Arguably the most ignored product in Apple’s otherwise stellar line-up, the Apple TV has been something of a hobby project for its maker. But now, Buzzfeed reports that Apple is planning to announce a heavily updated Apple TV at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June this year.
The Apple TV announcement will come in tandem with the unveiling of a software development kit that will allow developers to bring apps to the set-top box, according to the report. Apple TV currently has apps, but those are automatically added to the device. The update would deliver an App Store to the Apple TV, similar to the App Store on iOS devices like the iPhone and the iPad.
The Apple TV box currently offers access to iTunes content, as well as a host of apps, ranging from YouTube to HBO Go. Owners can also rent and buy movies and television shows from the device. The Apple TV device will also play host to HBO’s upcoming streaming-only service, called HBO Now, starting next month. It’ll initially be the only TV streaming device to support HBO Now, beating out competitors Roku and Google’s Chromecast.
According to Buzzfeed, the new Apple TV will share its hardware platform with the iPhone 6. This should mean that it will be powered by the A8 chip, found in both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. What is more puzzling though, is that the new TV box will reportedly support 4K video playback, which is quite necessary to future-proof the device. This is kind of offsetting, because the current Apple smartphone devices don’t support 4K video recording, despite being based on the same chip.
It’s unclear how much the new device will cost. Two weeks ago, Cook said Apple would drop the price of the current Apple TV from $99 to $69.
