What We Expect from the New Apple TV


By

on

in


apple-tv-hero
If all the reports are true there will be a new Apple TV announced on September 9, 2015. Yet we know almost nothing definite about the new Apple TV set-top streaming box. So here is our breakdown of all the Apple TV rumors and what we honestly expect.

Local Stations

There have been a ton of rumors saying that Apple will have local stations as part of a new streaming service that will be tied to the new Apple TV. We think it is unlikely that Apple will have a new streaming service tomorrow or that Apple will have local stations as part of the deal.

We do think it is much more likely that Apple will offer support for over-the-air television. A simple TV tuner and maybe even a DVR are far more likely options for the Apple TV. Striking a deal with local TV stations is cumbersome; not only do you need to get the local ABC, CBS, Fox, etc., to agree to your streaming servers, but also in some cases you need the content creators to agree to the new streaming service.

The fact that the Apple TV is rumored to have an internal hard drive does give hope to some kind of over-the-air capability.

Gaming

Gaming is currently the main rumor for the new Apple TV with sources like the New York Times and Time magazine claiming gaming will be the main focus. If gaming really is the main focus for the new Apple TV it may leave them already very far behind similar devices.

Both the Fire TV and especially the NVidia Shield are good video game systems and streaming devices that have yet to make even a dent in the video game market. Even dedicated startups like the Ouya, an Android-based gaming system, have failed and was recently sold.

So if the Apple TV’s main focus is just gaming we hope it has other great features to help it stand out in an overly saturated, very mature gaming market.

Third-Party Apps

The Apple TV is rumored to have third-party apps something the Roku, Fire TV, and others have had for years. Apple must add third-party apps if they have any hopes of being competitive in the streaming set-top box market. With Roku and Fire TV offering thousands of apps and new ones every week the Apple TV is severely behind by not offering many popular apps like Sling TV.

While we do think Apple will bring third-party apps to the Apple TV, they will have a long road ahead of them to catch up to the Roku and the Fire TV in terms of number and quality of apps. Because many apps are made by small developers, who currently have no specs to work with, they will not even be able to start programing their apps for the Apple TV until after it is announced.

Universal Search

Both the Roku and the Fire TV already offer universal search: both typed and by voice. Adding universal search to the new Apple TV will be helpful, but again, is just Apple playing catch up to the Fire TV and the Roku. It is rumored that Siri is coming to the Apple TV, which brings hope of improved capabilities to the voice search, however, it is something Roku and Fire TV already do.

So we will have to wait and see what happens. Do you have any predictions? Post them in the comments and they may even appear in our live coverage of the Apple event this Wednesday starting at 12:45 PM EST.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer: To address the growing use of ad blockers we now use affiliate links to sites like http://Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links help sites like Cord Cutters News, stay open. Affiliate links cost you nothing but help me support my family. We do not allow paid reviews on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from :

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.