Signs point to possible Apple TV upgrade at Sept. 9 event
Changing an earlier prediction that surprise announcements would not occur, a Wall Street analyst released a second note Tuesday suggesting an Apple TV upgrade could debut at next week's event.
Though he said in an earlier statement that he believed an appearance by Steve Jobs would be the biggest news out of the iPod-centric event, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has now said he has reason to believe there will be an Apple TV-related announcement next Wednesday. He noted that Apple's online store has a wait time of one to two weeks for the 40GB model at $229. Munster said he has never seen a delay for the Apple TV since it debuted in March of 2007. The analyst suggests that Apple is either phasing out the 40GB model, as the 160GB offering is still available, or is selling its remaining inventory before a new product launches.
"We believe the company is most likely phasing out the 40GB model and possibly reducing the price of the 160GB model," he said, "but a new model is possible given the hardware has been the same for 2+ years."
Munster does not believe that a major upgrade to the Apple TV will happen next week because he expects such an announcement to coincide with a subscription service that would need to be negotiated with content providers. Weeks ago, Munster reiterated his belief that Apple is working towards a new Apple TV with iTunes show subscriptions and possibly DVR capabilities.
"It is unlikely that negotiations for new content are finished," he said.
But given the age of the Apple TV hardware, Munster said he wouldn't rule out a new lineup as a "wildcard" announcement at the media-centric event.
Munster went on to re-state his belief that Apple will launch a full-fledged television set in two to five years. Such a device, he said, would have DVR and home media functionality built in, and would sync content with Macs, iPhones and iPods wirelessly. He said an Apple television could also play games, with an iPhone or iPod touch acting as the wireless controller.
"Such a device would command a premium among a competitive field of budget TVs," he said. "We believe Apple could differentiate itself with software that makes home entertainment simple and solves a pain point for consumers."
Though he said in an earlier statement that he believed an appearance by Steve Jobs would be the biggest news out of the iPod-centric event, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has now said he has reason to believe there will be an Apple TV-related announcement next Wednesday. He noted that Apple's online store has a wait time of one to two weeks for the 40GB model at $229. Munster said he has never seen a delay for the Apple TV since it debuted in March of 2007. The analyst suggests that Apple is either phasing out the 40GB model, as the 160GB offering is still available, or is selling its remaining inventory before a new product launches.
"We believe the company is most likely phasing out the 40GB model and possibly reducing the price of the 160GB model," he said, "but a new model is possible given the hardware has been the same for 2+ years."
Munster does not believe that a major upgrade to the Apple TV will happen next week because he expects such an announcement to coincide with a subscription service that would need to be negotiated with content providers. Weeks ago, Munster reiterated his belief that Apple is working towards a new Apple TV with iTunes show subscriptions and possibly DVR capabilities.
"It is unlikely that negotiations for new content are finished," he said.
But given the age of the Apple TV hardware, Munster said he wouldn't rule out a new lineup as a "wildcard" announcement at the media-centric event.
Munster went on to re-state his belief that Apple will launch a full-fledged television set in two to five years. Such a device, he said, would have DVR and home media functionality built in, and would sync content with Macs, iPhones and iPods wirelessly. He said an Apple television could also play games, with an iPhone or iPod touch acting as the wireless controller.
"Such a device would command a premium among a competitive field of budget TVs," he said. "We believe Apple could differentiate itself with software that makes home entertainment simple and solves a pain point for consumers."
Comments
But that requires Apple to not just be dropping the AppleTV as it is right now.
But yes, definitely would like it to be inside a TV made by Apple...less cables, one remote, one elegant interface.
Great- I'll take anything new for my warming plate.
Warming plate? Try frying an egg. Mine sometimes gets so hot and then goes haywire. I have to put one of those cold compresses on it you get from the drugstore to cool it down.
Is anyone as sick of Gene Munster as I am?
Which one is Gene?
For the 100th time, add DVR and I'm sold....
You want to record the video in your iTunes library?
Warming plate? Try frying an egg. Mine sometimes gets so hot and then goes haywire. I have to put one of those cold compresses on it you get from the drugstore to cool it down.
I was trying to be kind.
However, it's a great hand warmer come winter time.
Either way, the result is a product that really does seem to be aimless and arbitrarily limited.
Overall, I've been pretty pleased with 'my warming plate.'
I love mine. I'd love to have more power however so that HD content can be played back without needing to be converted to h.264 first. Then it'd be nearly perfect.
I hope that current Apple TV owners won't be left behind with whatever the new upgrade will be. Hopefully the update will include the software and crappy interface.
The current AppleTV is that it supports a maximum bitrate of 5 Mbps for its H.264 video. That just isn't very good HD. The choice may be to leave it behind or be stuck with lesser quality video.
I hope that current Apple TV owners won't be left behind with whatever the new upgrade will be.
Well, it it's just the removal of the 40GB and discount on the 160GB as Munster predicts, that won't leave many people behind!
I personally hope for an ARM based AppleTV, bringing it into the iPhone ecosystem. While an upgrade could provide support for higher res and apps IF APPLE WANTED, the older AppleTV is capable of handling a better interface, even subscription content... but Apple doesn't have much of a history of upgrading the older products.
Hopefully the update will include the software and crappy interface.
Huh?
The current AppleTV is that it supports a maximum bitrate of 5 Mbps for its H.264 video. That just isn't very good HD. The choice may be to leave it behind or be stuck with lesser quality video.
Really? The HD movies I've bought and play thru my ATV look pretty damn good to me.
I love mine. I'd love to have more power however so that HD content can be played back without needing to be converted to h.264 first. Then it'd be nearly perfect.
I haven't tested it yet but HandBrake looked like Snow Leopard left it behind when I installed it. Could this be a hint that iTunes 9 may get DVD ripping? Now that would be awesome.
And I haven't tested the quality of Quicktime 10 to h.264 conversions yet. Is it universally compatible for iPods and AppleTV now?
I still wish I could stream DVDs from my Macs to it since it doesn't have a disc drive itself.
I was trying to be kind.
However, it's a great hand warmer come winter time.
Hand warmer?! Try block heater!!
Huh?
I meant that I hope Apple updates the software and the crappy interface of the current ATV. The interface as it stands now is clunky and not very Apple-like. Having to press the Menu button 5 times to back out of a music playlist and get to the top-level menu is just stupid.