Apple is expected to launch the fourth generartion of its Apple TV streaming box tonight, so here's a collection of the rumours we think are the most accurate.
Apple's annual September event is set to go underway later tonight and, amid all the noise about the new iPhones we're looking forward to, and the host of other goodies, Apple has another update to a major bit of hardware: The Apple TV. This will be the 4th gen Apple TV being announced, with more than one major difference in the hardware, and a few software additions to boot, so let's run down everything we know about the new streaming hardware.
Gaming
Apple, it seems, is betting on the gaming industry this time around, taking the first tentative step toward console gaming. The Apple TV will have a significant processor, with the A8 chip from iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 making its way to the streaming box. And since the Apple TV is always plugged in, and hence doesn't have to manage battery efficiency, it opens up the field to developers to build apps that can really push that processing power to the limit. And speaking of developers, rumours abound that Apple is also launching a TV-specific app store, which could likely debut alongside an also rumoured, all-new Apple TV SDK. This could mean more powerful games and apps than you can see on iPhones and iPads. But would you then need a controller to play games on the Apple TV? Well, that's where the redesigned remote comes in. Where the earlier remote had four directional buttons and two physical buttons, the new controller will have a touchpad, a microphone to talk to Siri, and three hard buttons for Home, Siri activation, and volume. And as an added bonus, it'll also have Wii-like motion controls. And speaking of Siri...
Siri integration and Universal Search
Siri is reportedly going to be integrated into the Apple TV, meaning no more painfully typing show names in with the remote when you want to watch something, which is what you have to do in the current iteration of the Apple TV. It's not fully clear yet how deep that integration goes, but there might be another saving grace. The Apple TV will also have Universal Search, allowing you to search for your content in all your apps at once, instead of having to, say, open Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon before you find what you're looking for.
On the downside, we've heard plenty of reports saying that Apple is pulling 4K support from the Apple TV 4, seeing as not a lot of users have televisions to support that format anyway. But, more importantly, a 9to5mac report originally stated that the new Apple TV will likely be priced at US $149, still a lot more expensive than the 3rd gen Apple TV, that started out at US $99 and was then dropped to US $69. Rumours abound that Apple plans to launch its own in-house content streaming service soon, so it's likely to continue the Apple TV 3 as an entry model for their streaming hardware segment, with the Apple TV 4 being the premium. Tonight's event will tell us just how right these rumours are.
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