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?

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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.

A new report from a well-connected and usually reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities claims Apple will release a new Apple TV with A7 processor in 2014 and an actual TV set in 2015 or 2016.

We expect Apple to launch a new version of the Apple TV with an A7 processor in 2014, and we forecast 2014 shipments to total 8.2mn units. Shipment growth will be limited unless Apple is able to integrate more TV content, services and its App Store, in our view.

We believe the slowdown in Apple TV shipments suggests Apple faces challenges in integrating TV content and services. If Apple wants to launch iTV, the challenges of integrating content and service are more difficult considering the different TV content ecosystems (e.g. cable operators) in various countries. Moreover, establishing an iTV supply chain is very costly. Thus we believe iTV launch will be delayed to end-2015 or early 2016 at the earliest.

Back in October we reported that TechCrunch’s MG Siegler, who has previously claimed Apple might be releasing some sort of redesigned Apple TV hardware (“with some sort of newfangled control system”) in October, now claims that the big update to the Apple TV was looking to land around the November timeframe:

Originally, I had heard this new-style Apple TV (not an actual television, by the way) was slated for sometime around this November. It’s hard to imagine Apple holding a third event following the iPhone one in September and the iPad event next week. But who knows? Not me, this time.

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

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