for eliminating the need for endless icons. With so many options for streaming, the ability to ‘deep search’ into applications and immediately get to the content you want will be key for TVs of the future. This improved search along with upgraded Siri functionality is said to make the new Apple TV interface really shine.

In the past, this is where the updates would have stopped, a spec and UI bump. Sure there were people that had heard rumors or seen ‘Apple TV’ show up in Flurry results, but a true native App Store for the device never materialized… until now.

Finally, after many years of speculation, desire and even dedicated gamepad support in iOS, the new Apple TV version will have apps! Why now, why not years ago?  Only Mr. Cook knows the truth but I have several theories we can discuss over beers at WWDC next year.

What is most surprising to me is that until now, there has been NO visibility of this in the development tools. None. Apple isn’t about to release an App Store without apps, so what gives? This is complete speculation, but I believe this will be very similar to the iPad launch in that the new Apple TV will support much of the current App Store catalogue with few if any tweaks needed in the code base.

However, for those that have the resources, there will be a 30 day window in which to develop an Apple TV-‘optimized’ build of your application. Much like the iPad launch, these will get special billing in the store.

This actually brings me to one of my theories on the delay, I believe the remote was a big factor and this new remote enables the backward compatibility to fill the store from day one.

Either way, we will see for sure on Wednesday September 9th starting at 10am PST.

Rob Witman (@robwitman)

Read more about Apple TV 4: 

• Apple TV 4 specs and price revealed
• Apple TV 4: big focus on gaming and Siri, support for Bluetooth game controllers
• Apple TV 4 will cost $149-$199, available in October

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

The post No longer a hobby. Everything we know so far about Apple TV 4 appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

New day, new details on the upcoming Apple TV 4. 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman this time reveals some new information about the next-generation Apple TV’s hardware:

• he confirms that it will run a A8 chip;
• Apple is said to be planing to release two models with 8GB and 16GB of storage (although it’s still possible it will only release the 16GB model);
• the new box will include the same ports as the current Apple TV: HDMI, optical audio, Ethernet, micro-USB (for service and support) and a plug for power;
• Apple TV 4 will not support 4K video streaming;
• the new remote with touch support and motion sensors will be a dark gray/black color “to better match the new box’s aesthetic”

It will still be made of metal. Below the touchpad are a pair of tactile buttons (for Siri and the Home button), in addition to rocker buttons assumed to control volume levels.

BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski corroborates the information that was first revealed by Gurman, that the new Apple TV will start at $149.

Paczkowski also reports that the Apple TV 4 will have a ‘universal search’ feature that will lenable searches across multiple streaming video services as well as Apple’s iTunes Store when you search for a show or movie:

Instead of searching the catalogs of multiple video services one at a time for a particular movie, you’ll now be able to search all — or most of them — at once and then choose the service on which you’d like to watch it.

You’ll also be able to search for actors and directors, and run other more targeted searches as well — all with Siri.

While Apple’s intelligent personal assistant is core to this feature, sources say there’s another engine driving it as well — Matcha, the video discovery startup Apple acquired back in 2013. iOS 9’s“Proactive” search is also likely part of the mix here, as 9to5Mac reported.

Learn more about Apple TV 4:

• Apple TV 4: big focus on gaming and Siri, support for Bluetooth game controllers
• Apple TV 4 will cost $149-$199, available in October
• New details about Apple TV 4 revealed

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

The post Apple TV 4 specs and price revealed appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

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.

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

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