Apple Television Set Not Expected Until 2015 or Later, But A7 Apple TV Could Come in 2014

[lewisd25]

I just don't have a desire for an Apple made television set...

1. I can't upgrade to a new TV every year for every new AX processor. Too much of a hassle.

2. It most likely won't have 2gb of ram and Safari won't be snappy.

3. I don't have a scale large enough to weigh the TV to make sure the weight is as Apple advertises, and that the TV doesn't have any missing parts.

4. The screen may have too much flex and sound hollow when tapped on.....

 

[IJ Reilly]

Kuo didn't "confirm" anything. All he did was agreed with someone else's speculation about what Apple may or may not do.

 

[dannyyankou]

I'm surprised so many people care about an Apple set top.

I was skeptical at first, but I've found myself to be using it everyday. Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, NBA and MLB games (with separate subscriptions) iTunes movie and TV rentals, all in a small box for $99. Plus streaming music and video from my computer is a nice bonus

 

[Clubber]

I suspect the long awaited Apple TV will look a lot like the current one. Let the overseas manufacturers bleed each other out on the price of the set. Let Apple supply the brain.

 

[bdkennedy1]

An A7 chip in an Apple TV is absolutely redundant unless it can run Apps. They don't need a chip that powerful to watch a movie.

 

[Count Blah]

Been looking forward to a hardware update to the Apple TV for a long time. There was no way I was going to buy a single core A5 that would not be brought along on the trip. The current Apple TV will be the iPod touch 4th generation - something apple sells, that will be left out in the cold within a few short months.

Besides, my chromecast can tide me over until the hardware update.

 

[Bowsa2511]

They should have upgrade-able "modules" like the new Samsung Smart TVs, place a new hardware in a slot each year.

 

[phoenixsan]

Apple.....

has the financial muscle to tackle an enterprise like this. The things, finely noted, is to bring content providers in deals beneficiating to all parties involved. Plus setup a good chain of components providers for the iTV. If any, Apple can do it. But maybe the high powers in Cupertino have to make a slow rollout, like the iRadio thing. First USA and Canada, some European countries and so on. But going for content providers outside USA and even there, can be tricky: Regulations, loyalties......

We have to wait and see about how Apple negotiates these deals. And if them comes to a real product or offer......

 

[Fofer]

Why does anyone pay attention to these "analysts?" They often know less than we do. And they often just make things up out of sheer cloth.

 

[mytdave]

Come and gone

I'm afraid the opportunity for Apple in the TV market has passed them by. They've waited way too long. Unless Apple's developed holography with mind control, pretty much all other possible interfaces, capabilities, resolutions, and content has already been realized by their competition.

The best thing Apple could do at this point is to take their little box and get serious about adding it to their ecosystem, which means a TV compatible App Store.

 

[Pakaku]

Hearing about an "Apple-branded TV" always makes me think of this thing...

All they need to do is make the Apple TV to where you can play iOS games with a controller and they'd basically slaughter the competition.

Not if there aren't any good games to back up the product.

List me 3-5 console-quality games (since we're talking about a console type of use) available on iOS right now, or more, and I'll reconsider.

 

[swarmster]

An A7 to do what?

App Store?

App Store is the obvious addition. But the AppleTV is kind of a weird product. It can already play videos at 1080p and that's all it's intended for. Getting an A7 doesn't necessarily mean anything new that's consumer facing.

An A7 does have a few benefits for Apple, though:

Economies of scale - I'm sure they're making far more A7 processors right now than whatever leftovers they're sticking in the current AppleTV. After a while it will become more expensive for them to continue using that processor.

Unified code base - If and when iOS goes 64-bit only, all their products will need to be using 64-bit processors. A 64-bit processor might also give them opportunities for enhanced encryption?

Efficiency - I could be wrong, but I think the A7 actually uses less power than the older chips? You could certainly clock it way down. Or use the power for extra UI elements or some kind of motion control (if that's a thing).

 

[69650]

Don't see how things are going to be any different in 2016. The cable companies are never going to give up their cash cow. I would be quite happy if Apple kept the current AppleTV box and was a lot more proactive about adding channels like the BBC iPlayer.

They could make the AppleTV a smart home hub with a sizeable hard drive to store your iTunes library centrally with the ability to wirelessly stream it around the house or stream it over the internet like a SlingPlayer. That way I could store my iTunes content on it and watch it remotely on my iPad over the internet from anywhere in the world.

 

[iZac]

Like everyone else says ... Add an SDK and they will really shake up the console market.

Some may think it might kill the ouya, but it will at least give indie devs the impetus to develop for the TV when big players on android and ios share the same concept.

Although you can already screen extend with the ATV and iPad, consider this will be directly analogous to the Wii U gameplay when attached to an iPhone / iPad.

Connect it between your set top box and the TV and it will command the living room devices like the xbox one wants to.

Ahh Apple ... just an SDK and the devs will seriously do the rest.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Why an A7? Well, HEVC will be far more demanding than H.264, so that alone could justify the A7 since it isn't clear the A5 or A6 would be powerful enough, in addition to the other poster's comments about economies of scale, power efficiency, and unified code bases.

 

[Bensalama21]

An A7 to do what?

App Store?

4k support most likely

 

[dampfnudel]

Wouldn't the A7 be a bit overkill for the AppleTV box? If Apple wants more performance out of it, just go to the dual core A5 since the iPad 2 is still in production.

What about gaming? I don't think the A7 is overkill for that. The A5 should be gone by the end of next year (as well as the iPad 2). I think Apple should stay away from making TV sets, it will be too much of a headache for them. Just turn that small, but powerful box into what we always wished our cable boxes could be, with some nice gaming thrown in. giggity

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4k support most likely

4K support won't help most of us for the next few years. Now, gaming is another story, at least for some of us.

 

[Yojimbo007]

He thinks! Hummm....
Thoughts are dime a dosen... Give me substantated news!

 

[sir1963nz]

Don't see how things are going to be any different in 2016. The cable companies are never going to give up their cash cow. I would be quite happy if Apple kept the current AppleTV box and was a lot more proactive about adding channels like the BBC iPlayer.

They could make the AppleTV a smart home hub with a sizeable hard drive to store your iTunes library centrally with the ability to wirelessly stream it around the house or stream it over the internet like a SlingPlayer. That way I could store my iTunes content on it and watch it remotely on my iPad over the internet from anywhere in the world.

They have that, its called a Mac Mini.
I have two as a 10.6.8 servers, ripped all my CDs/DVDs to it, and we can now stream any of them to multiple devices simultaneously. And its all saved onto a 12TB RAID array. I also get automatic back ups of our laptops, web server, DNS server, mobile accounts so my laptop/desktop remain in sync.

 

[mlody]

What would be unique about an Apple TV screen compared to other brands? No need for that.

Based on my past experience with Apple screens (iPad's, iPhone's and iMac's) Apple TV screen most likely would have yellow tint on half of the screen without an ability to change the color temperature and would cost twice than a comparable set.

 

[nuckinfutz]

I haven't heard of any explicit support for HEVC in the A7. That doesn't mean it cannot happen but I'm wondering if Apple would rather just use specialized chip to handle HEVC decode rather than overwork an A7.

 

[winston1236]

just forget about it

Agreed. This is never happening. Profit margins are way too low.

 

[Sun Baked]

Arizona officials court Taiwan iPad, Kindle maker

Less than a week after one Apple Inc. supplier announced plans to manufacture its scratch-resistant glass in Mesa, Gov. Jan Brewer was in Taiwan courting the chief executive of another big Apple supplier, electronics-manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group.

Foxconn builds Apple products such as the iPad and iPhone and builds Kindles, PlayStations and other products for tech companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Dell.

Brewer and Foxconn CEO Terry Gou met over the weekend, and Gou announced Saturday that the company is considering setting up a factory in Arizona to make TVs and display panels, according to the Reuters news service.

...

Depends on how long the lead time is on getting a facility together.

 

[Xerotech]

First, TV's being launched in a year for a few grand and 4K to this.

 

[djtech42]

I hope a major, and I mean MAJOR software update is coming to the Apple TV soon