Apple TV, once described by Tim Cook as a "hobby" to the Cupertino company, hasn't seen a great deal of change in its lifespan, but with quite a few services having been added recently including the likes of VEVO, Disney Channel and others, and with iTunes Radio already confirmed for it, it's certainly as rich in available content as it ever has been. With a big event confirmed for September 10th, some had hoped that Apple would be bringing some new hardware in its gradual growth push in the TV market, but it now seems certain that this will not be the case. There will, however, be a handsome software update, with a couple of interesting features. Details after the break!
With September 10th fast approaching and Apple now officially confirming that it will hold an event on that date, all the focus and attention is squarely on what will be announced at the company's Cupertino HQ. Up until now all the talk has been about the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, both of which are expected to be shown off publicly for the first time on the 10th, with a release happening less than two weeks later. But there may be more to it than that.
Apple TV may be somewhat limited to the taste of many set-top box owners, but while those typically-Apple restrictions may prevent it from appealing to those with hacking on the brain, the fruit company has continued to evolve the small device from the hobby it once was. There's still no sign of a fully-fledged, connected TV effort just yet in spite of the conjecture from many an analyst, but today, Apple TV has been updated with support for a wide range of content services.
Apple TV was once looking like a forgotten device. Once famously dubbed a "hobby" by then COO Tim Cook, the little black box has not seen much love inside Cupertino, let alone outside. Yet, while the talk of a more strenuous connected TV effort remains on the lips of many an analysts, the fruit company is pressing ahead with updates and improvements to the current generation, and now, enhancing its functionality looks to be squarely on the agenda. The latest Apple TV beta suggests music purchasing will soon become a native feature, and with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity facilitating new setup features via iOS 7, there still appears to be plenty of life left in the set-top streamer.
Apple's been at the center of one particular rumor for years now, and that's the rumor that claims an Apple television will eventually come into being. Over the years that rumor has morphed slightly, and now it's generally accepted that the Cupertino firm is indeed trying to come up with some sort of TV service. Whether that will include a television, or whether it will be piped through an Apple TV box like we have today, remains to be seen.
Nintendo's Wii was undoubtedly popular thanks to one game, and that's Wii Tennis. It was the game we all played with our families, and it was the game that everyone used to demonstrate what the Wii was capable of. Back when motion gaming was very much in its infancy, Wii Tennis was something that really caught the eye.
Apple TV may not be the all-singing assault on the television market as envisioned by the late Steve Jobs, but far from treating it like the "hobby" as once described by CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino company is pressing ahead with updates. Today, Apple TV software 5.3 has been released for the second and third generation iterations of the little black set-top box, and now, users will be able to catch content from HBO and ESPN right from the Apple TV, negating the need for any kind of direct cable subscription. Details after the break!
Apple TV has managed to transcend beyond being just a little "hobby" device for the Cupertino based company, and now finds itself as one of the company's main media-based consumer products. Although, the intelligent little black box is powered by a modified version of iOS, it doesn't have all of the same functionality that we see on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, such as almost unlimited third-party apps that can be accessed through the App Store. Apple has managed to thrash out deals with various high profile companies to bring their content to the media device, but there are still some services - like Plex - that aren't supported much to the distress of some users.
Apple today has released a new firmware update for Apple TV. The set-top box has seen its software bumped to version 5.2.1, and as well as a bunch of the customary bug fixes, there have also been significant enhancements made to the Hulu Plus interface for 5.2.x firmware users.
Taking previous releases of Apple's little black box into consideration, it's actually rather difficult to get that excited about the prospect of a spec-bumped Apple TV. Apple's utterances of a "minor" refresh appeared confirmed when it was revealed last year that the next device would sport an A5 processor. Despite this, software files for the new device appeared to indicate it would house an A5X chip, but any hope of that would now seem diminished by MacRumors' confirmation, with the Apple blog having disassembled and scrutinized one of the new units.
