New report suggests Apple is planning to launch an updated version of its set top box this summer at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to be held in June this year.
“Sources say Apple’s new Apple TV is a significant overhaul of the device, one intended to undergird Apple’s vision of what the TV viewing experience should be, and to raise the table stakes in a set-top box market cluttered with barely differentiated devices from Amazon, Roku, and others,” reads a report by Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski.
As per the report, the updated set-top box will come with a new design and ship with upgraded hardware, a new app store and a software development kit that will allow developers to bring apps to the set-top box.
The new Apple TV box will support more storage space than the current device’s 8GB to allow for the storage of apps. The device will also include a version of Apple’s latest A8 chip as the processor and support Siri voice control as well as the company’s home automation platform HomeKit, the report claims.
Pricing and other key details of the rumored new Apple TV box are yet to be known. Apple is also believed to launch its own subscription TV service sometime later this year.
Apple TV has had a roller coaster sorts of a ride since its debut in 2007. Cupertino originally designed its Apple TV as a device that will bring iTunes content to a customer’s television with subsequent versions removing onboard storage and completely relying on streaming content. Apple hasn’t upgraded its TV offering since 2012 and many analysts believe its just about time that a new version will be released.
As of now, Apple TV offers access to iTunes content alongside a host of other apps including the recently released HBO Go. Owners can either opt to rent a movie or TV show or buy them.
