Apple TV Refresh to Be Stealth Update, Will Not Affect Product Features

[BornAgainMac]

Oh, this was the "amazing new products in the pipeline" comment.

[OllyW]

Originally Posted by Icaras

But the diagram says 93.78 mm, as opposed to the 98 mm count on the current Apple TV? Sorry, I think I keep missing something here

The outside of the case measures 98 mm but the base is smaller and fits inside the casing.

[nia820]

i wish they would add some memory to apple tv. i love my apple tv but i would like the option of being able to download some shows and movies on it. my internet sometimes at night gets moody and it is a pain watching a movie or show sometimes.

[doelcm82]

Originally Posted by jlasoon

has been saying this for some time now about all their products.

Not really. Some product updates get a keynote address with banners and fanfare, and cool music, and rows and rows of tech reporters live-blogging, and others happen like this, or like the 128GB iPad upgrade, with barely a press release.

[Moccasin]

Originally Posted by Peace

They would sell more than 2 million if they did.

They may well do but that would cannibalise sales of their other iOS devices. Would as many buy an iPad for surfing in front of the TV if they could use all those apps on the Apple TV? If not, then they would lose significant revenue and profit.

For UK users, getting iPlayer onto Apple TV would make a big difference. I also agree with others that allowing access to more local content without having a computer running iTunes (e.g. a local networked hard drive or Time Capsule) would also be an improvement.

[nuckinfutz]

Maybe the A5X has better support for HEVC.

http://www.zdnet.com/is-apple-tv-wai...on-7000010321/

According to this article the 2012 iOS devices already have support for HEVC which would enable Apple to start transitioning to smaller downloads.

I don't really think the Apple TV should be catering to every service out there. This ain't Roku and it isn't designed to be.

Apple should be focused on making iTunes and the Cloud THE source for media content and holding those reigns means that control stems from Apple and not what a 3rd party company is going to do.

[lunarworks]

Originally Posted by Peace

They would sell more than 2 million if they did.

Which would take a bite out of the rest of their product lineup.

I doubt Apple makes much profit off of Apple TV. It's marketed role is more or less an "accessory" for your other Apple devices, but it's actual role is a customer-subsidized research device.

Apple's plan: Get the thing into living rooms, find out how people use it (it sends usage details back to Apple), and form "living room" strategies around that data.

[DrMotownMac]

I actually have a 3rd gen Apple TV in one room in my house, and I like it so much, I decided to buy another one at my local Apple Store on January 28th (yes, two days ago). I haven't had the chance to open the box and set it up yet, so the question is, do I return it now and wait for who knows how long, or do I forget about this and just enjoy what I have?

This is very odd. It is an update, but it's not really an update.... but is it really worth waiting for?

[Bilbo63]

I'd be thrilled if they could make it stop being so damn sluggish. I have a fast internet connection and a strong wireless signal yet it is far too sluggish. It's painful.

I purchased it last spring and twice now, it has totally locked to point where the only course of action was doing a hard reset using a micro USB cable with iTunes.

[iAmUndefined]

Originally Posted by Peace

Safari
Twitter
Facebook
NFL
ESPN
Pandora
NPR
CNN
Stocks
Maps
Notes
Reminders
Messages
Weather

The list goes on and on and on.

NFL, ESPN and CNN are channels which I mentioned. All the other apps you mentioned would be a nightmare to use on Apple TV.

[Peace]

Apple is using it's post-Jobs RDF here.

If nothing is changing and it's no big deal WHY is Apple doing this :

"Apple Inc. requests that the Commission withholds the following documents from public viewing for one hundred eighty days after the date the grant of equipment authorization is issued:
• External Photographs
• Internal Photographs
• Test Setup Photographs
• User Manual
These documents reveal technical and design information that has not been publicly disclosed in marketing materials and is protected by Apple Inc. as confidential and proprietary trade secrets. This information has been disclosed to those required to maintain its confidentiality, and is not customarily disclosed publicly prior to the commercial release of the device. As a result, disclosure of this information by the Commission prior to commercial release would harm Apple Inc. by giving competitors an unfair market advantage. Apple Inc. believes the period of confidentiality requested is necessary to protect the information until the commercial release of a device."

I understand this could just be SOP.

[iAmUndefined]

Originally Posted by macUser2007

Why should there be Apple TV?

Undefined, alright....

You quoted me... yet managed to misquote me. Smart.

[bohbot16]

Originally Posted by Dwalls90

Yea, tech crunch nailed this spot on.

I hope they don't give the iPad mini an A5X. The A5X will be far from over a year old by the time it would be put into the Mini, and as we can see from the iPad 3, requires way more battery power and thermal space.

I'd hope it would either be an A6X underclocked or A6 (it has less pixels to drive and isn't meant to be a performance beast like the iPad) so that it can be retina without getting thicker or killing battery life. The A5X was kind of a flop of a chip design if you ask me. The A6X is along those lines, but seems to be better on battery and heat dissipation.

But by moving to the A5X, which is more expensive to manufacturer, it's almost as if Apple is implying that the A5 isn't suitable for the current Apple TV. I don't see the point in changing what isn't broken. It may be a "silent update", but surely this is planning for something Apple has planned down the product pipeline.

I'm thinking a process shrink on the A5X, just like they did on the stealth update to the iPad 2. Then the lower energy (heat) A5X could go into a retina iPad Mini.

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Originally Posted by DrMotownMac

I actually have a 3rd gen Apple TV in one room in my house, and I like it so much, I decided to buy another one at my local Apple Store on January 28th (yes, two days ago). I haven't had the chance to open the box and set it up yet, so the question is, do I return it now and wait for who knows how long, or do I forget about this and just enjoy what I have?

This is very odd. It is an update, but it's not really an update.... but is it really worth waiting for?

It sounds like there will be no advantage to buying the updated version. I also suspect that the only reason Apple commented was to keep people purchasing the existing version.

[akatsuki]

Not a surprise to me... A bit disappointing because I have been holding off hoping that Apple will get serious about TV.

Apps would be huge. Let them work out content deals after establishing presence. As it is, I am still on the fence about buying one or a Roku.

And, if I do decide to go with an AppleTV - how do I guarantee I get a new one?

[chrmjenkins]

It's likely a test run for the TSMC or Samsung 28nm processes.

https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/statu...84926629502976

So I forgot to note that S5L8945 is the 45nm A5X, S5L8947 is an A5XR2 of some kind, possibly die shrunk 32nm HK-MG Samsung or 28 TSMC (???)

My guess is that two of the GPU cores will be disabled. I'm also going to guess this is for TSMC 28nm for two reasons: the A5X is an older chip which suggests the effort to shrink has been longer in the making, and the A5X is the largest chip they had at the time to test the processes's yields.

Because of this, I wouldn't expect any new iOS devices until Fall. Apple updated everything last fall to give TSMC time to build volume for their A7 and A7X chips coming this fall.

[billystlyes]

No new features! I think that says it all about Apple these days...

[lee27]

The only reason I would upgrade my ATV3, if the next generation ATV's supported 24p.

[benspratling]

Originally Posted by roland.g

I've been planning on getting a 3rd gen to take advantage of the 1080p. I can move my second gen to my basement tv. However, since I wasn't in a hurry, I'll still wait till these are in distribution to at least get the spec bump on the chip.

Ditto. How do we know when what's in the box at the store is the new model? Will this new model # be on the outside of the box?

[Chupa Chupa]

It's too bad Apple doesn't open it up to the App store. It could be a killer device then.

[bushido]

gonna be a boring first 2Q in the Apple world

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by Peace

Apple is using it's post-Jobs RDF here.

If nothing is changing and it's no big deal WHY is Apple doing this :...
I understand this could just be SOP.

Yes, just wishful thinking I think. If it were big Apple would hype it up, especially now when they need something to at least look exciting and new.

But this is likely the result of cost saving or using newer parts at the older ones get EOL'd by suppliers or Apple wanting to streamline the # of parts among all products.

Unfortunately I think Job's RDF must be pointing toward Cupertino because the only one's delusional these days are the front office at Apple HQ.

[madsci954]

Originally Posted by Peace

Can someone explain to me just exactly what you do with a wireless keyboard on the un-jailbroken Apple TV other than input your email address or search ?

It just seems like a lot to go through for Apple. A wireless keyboard is kind of useless unless there are apps on it.

Gotta have a chicken before you can make some eggs

[M-O]

Originally Posted by Four oF NINE

This doesn't seem like much of an update

yea, that's what they said.

----------

Originally Posted by rbrian

Will an upgraded wireless chip enable it to stay connected to Home Sharing for more than 5 minutes without disconnecting (while two iPhones, an iPad, two Macs, and Windows PC stay connected in the same place)?

mine never drops out. maybe it's your router.

[praetorian909]

Originally Posted by macUser2007

IT'S THE APPS, STUPID!

Right now, it's a glorified Netflix player, and not a very good one, either (e.g., if you finish an episode, it presents you with a Play button for the SAME episode, instead of the NEXT episode as many other front-ends do).

I love Netflix and that's why I am OK with ATV, but it really needs apps before Google TV gets its act together and ATV becomes irrelevant.

Yes what is with that??? Though reading around I'm not quite sure if Apple is fully to blame.

Because meanwhile the PS3 has a nicer interface--it counts down during the credits with a nice preview window and autoplays the next episode.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/68barntdt3x6inr/DSC00934.JPG
(I took this photo back in May 2012)

I searched online and found out it's called Netflix Post-Play:
http://blog.netflix.com/2012/08/new-...s-it-easy.html

So sounds like it's programmed from Netflix's end, so maybe they're responsible for updating the Netflix apps on various devices? I also read some people can call Netflix to request turning it off (to save bandwidth).

[Peace]

Originally Posted by Chupa Chupa

Yes, just wishful thinking I think. If it were big Apple would hype it up, especially now when they need something to at least look exciting and new.

But this is likely the result of cost saving or using newer parts at the older ones get EOL'd by suppliers or Apple wanting to streamline the # of parts among all products.

Unfortunately I think Job's RDF must be pointing toward Cupertino because the only one's delusional these days are the front office at Apple HQ.

Originally Posted by madsci954

Gotta have a chicken before you can make some eggs

Then what I originally thought was going to happen is going to happen.
Sure they're updating chips due to discontinuing older chips but adding the bluetooth keyboard is a big giveaway imho. Apps will be in IOS 7 at WWDC.