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Amazon France and Amazon Germany Hint at Upcoming Refresh for Apple TV
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Can Apple keep an Apple TV with an A7 chipset at the same price as current gen Apple TV?
I'd love to see the software updated to allow more "organized" views of TV shows that have multiple seasons and Movies that belong in a series (Harry Potter, just an example). It seems crazy that I see 8 entries for the TV series House, one each for each season - it should just show "House" and once you drill into that folder, then each season becomes visible.
Would make for much less interface clutter, IMHO.
My $0.02
Adam
Would make for much less interface clutter, IMHO.
My $0.02
Adam
I'm going the other way: minor update with 802.11ac like the new Airport Extremes (for smoother AirPlay playback). Possibly a new remote with an RF or Bluetooth connection.
Apple have been shipping more and more bundled Apps to the AppleTV. There could be some kind of interface overhaul to manage this better.
I don't see Apple just turning up and announcing a whole new platform with hardware being shipped to customers the very next day. When they bring Apps to AppleTV, the new software will be announced well in advance to allow developers to have Apps ready on day 1.
You won't see A7 at the current price. It would be A6 to keep costs. That means 512 mb or 1gb ram like the other A6 chips. Right now Apple TV is 8GB flash which really isn't enough for apps... And 16-32 GB will jack up the price from $99.
I don't know what you'd do with HDMI pass thru... Certainly not recording as the HDMI spec is one of those "DRM ENCUMBERED" things the Entertainment industry controls and would double the cost.
I think Apple might go the Roku route with a bus-powered HDMI version. That would make a lot of sense... And be easier than a TV.
Unless Apple moves the price point up considerably, I don't see Apple TV turning into a game device quite yet... They might surprise me.
There was, it was for Gen 3, there was a 2 char code in the serial circulated that indicated if you were in a bad batch (I had just previously picked up two ATV3s, neither were, though one is on a GB wire anyway)
I believe it was just a straight up swap at an Apple Store:
Here's a source for it:
http://9to5mac.com/2013/04/15/apple...s-have-wifi-issues-opens-replacement-program/
Same here, you're definitely not alone (and I've read some other people that said the same in various threads). YMMV I guess...
The article said the warranty would be extended to 2 years for units with this problem. I'm not so sure of that from the response I got--would've been a lot easier had I been within the 1-year mark.
My Apple TV would immediately drop WiFi connection every time I tried to join. My serial was eligible according to the list (also posted here on Macrumors, in either variation with characters matching in the 3rd and 4th positions or in the 4th and 5th positions).
My serial was: C0HHFTH4DRHN (unit has now gone back to Apple)
However when I went to the Genius bar--two different geniuses, at two different stores--they were not able to find any recall (forgot what she called it, "contract" maybe?). I even showed both of them the printout of the AppleInsider article to have them double-check (which they did).
I ended up just paying out of pocket because I was 160 days past the 1-year warranty. My problem was that when I first got it, I never used the WiFi because my TV was near my router. Later I moved to a new place, and then needed it wireless. I'm thinking the WiFi chip might have been defective from the start.
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Hmm that does kinda makes sense, we didn't see any new dev OS builds so would be kinda out-of-nowhere.
I'd like a refresh--my gen 2 is fine but I'd like to take advantage of 1080p but want to hold off until the next version--so the sooner, the better.
This is NOT proof of anything other than Amazon believing there will be a new Apple TV announced and released the same/next day.
They don't likely have any insider info on this and could be totally wrong or even just wrong about the release date.
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Agreed on the TV shows. That's how iOS devices do it. I would also like to see movies and even books referenced with series names and numbers. So you don't necessarily see a 'folder' of Harry Potter but they are listed by order not actual name. Very very handy for series where the names don't reference a common name. Like Hunger Games or Twilight.
I would also like to see things like Downton Abbey listed under its actual name and not 'Masterpiece'. It's annoying as heck particularly since the various shows get jumbled up together so season one has DA mixed with Inspector Lewis etc. Wouldn't mind them recutting the eps to remove the huge Masterpiece intro stuff also.
Inside the stores also needs some major revamping with metadata as well. Things like searching for the name off actor that plays Draco and only four of the eight films comes up. And then there's the inconsistent presentations. Some bands have a band page, smog don't. Some TV shows or movie groups have a series page, most don't. Get it together, Apple.
They don't likely have any insider info on this and could be totally wrong or even just wrong about the release date.
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Agreed on the TV shows. That's how iOS devices do it. I would also like to see movies and even books referenced with series names and numbers. So you don't necessarily see a 'folder' of Harry Potter but they are listed by order not actual name. Very very handy for series where the names don't reference a common name. Like Hunger Games or Twilight.
I would also like to see things like Downton Abbey listed under its actual name and not 'Masterpiece'. It's annoying as heck particularly since the various shows get jumbled up together so season one has DA mixed with Inspector Lewis etc. Wouldn't mind them recutting the eps to remove the huge Masterpiece intro stuff also.
Inside the stores also needs some major revamping with metadata as well. Things like searching for the name off actor that plays Draco and only four of the eight films comes up. And then there's the inconsistent presentations. Some bands have a band page, smog don't. Some TV shows or movie groups have a series page, most don't. Get it together, Apple.
1. It's not a recall. That's a term with much stronger legal implications than what Apple tends to do. They call it a 'quality program'. Major difference being that recalls are verified manufacturer defect or safety related. A QP might perhaps be such a thing or simply Apple wasn't happy with how worn out something gets or it's a QA issue. They might be well within industry standard for something failing as a okay rate but their own internal judgement is that it was too high. So out of their own sense of decency they are covering it.
2. An article off a blog is a joke of a form of proof. They post all kinds of BS, half truths etc. If you want to investigate something go to the source. On the support page on apples site there is a list of all active programs and a way to check if your serial is one of them. Even if yours doesn't come up it doesn't mean you won't get service but if you are out of warranty you are on hook for any costs. You can't invoke the program to get it to for free. And in many cases, if you properly registered your stuff Apple will directly email you about the program. To the point that I got an email about the Seagate iMac hard drive program and my iMac doesn't even have a Seagate drive in it.
3. My own internal source tells me that Apple is working on updated internal systems to alert techs if a specific serial is in a potentially qualifying set for an active program so they can test for the qualifying conditions.
HDMI pass thru would allow you to integrate a cable/satellite receiver into the Apple TV's HDMI output so that you wouldn't have to switch TV inputs to watch an app or use Airplay...
1. Yeah sorry, recall was the wrong word. It was called "replacement program" (though the genius called it something else, I forgot what though).
2. You say it's kinda a joke as proof but for this there was even a photo of a tech bulletin: TS4543. I guess someone could've faked that, but why go through all that trouble? (Article was from 9to5Mac, I wrote AppleInsider but was mistaken)
http://9to5mac.com/2013/04/15/apple...s-have-wifi-issues-opens-replacement-program/
If you Google search, of course many websites & blogs--Engadget, CNET, Macrumors also--reported it shortly after, probably all drawing from that one same source. But of course I know blogs state lots of things as fact/truth and they're in no way official, and that's what I told the geniuses when I kindly asked them to double-check. I definitely didn't bring up a fuss (not like the lady with the baby stroller
) because obviously I didn't have access to real first-hand evidence of a replacement program.3. Yes, one of the geniuses told me something would have popped up when he typed in my serial number on his iPad. But anyhow that's what I was trying to point out (which I admit was not expressed well after re-reading my own post), I kinda now have my doubts that this bulletin ever got circulated.
Moral of the story was: test every function of whatever you buy first, even the ones that you don't think you will use--you might need it later.
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false. your serial has to match the faulty wifi serials and you have to have wifi issues.
What are you playing that costs $1,000? And, I'd like to sell you one for the low low price of $899.95.
Has Apple ever done a single dedicated TV, radio, or Internet commercial ad for their AppleTVs?!**
This might explain why the vast majority of people outside of Apple-nerds have never heard of the thing.
** P.S. Apple advertising it as "on sale" in their own Apple Online Store does not count as an advertisement. Neither does Amazon's website posting something like "Yes, we sell AppleTVs right here! Come and get one!"
I've been holding off because of a potential announcement. For your sake, I hope they bring along the single core A5 when they go hot and heavy in the software updates. Personally, I have my doubts.
I doubt they would add a HDD / memory to the ATV. Cost aside, Apple is going towards cloud storage and delivery and adding storage runs counter to that. They might up it a bit for games, buffering and add some controller support as they move towards being an entertainment device rather than a video streaming device, but I see cost and cloud being the drivers of the specifications.
Why not just use the HDMI pass through on the back of the cable or satellite box?
Big agree here. We have iPhones, iPads, and Macs in our house, but the Apple TV is definitely our most used and most loved gadget. I recommend it to any cord cutter who asks me what to get. And since we don't have cable and subscribe to some shows on iTunes, it's almost like having a DVR. The new shows just pop up when they're ready.
Would love an updated Apple TV...as of right now I have a jailbroken Apple TV 2 and Apple TV3 but use the ATV2 more just because of XBMC. Hopefully with the addition of 3rd party apps, the new ATV will be more vulnerable to a jailbreak.
Many people here don't seem to think that there is room for improvement on hardware in the AppleTV, just that it needs OS improvements, notably an app store. The mistake that these people make is that they focus on chip speed, which in fact is sufficient for running the current OS and movies in 1080p. But if you want the AppleTV to innovate and improve via software, hardware improvements must come in tandem.
For one, you can't have an app store without hardware changes, at the very least onboard storage. The 8GB in the existing AppleTV is used for the operating system and buffering -- there would be very little room available for apps, specially for games. Then there are the games themselves, several iOS games won't run on the AppleTV's low power chip. You'd need an A7 to match what is available for iPhone.
There are other areas of improvement in the AppleTV that require hardware updates. A few hardware improvements we might see in the next AppleTV:
- Onboard storage: 16GB and 32GB AppleTV's to choose from
- ClickWheel remote: AppleTV's UI is far from ideal. To fix it, Apple could use their wildly successful ClickWheel on a Bluetooth LE remote and a new scrolling UI.
- A7 64bit chip: if games are going to drive the AppleTV app store, you need a chip that can handle it.
- Siri chip: Apple is known to test technology inside their less mission critical -- read hobby -- devices. Experimenting with a dedicated Siri chip could mean lightning fast response times for Siri and a future iPhone with that chip residing alongside the M7 dedicated motion sensing chip introduced in the iPhone 5S.
I think there's plenty of room to grow with the AppleTV hardware and so we might see some of these improvements in the next generation AppleTV.
For one, you can't have an app store without hardware changes, at the very least onboard storage. The 8GB in the existing AppleTV is used for the operating system and buffering -- there would be very little room available for apps, specially for games. Then there are the games themselves, several iOS games won't run on the AppleTV's low power chip. You'd need an A7 to match what is available for iPhone.
There are other areas of improvement in the AppleTV that require hardware updates. A few hardware improvements we might see in the next AppleTV:
- Onboard storage: 16GB and 32GB AppleTV's to choose from
- ClickWheel remote: AppleTV's UI is far from ideal. To fix it, Apple could use their wildly successful ClickWheel on a Bluetooth LE remote and a new scrolling UI.
- A7 64bit chip: if games are going to drive the AppleTV app store, you need a chip that can handle it.
- Siri chip: Apple is known to test technology inside their less mission critical -- read hobby -- devices. Experimenting with a dedicated Siri chip could mean lightning fast response times for Siri and a future iPhone with that chip residing alongside the M7 dedicated motion sensing chip introduced in the iPhone 5S.
I think there's plenty of room to grow with the AppleTV hardware and so we might see some of these improvements in the next generation AppleTV.
Not all cable boxes have HDMI inputs. Plus, Apple could integrate their own program guide like the Xbox One has...
God I hope this is true, I will finally buy an Apple TV if I can play some of the hundreds of iOS games I've bought on my TV.