At Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ event from March 9, we learned that there’s a new Apple TV in the works, at a reduced price tag ($69). That was basically all there was to learn. While Apple is quietly preparing to ship its next-generation Apple TV when it’s ready, the rumor mill churned out some interesting information.
The new Apple TV will be built on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6’s platform – that is, it will be powered by the same A8 CPU. At the same time, the TV box will offer 4K video streaming and playback to owners of 4K TV sets. With this cat out of the bag, Apple’s decision to cut 4K video support from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus seems all the more questionable. If the chip supports it and the camera sensor is up for it, why not bring 4K video to the iPhone already? We’re sure Apple has a carefully calculated list of reasons not to make its flagship smartphones 4K devices, but from the perspective of an educated user who’s aware of the A8 chip’ capabilities, this decision makes less sense than ever.
The new Apple TV will also get Siri integration, so there will be one more place in your home where you can summon Her Siriness to make you a sandwich. Voice commands sounds like a decent interaction system for the TV box, so hopefully, this will pan out as well as expected. The new Apple TV will be introduced at the upcoming Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco (June 8 – June 12) alongside new versions of iOS & OS X and a new music service.
