HomePod Firmware Possibly Reveals Apple Watch With LTE and 4K Apple TV With HDR10 and Dolby Vision

[twintin]

Yes HomePod does have a display. It's not 4K but there is a display.

4K on Apple TV will be pointless without support for 24fps output support which apple still refuse to implement. Horizontal panning shots are terrible to watch on the Apple TV.

It's because films are shot at 24p and 60/24 is not a whole number which leads to jerky movement when a 24p film is played back on a 60p system.
[doublepost=1502015529][/doublepost]

I suspect Apple put this in because it is an open (i.e. free) standard so no licencing costs.

I don’t understsnd why 60p shuld be jerky, unless the sorurce is even higher, or hoy have banrwirch idsues, unless of course the hardvare acceleration only supportd 24p and 60p must be done bu cpu thst may or mey not be up to the task

Few TVs can actually detect 24p content in 60p/i signals and play accordingly without judder.

http://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/24p

 

[wigby]

Well I did consider that as a contender, but that was concerning just one product. This firmware has leaked information about at least 3 future products, surely a ‘bigger’ leak?

We're up to 4 product leaks now. HomePod, Apple TV, iPhone 8 and Apple Watch. None of these leaks are that surprising given the iPhone 8 leaks throughout this year already but it's going to make Apple's event really unsurprising for every portion except maybe iMac Pro/Mac Pro (if they even mention it). I bet they are scrambling to rewrite portions of it so that there are still a few unknowns that they can reveal. Who knows, this might even spur them to add or tweak features they wouldn't have been doing otherwise just to add more surprises.

 

[imola.zhp]

Wow, and I was about to buy two more ATV's to add to the three we have beteeen two houses. Hurry up and wait.

We don't have any 4K TV's though, will the picture be improved at all on 1080 sets?

 

[The Game 161]

So new iPhone

4K Apple TV
New Apple watch

All in a months time

 

[Glideslope]

Does anyone else think Apple did this on purpose? Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist that wears tin foil on their head and thinks the earth is flat, but this just seems... too easy.

Apple has some of the most brilliant engineers around working for them. And they aren't smart enough to know that someone is going to dissect the firmware and find these "hidden files"?

I'm calling BS. Apple is where they are because they don't innovate first, generally, but they are number one in marketing. And this just seems like the perfect way to keep people interested during the LG V30/Note 8/Pixel 2 hype that's due before the iPhone release.

Or... maybe the same guy who left his iPhone 4 in a bar wrote the code.

IMO, it was not an accident.

 

[DotCom2]

I'm not sure what you have researched for pricing on 4K TVs on the market, but a 72 inch 4K/HDR TV for a price point of 800 to 1000 will get you cheap quality TVs that will not last from manufactures like Vizeo, Highsense, Sansui, etc. And that might sound like that's a great deal when you factor in the size with the price point, but those TV manufacturers make cheap, poorly manufactured chipsets in the displays and are not nearly as quality as TV manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Sony. If you wanted a high-end 4K/HDR TV at 72 Inch, you would pay a lot higher than $1000.

Last year, I upgraded to Samsung's latest 4K/HDR TV and even though I could have saved a lot of money by purchasing a cheaper TV manufacturer with a larger display, it's very difficult to beat Samsung in quality with and their chip sets last way longer over the competitors in terms of longevity. Plus the display is amazin with 4K Gaming on my PS4 Pro. (Soon to be adding the XBox Ond X).

All in all, even if you had to sacrifice the size of the TV for whatever price point you have budgeted for, I would focus on the top TV manufacturers that make the best TVs for viewing experiences and build quality. If something goes wrong with the TV and you are out of your return period, Or don't have an extended warranty, you would expect a top name brand TV to stand behind their product. You won't get that with cheaper brands with a larger TV that you paid a lower price point for.

Actually, Vizio has improved quite a bit from the past and is a very good value.
but I agree that Samsung is very very good quality and the only brand I used to buy but for a spare room, I bought a Vizio and was quite surprised on how good it is for the money. Especially if you buy it from Costco and can double the warranty. GOOD DEAL!

 

[The Game 161]

I'm not sure what you have researched for pricing on 4K TVs on the market, but a 72 inch 4K/HDR TV for a price point of 800 to 1000 will get you cheap quality TVs that will not last from manufactures like Vizeo, Highsense, Sansui, etc. And that might sound like that's a great deal when you factor in the size with the price point, but those TV manufacturers make cheap, poorly manufactured chipsets in the displays and are not nearly as quality as TV manufacturers like Samsung, LG and Sony. If you wanted a high-end 4K/HDR TV at 72 Inch, you would pay a lot higher than $1000.

Last year, I upgraded to Samsung's latest 4K/HDR TV and even though I could have saved a lot of money by purchasing a cheaper TV manufacturer with a larger display, it's very difficult to beat Samsung in quality with and their chip sets last way longer over the competitors in terms of longevity. Plus the display is amazin with 4K Gaming on my PS4 Pro. (Soon to be adding the XBox Ond X).

All in all, even if you had to sacrifice the size of the TV for whatever price point you have budgeted for, I would focus on the top TV manufacturers that make the best TVs for viewing experiences and build quality. If something goes wrong with the TV and you are out of your return period, Or don't have an extended warranty, you would expect a top name brand TV to stand behind their product. You won't get that with cheaper brands with a larger TV that you paid a lower price point for.

Well I've just bought a 55 inch 4K TV for £600 LG one go to admit once you view UHD it is very noticeable

As a big NBA fan in the U.K. To watch games via Apple TV in 4K would be great.

 

[DotCom2]

So new iPhone

4K Apple TV
New Apple watch

All in a months time

I'm a shareholder and this has me concerned a bit. Apple needs to start spreading their product line out over the calendar instead of lumping a lot of products in one quarter. Most people have budgets.

 

[b0nd18t]

This firmware is a gift and a curse. Hardly any surprises left. More leaks still to come from it as well I'm sure.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

Disagreed. Leaking these design decisions (especially decisions related to UX) early means Samsung and others can immediately start making adjustments to their prototypes early and start copying the features. Delaying it would ultimately be better for Apple.

If it was leaking simple stuff like "OMG FRONT FACETIME CAMERA IS CAPABLE OF 4K60", I don't think Apple would mind. Leaking the UX design decisions like FaceID is where it hurts them more than it helps.

It wouldn't matter because competitors like Samsung would already be in the know on what Apple's doing. Even making adjustments close to release schedule would be an astronomically stupid thing to do. That's why they have pipeline schedules to work with in advance. Not even Apple can do adjustments in the last minute, delaying the product, missing the release at the risk of angering customers.

Competitors are usually ahead of Apple when it comes to features. Apple just likes to take its lazy time which is actually not always a good idea.

 

[gnasher729]

Is there any way any of these AppleTV features could be activated with a firmware update? I like my apple TVs, and I hope I don't have to replace them every 20 months or so...

There are no features. Someone found a list of _names_ of features. You need the names of features so that code written in 2017 can ask the device for example "do you support 4K video" and the device answers "no", and some future device will answer "yes". Without the name, an app written today cannot ask the question. So it cannot find out in the future when it is running on a new device supporting the feature.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

Does anyone else think Apple did this on purpose? Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist that wears tin foil on their head and thinks the earth is flat, but this just seems... too easy.

Apple has some of the most brilliant engineers around working for them. And they aren't smart enough to know that someone is going to dissect the firmware and find these "hidden files"?

I'm calling BS. Apple is where they are because they don't innovate first, generally, but they are number one in marketing. And this just seems like the perfect way to keep people interested during the LG V30/Note 8/Pixel 2 hype that's due before the iPhone release.

Or... maybe the same guy who left his iPhone 4 in a bar wrote the code.

It's all BS. Apple just developed a guideline for corporate secrecy by asking their workers to keep things confidential without any leak and being mindful of what to say or do about it. They were cracking down on that the last month or so. Cook claimed to be 'doubling down' on security. If that was the case, they would NOT be bothering with trivial stupid leaks on purpose by drooling clap-happy marketing execs.

The only reason this would've happened is if the developer or engineer probably didn't like what he saw going on in corporate headquarters or had a grudge and decided to do something about it. It's possible the person wanted to do it for fun, but it's likely for another reason.

You just don't simply say "We're doubling down on security" and then go, what the Rock used to say, candya$$ by making a purposeful leak. Cook's job could be on the line because of this. Here's a difference. When Jobs was alive, he would roam around headquarters, to my understanding, to drop in certain departments to ensure progress and quality control. Especially compartmentalizing secrecy. He did a good job of this. While Cook, the a$$ki$$er, had a 'hands off' approach saying " You do your thing. I trust you. I won't go through you guys like a fine toothed comb like Steve did " and get lazy.

Cook is on top of his ivory tower doing his thing and he claimed in one interview that it was the loneliest job. I thought that part was interesting because it seems he's quite isolated away from the company, but it also sounds to me like a cop-out excuse coming from him, probably to explain away certain missteps the company made.

 

[EdT]

Wow, and I was about to buy two more ATV's to add to the three we have beteeen two houses. Hurry up and wait.

We don't have any 4K TV's though, will the picture be improved at all on 1080 sets?

Maybe, but only incrementally because of software. 1080 lines of resolution is 1080 lines of resolution. Color, contrast and smoothing routines can improve a picture even if the actual lines of resolution stay the same, but your TV's capacity to display colors and it's update rate may limit those improvements.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Finally, some decent ATV rumors.

I want at least one indecent Mac Pro or Mac Mini rumor.

 

[kyleh22]

If these rumors are true then I think I speak for everyone when I say, Finally!

 

[Jukens]

Wow. Very impressed how much information we have received from a simple firmware. It's "magical" Jony Ive's voice.

Man, I'm about to drop some money for the fourth quarter. My wallet is getting nervous.

This. I wasn’t upgrading iPhones for the first time this year and then Apple drops some bombs, ready to upgrade my 1st gen watch, get a couple 4K Apple TVs and a couple homepods.

 

[44267547]

Actually, Vizio has improved quite a bit from the past and is a very good value.
but I agree that Samsung is very very good quality and the only brand I used to buy but for a spare room, I bought a Vizio and was quite surprised on how good it is for the money. Especially if you buy it from Costco and can double the warranty. GOOD DEAL!

The only thing I will say about Vizeo is this. Last November, I was in Best Buy looking at the latest 4K TV's, which one of them was a Vizeo. A Best Buy employee stopped to talk with me and he stated (He Seemed very knowledgeable) and stated the Vizeo TV I was looking at was the third TV on their display they had to replace in the last three months. He stated the displays were failing in a much shorter time than expected. Granted, display TV's run for 13 hours a day, he stated that Vizeo's quality plummeted because they switched to a cheaper chip set manufacturer, and the end result was the longevity of the display. I can't say if that's for all of Vizeo's TV line or just that specific model.

I think Vizeo was doing really well four or five years back, but I personally would rather spend the extra money for a bigger name like Samsung or LG. But to each their own on what someone's preference might be.

 

[palmerc]

The HomePod designer must have looked at a marshmallow and thought what a great design. Just cover it in a 1980's speaker cloth and you have a magical design!

Objects have been, in the past, designed based upon the feasibility of construction en masse and then decorate it to disguise the limitations of manufacture. Today we can bend metals and form objects in nearly any shape we desire. So, today, we can design an object to best serve function as opposed to manufacture. It should be expected that all objects will approach an idealised geometric shape.
[doublepost=1502036481][/doublepost]I just bought a second Apple TV for my new 4K TV and I'm certain that means Apple will release a 4K model in the next month.

 

[CarlJ]

Tomorrow:
"HomePod Firmware Possibly Reveals Startling Connection Between Stonehenge, Easter Island, Ancient Aliens, and Apple's New Spaceship Campus."

 

[cube]

The title is so long I first read "Apple Watch with HDR10 and Dolby Vision"

 

[Larry The L]

I'm a shareholder and this has me concerned a bit. Apple needs to start spreading their product line out over the calendar instead of lumping a lot of products in one quarter. Most people have budgets.

Oh please. It doesn't take that much intelligence to plan ahead and spend $400 at once per year or $100 four times in one year.
[doublepost=1502038166][/doublepost]

The title is so long I first read "Apple Watch with HDR10 and Dolby Vision"

Very interesting.

 

[DotCom2]

Oh please. It doesn't take that much intelligence to plan ahead and spend $400 at once per year or $100 four times in one year.
[doublepost=1502038166][/doublepost]

Very interesting.

$400????
hahahahahahaha
You are joking, right?

 

[EdT]

$400????
hahahahahahaha
You are joking, right?

Well, that's meant to be just a down payment.

Actually, for the current ATV you could buy one for that, probably 2. You could also get an entry level iPad for $400. Now, an iPhone, MacBook or iMac? For those $400 would only be a downpayment. For future iPhones, MacBooks and iMacs then $400 would definitely be a much smaller downpayment. But from the rumored price, $400 will get you one HomePod, without AppleCare .

/Edit- added an 'a' between 'just' and 'down' above.

 

[wizard]

one question

if next apple TV has 4K then does this mean apps like NBA will be able to be watched via 4K? is it not that simple?

It isnt that simple! Ideally the source material would be in 4K. That would be up to The NBA. If the source isnt 4k Apple could do an up conversion but the results there might not be what you want. Beyond all of that you need the bandwidth to your home.
[doublepost=1502041066][/doublepost]

Does anyone else think Apple did this on purpose?

I certainly do.

Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist that wears tin foil on their head and thinks the earth is flat, but this just seems... too easy.

Flat earthers and the other liberals out there have nothing to do with marketing like this. Don't get me wrong flat earthers are marketing but what they are selling is stupidity.

Apple has some of the most brilliant engineers around working for them. And they aren't smart enough to know that someone is going to dissect the firmware and find these "hidden files"?

There is nothing hidden about the files. Any developer worth a damn knows where they are.

I'm calling BS. Apple is where they are because they don't innovate first, generally, but they are number one in marketing. And this just seems like the perfect way to keep people interested during the LG V30/Note 8/Pixel 2 hype that's due before the iPhone release.

Considering past happenings at Apple it is hard to believe this leak wasn't intentional. Think about all of the wet panties the early adopters have already!

Or... maybe the same guy who left his iPhone 4 in a bar wrote the code.

The release process at Apple is rather involved with many people signing off. This isn't the work of one guy which highlights its intentional nature.
[doublepost=1502042062][/doublepost]The same nonsense all over again. I remember people spouting off with the same crap when 1K screens first came out. The problem was the difference in image quality was obvious the minute you had an old screen sitting side by side with a new one. There is more to image quality that what you can resolve.

I’ve been mulling the idea of finally getting a new TV this autumn. My TV is ok, a 1080p 42” LG from 2010. I’ve been holding out for 4K price drops but the thing is, from a typical viewing distance, you won’t notice a big difference in 4K unless it’s a pretty huge display. For my living room, I’d need something closer to 90” to see full 4K with 20/20 vision, but start seeing some improvements over 1080p around 60” or so. The main improvement I think I would see from upgrading is HDR, so its good to see that coming to the next Apple TV. The other problem was lack of content, so iTunes Movies going to 4K HDR would make it more worth an upgrade. But I still might wait another year until I can get something around 72” 4K HDR for between $800-1000. The biggest difference I’ve noticed in newer TVs is the improved color, the deeper blacks and brighter whites, and even from a distance the image just seems better because the lack of a screen door effect on certain patterns and on the overall image brightness. The main thing is that I want it to be a dumb TV. I don’t want ads in my menus and stuff spying on me. But I want great picture quality and a minimal bezel for aesthetic reasons. Maybe I’ll luck out on a post-CES 2018 deal in January on a 2017 model.

Actually the spy ware and other crap that comes with todays TVs should be a bigger concern than anything else. Ideally what you would have is a plain PC type monitor hooked up to an AppleTV.

Im still a bit unhappy about Apple leaving the monitor business but I'm not surprised considering how grossly over priced their solutions were. In the end though a PC type monitor that can take inputs from at least two different sources would be an ideal solution to an Apple oriented home.
[doublepost=1502042592][/doublepost]Apple TV Gat!

So I guess the 5th gen ATV will get the A10?

 

[farewelwilliams]

It wouldn't matter because competitors like Samsung would already be in the know on what Apple's doing. Even making adjustments close to release schedule would be an astronomically stupid thing to do. That's why they have pipeline schedules to work with in advance. Not even Apple can do adjustments in the last minute, delaying the product, missing the release at the risk of angering customers.

Competitors are usually ahead of Apple when it comes to features. Apple just likes to take its lazy time which is actually not always a good idea.

samsung doesnt see the software ahead of time which is where the UX usually happens