Is Apple preparing Spring surprises? In addition to the possibility of a Retina MacBook Air and Haswell Mac mini, a new possibility has appeared on the short-term horizon. Sleuths have spotted references to the Apple TV 4,1 in iOS 7.1, which is expected to ship in March.
That is, the currently in beta iOS 7.1 is expected next month and this is the second solid Apple TV 4,1 reference we have seen recently.
The second? Yes, the first came on January 29 when the current Apple TV 3,2 got an unexpected upgrade on the Apple Store — it now is listed at the top level of Apple’s virtual retail space, equal footing with the Mac, iPad, iPhone and iPod. That lead many observers to conclude that an Apple TV update is just around the corner.
New Apple TV
But back to the matter hand. Apple developer Hamza Sood spotted a reference to the Apple TV 4,2 in a recent iOS 7.1 beta seed.
What will be new about a new Apple TV? First of all, this latest sighting has nothing to with long-rumored Apple television set.
Further, nothing’s certain until the product ships, but informed observers are expecting/hoping the new Apple TV will include a cable tuner, the ability to run/play apps and games and additional storage. While an integrated cable tuner could obviate your current Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, etc set top (i.e. a good thing™), close cooperation between Apple and cable TV is a bad thing, which would make cord cutting even harder.
As to the ability to run apps and games, users and pundits have been wishing for this functionality since the Apple TV shipped way back in the day.
Are you a cord cutter? Does the new Apple TV 4,1 sound good to you?
Sound off in the comments below…
Via MacRumors