After the release of iPad Air people began re-imagining iPhones to match the “Air” aesthetics. But what about the possibility of an Apple TV Air? Well, nobody was expecting that. Curved is behind this one too, after the wirelessly rechargeable touch-enabled Apple TV remote concept and the remote slash gamepad concepts, showed off in the last couple of weeks.

Unlike what you might think, the Apple TV Air is not an extremely slimmed down version of the current set-top box, instead, it is a whole new category of device. Similar to Google’s Chromecast and Roku Stick, the Apple TV Air is a HDMI dongle, which plugs directly into your HDTV and streams content from your iPhone or iPad.

According to Curved, the device could be just half the size of the current remote and will work over Bluetooth rather than IR (since it would always be hidden behind your TV). This reduction in size and the plastic used would cut down the price to about $49, which would be the cheapest way ever to AirPlay.

It consists of two parts: the HDMI ‘dongle’ (the actual Apple TV) and a small remote control, both sold together in one box for aprox. 49 $/EUR.

Cult Of Mac’s Buster Heine speculates that if Apple TV Air ever comes to life, it’ll not be an Apple TV replacement, instead a low cost alternative to the costly future powerhouse Apple TVs. Well, that makes some sense.

I know, it is a long shot to speculate based on just a concept, but do let us know what you guys think.

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While the internet was churning out regular rumors on the Apple TV 4, Curved was busy re-imagining how the same would look like. And according to them, though the set-top box as such has achieved an aesthetically pleasing look, the remote would be the major highlight of the next Apple TV.

Completely redesigned as a touch device, the new remote might be wirelessly rechargeable via Apple TV. It would sport the same dimensions as the current one except in thickness and would show icons and menus directly on the remote. This is in accordance with the new update to the Remote app for iOS.

A new golden Apple TV model would be available in addition to the classic charcoal black one, with matching remotes. The box features the same diamond cut edges as the latest iOS devices and would be thinner than the 3rd gen models.

Curved continues their wishes:

A higher resolution becomes necessary for 4 K-videos and will be possible thanks to an HDMI 2.0 port. The new Apple TV touch should also be much faster thanks to the A7-chip, already used in iPhone 5s and iPad Air.

Other technical details: New WLAN technology EEE 802.11ac, Bluetooth, DVD Audio, SADC, Dolby Digital Plus, True HD and dts-HD, 32 channel audio, 1536 kHz sample rate. 

As it looks like, everybody is pretty excited about the next Apple TV. From what we’ve heard, it is expected to come out anytime before the end of April with a revamped firmware with support for games, third party channels and with its own Apple TV App Store.

You can follow the rest of our coverage on Apple TV 4 here.

So what are your wishes for the next Apple TV?

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