Given how competitive the set top box space is and that the Apple TV hasn’t been substantively updated since March 2012, Cupertino’s 2015 Apple TV remake is hotly anticipated. That means buzz that is requited by thankfully informed “speculation” from one of the most accurate rumorologists around!
Apple bête noir Mark Gurman has pulled together a thoroughgoing look at the 2015 Apple TV, detailing the specs, features:
• New Hardware, Visual Design — After five years of the same black hockey puck design, the 2015 Apple TV won’t break the mold. It will, however, be a slimmer and slightly wider black hockey puck.
— Improved 802.11ac wifi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE connectivity
New Remote Control — It will be larger and include more tactile keys, making harder to lose and easier to grasp, which sounds like a win-win to me. Further, the 2015 Apple TV remote will also feature touched-based input with gesture support. Force Touch is a whispered feature, though not certain, writes Gurman.
• Siri Support — Siri support in Apple Music rocks my world:
In fact, Siri and Apple Music even found Elton Britt, a long dead hillbilly crooner and yodeler, for my dad. He’s in his ’80s and the look on his face when “his music” started playing on my iPad was priceless, utterly brilliant!
Now, imagine sitting on the couch and saying, “Siri, play ______” where the space is whatever happens to pop into your mind. It’s gonna be awesome!
Improved Proactive-Based Search — The 2015 Apple TV will include system wide search a la iOS 9. So, when you search for “James Bond,” the new Apple TV will push results covering not only the iTunes Store, but also, Netflix, Crackle, your iTunes movie library, etc.
App Store + Developer SDK — This is simply huge. Apps, games and, one imagines, all kinds of Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, iCloud and more ecosystem goodness is coming.
More Storage + More RAM + Faster Processor — A dual-core A8 chip with seriously sturdy M8 graphics paired with 1GB RAM and storage that quadruples to 32GB. These specs represent a serious across-the-board expansion of capability. And, while some people have bitched that the 2015 Apple TV won’t be forward looking enough, it will offer 1080p playback support.
Refreshed User-Interface — The 2015 Apple TV user interface will be much more iOS-like. In fact, it will be very much like iOS 9 in terms of the general aesthetic.
One thing we won’t be getting when the 2015 Apple TV ships, probably in mid-September, is Cupertino’s long-anticipated OTT (over the top) video streaming service. Given that we already an embarrassment of quality OTT services, that can wait.
Liking what rumored 2015 Apple TV has to offer? My TV is almost 10 years old, perhaps it’s time to get a new TV and a new set top box…
What’s your take?
Source: 9 to 5 Mac