New Apple TV box with motion controls to play 'key role' for Apple this year, but 'iTV' still a pipe
Apple apparently has big plans for the Apple TV set-top box in 2014, with an entirely new model that will reportedly feature motion controls for easier user input. But customers holding out hope for a full-fledged television set from Apple are likely to be disappointed.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said in his latest research note on Wednesday that the Apple TV will get an update by this fall. He sees the new upgrade playing a "key role" in Apple's highly connected ecosystem.
The new set-top box will reportedly integrate motion control technology to allow users to easily interact with the device without the need for a physical remote. He sees this new input method, most likely driven in part by Apple's recent acquisition of PrimeSense, setting the stage for a unique experience with an Apple TV App Store.
Kuo isn't entirely confident about the software capabilities of the upcoming Apple TV, and cautioned that he isn't even sure if this year's model will sport a full-fledged App Store. However, he views an Apple TV App Store as an eventual inevitability that will help to flesh out Apple's current living room ecosystem.
As for a full-fledged television set from Apple, sometimes referred to as a rumored "iTV," Kuo said there won't be one this year -- if ever. But continued growth for the current Apple TV set-top box could help set the stage for such a product in the future.
"Considering the high cost involved in creating a TV supply chain, we don't expect the iTV to debut before the TV ecosystem improves," he said.
Kuo sees a new, enhanced Apple TV debuting sometime either late in the third quarter of calendar 2014, or early in the fourth quarter of the year. His forecasts call for shipments to ramp up to 1.8 million Apple TV units in the third quarter, and 2.5 million streaming devices in the holiday quarter to close out 2014.
In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports that an Apple TV update may be unveiled in the coming months. According to Bloomberg, the device could be unveiled as soon as this month, but may not launch until this fall. A months-long wait between introduction and launch would likely mean a major shift for the platform, and potentially new opportunities for developers to create software.
AppleInsider also discovered in March that a number of job listings posted by Apple made mention of camera-related positions associated with the Apple TV -- a device that does not currently feature any cameras. And word of the company's acquisition of PrimeSense, which created the technology behind Microsoft's first-generation Kinect motion sensor for Xbox 360, came as a series of rumors in 2013 suggested Apple was working on a new set-top box with enhanced control functionality.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said in his latest research note on Wednesday that the Apple TV will get an update by this fall. He sees the new upgrade playing a "key role" in Apple's highly connected ecosystem.
The new set-top box will reportedly integrate motion control technology to allow users to easily interact with the device without the need for a physical remote. He sees this new input method, most likely driven in part by Apple's recent acquisition of PrimeSense, setting the stage for a unique experience with an Apple TV App Store.
Kuo isn't entirely confident about the software capabilities of the upcoming Apple TV, and cautioned that he isn't even sure if this year's model will sport a full-fledged App Store. However, he views an Apple TV App Store as an eventual inevitability that will help to flesh out Apple's current living room ecosystem.
As for a full-fledged television set from Apple, sometimes referred to as a rumored "iTV," Kuo said there won't be one this year -- if ever. But continued growth for the current Apple TV set-top box could help set the stage for such a product in the future.
"Considering the high cost involved in creating a TV supply chain, we don't expect the iTV to debut before the TV ecosystem improves," he said.
Kuo sees a new, enhanced Apple TV debuting sometime either late in the third quarter of calendar 2014, or early in the fourth quarter of the year. His forecasts call for shipments to ramp up to 1.8 million Apple TV units in the third quarter, and 2.5 million streaming devices in the holiday quarter to close out 2014.
In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports that an Apple TV update may be unveiled in the coming months. According to Bloomberg, the device could be unveiled as soon as this month, but may not launch until this fall. A months-long wait between introduction and launch would likely mean a major shift for the platform, and potentially new opportunities for developers to create software.
AppleInsider also discovered in March that a number of job listings posted by Apple made mention of camera-related positions associated with the Apple TV -- a device that does not currently feature any cameras. And word of the company's acquisition of PrimeSense, which created the technology behind Microsoft's first-generation Kinect motion sensor for Xbox 360, came as a series of rumors in 2013 suggested Apple was working on a new set-top box with enhanced control functionality.
Comments
We have secure socket layers that will make that impossible¡
But seriously, this is an obvious next step for the Apple TV. Personally I'm much more comfortable with a camera in my living room than in my bedroom (Mac) and bathroom (iPhone/iPad), not to mention the microphones that we would have no idea if they were on because there is no helpful light to let us know it has been activated.
BREAKING: Apple, a company known for 25-40% margins, not wasting time entering a market with 1-5% margins. This is shocking for some reason.
I’m still not sure how television motion controls would ever play any sort of key role in anything other than a “this is what destroyed the product line” seminar.
Oh great-
an iWii
or is it iKonnect?
Um, the motion control aspect is akin to the little remote you get with an AppleTV today, a minor component of a product that allows Apple to generate continuing revenue via iTunes Store sales. Are you suggesting the existing remote control is destroying the product? Silly rabbit!
*cough*
No, I’d be fine with a remote that acts like a Wii’s controller. But that’s not what these morons are claiming.
*cough*
No, I’d be fine with a remote that acts like a Wii’s controller. But that’s not what these morons are claiming.
Apple did buy Kinect, or at least the creators of it, so it kind of lines up with Apple copying that technology and using it. Seems pretty consistent to me, and they'll probably market it with a Steve Jobs'ish quote:
"If it has a remote, you've already failed"
Need to wait and see what the real product will be and actually have as features.
Apple did buy Kinect, or at least the creators of it, so it kind of lines up with Apple copying that technology and using it. Seems pretty consistent to me, and they’ll probably market it with a Steve Jobs'ish quote: "If it has a remote, you've already failed"
I pull this out a lot. Some might be getting tired of it. Still, I think it’s relevant.
I pull this out a lot. Some might be getting tired of it. Still, I think it’s relevant.
I really wish Douglas Adams was still alive...
BREAKING: Apple, a company known for 25-40% margins, not wasting time entering a market with 1-5% margins. This is shocking for some reason.
So by that reasoning they shouldn't be in the PC or mobile markets because the existing players only have 1-5% margins? Think different.
I really wish Douglas Adams was still alive...
He was pretty darn good at pulling out accurate predictions of technology beyond Jobs’ five years that are accurately predictable.
Oh great-
an iWii
or is it iKonnect?
neither, its a "magic wand"
So by that reasoning they shouldn't be in the PC or mobile markets because the existing players only have 1-5% margins? Think different.
… What? You can’t make money on selling a TV. The lifespan is too long and the market is too saturated.
Yes, it’s actually saturated, unlike the fictional saturation we hear about for just about everything else. Television is the third most saturated electronics market on the entire planet, and build quality is trending lifespan upward so far that it’s not feasible to enter, much less expect even 20% profit per model. Finally, couple that with “intelligence” hardware that would have to stand through said lifespan and what you have is a situation in which selling to the existing market is ludicrously more profitable.
Why sell a no-profit TV when you can sell multiple high-profit boxes to everyone who already OWNS a TV, which is everyone. It’s the same scenario as cell phones. Apple wanted to build their own telephony network so that they had complete and utter control. It would have been better for all iPhone and iPad users. There is zero question about it. But the court cases and global infrastructure would have made it a zero profit game for Apple. Instead, they sold high-profit phones to everyone who already HAD a network.
Wow.
6 BREAKING rumors all at once...
I believe from what I've gathered it ?TV will follow the design cues of the Time-Capsule/Extreme but cubed:
Also incorporating [URL=http://www.disneyresearch.com/project/aireal/]http://www.disneyresearch.com/project/aireal/[/URL]
[IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/41571/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
I want SiriTV
Maybe in the future tVs home phone and computers will be one device
ITV. [URL]http://www.itv.com/itv/[/URL]