US Apple TV promotion includes $25 iTunes card as rumors of new model swirl

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited March 2014
Apple on Friday kicked off a temporary promotion that will give customers a free $25 iTunes gift card with the purchase of an Apple TV from the company's online or retail stores in the U.S.

Apple TV


The limited-time offer runs only through March 5 and only applies to Apple TV purchases made in America direct through Apple. Refurbished Apple TV units do not qualify for the promotion.

The offer is currently advertised on the official Apple Rebates website, but there appears to be some confusion about the promotion after it kicked off. A handful of stores contacted by AppleInsider Friday said they were unaware of any such offer, and representatives at the company's toll-free number were similarly confused, with one representative suggesting perhaps we were referring to a Black Friday 2013 deal.

In addition, the checkout process on Apple's online store makes no mention of a gift card offer when attempting to purchase a new Apple TV. The Apple Store did see a brief period of downtime last night, and a new "Shop Accessories" section was added once the store came back online.

Despite any confusion, the sale is officially listed on Apple's website and the fine print clearly states that it begins on Feb. 28.

The timing of the sale is of particular interest, as Apple is believed to be working on a successor to the Apple TV. The currently available third-generation hardware was last updated in early 2012.

One report from earlier this month claimed that a new Apple TV may be introduced as soon as April, though it was also claimed that the device will not actually become available for sale until this fall. Such a lengthy wait time between a product's introduction and launch would seemingly suggest that the new device could represent a major overhaul or entirely new platform for Apple, and time would be needed to not only finish the product, but also potentially allow developers to create new applications for an updated set-top box.

For example, Apple had a five-month lead time between the announcement of the first iPhone and its launch in June of 2007. The wait between the unveiling and launch of the iPad, which runs a scaled-up version of the iPhone operating system, was considerably shorter: just over two months.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    imo the Apple TV box upgrade is coming soon.  April makes sense, but with this rebate it could even be before that.

  • Reply 2 of 40
    herbapou wrote: »
    imo the Apple TV box upgrade is coming soon.  April makes sense, but with this rebate it could even be before that.

    This is an unusual discount for Apple so I agree.
  • Reply 3 of 40

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-1-billion-worth-apple-180545969.html

     

    Quote: 


     

    CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said the company had sold more than $1 billion's worth of Apple TV set-top boxes in 2013, a small but significant number for a $99 device that has played second fiddle to the iPhone, iPad and Macintosh computer for years.

    "It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days," Cook told shareholders at the company's headquarters in Cupertino.



  • Reply 4 of 40

    nice, but thats the main news of today shareholder meeting? or is meeting still in progress? :)

  • Reply 5 of 40

    Well Im ready to upgrade. I use it to view podcasts, and rent a movie once in a while.

     

    Curious what improvements would be made that might be a 'wow'!? Or just a slight speed bump etc.

     

    My main desire, is HDMI pass through(for cable box). Right now have to pick up my receiver remote and click the proper input etc. Be nice if I could just use one HDMI input to my receiver. then when I want to see whats on ATV, just use the apple remote. (I know there other things that could be programmed etc... its just me.)

  • Reply 6 of 40
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    I have the current gen Apple tv, and I'm happy with it, but I wonder how the new one is going to be.

     

    This $25 itunes card promotion from Apple makes the current Apple TV a pretty good deal, but I think that it's a better idea to just get the newest model, which is right around the corner.

  • Reply 7 of 40
    boeyc15 wrote: »
    Well Im ready to upgrade. I use it to view podcasts, and rent a movie once in a while.

    Curious what improvements would be made that might be a 'wow'!? Or just a slight speed bump etc.

    My main desire, is HDMI pass through(for cable box). Right now have to pick up my receiver remote and click the proper input etc. Be nice if I could just use one HDMI input to my receiver. then when I want to see whats on ATV, just use the apple remote. (I know there other things that could be programmed etc... its just me.)

    This would also allow for your Apple TV UI to always be on the ready, even overlaying your cable/sat info if someone is calling you, someone is at the door, important news you want to follow, etc.

    I can't express how much I hate having to use the TV remote simply to change the input. It just feels so archaic, and that isn't helped when I can't remove unused input options like HDMI 3, Component 1, Component 2, VGA, and Composite.
  • Reply 8 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by total View Post

     

    nice, but thats the main news of today shareholder meeting? or is meeting still in progress? :)


     

    So far that and that all shareholder proposals have been shot down. There is no surprise there though. Guess there was no live blog.

  • Reply 9 of 40
    Quote:


    Wow! That is over 10 million Apple TVs sold. I guess it a bit harder to call the Apple TV a hobby.

  • Reply 10 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by herbapou View Post

     

    imo the Apple TV box upgrade is coming soon.  April makes sense, but with this rebate it could even be before that.


    I definitely agree with it coming this Spring.  This promotion is most likely an attempt by Apple to clear out existing Apple TV inventory before an announcement, after which few will want to buy the outgoing model.  Better to clear out inventory before an announcement.

     

    Contrary to what the story speculates, I don't see Apple announcing a new Apple TV in the next few months, only to hold it back for release until the Fall.  Maybe it gets a software update in the Fall for some new TV-related feature that needs more work (or giving Apple more time to sign up providers), but that's no reason to hold up delivery now if it's otherwise 90-95% complete and can offer new functionality from the outset (apps and 4K TV support, for example).

  • Reply 11 of 40
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Wow! That is over 10 million Apple TVs sold. I guess it a bit harder to call the Apple TV a hobby.

    Horace Dediu of Asymco Tweeted that Apple has sold over 27 million units since 2007 for revenues likely around $3.5 billion.

    When your hobby project makes more revenue and/or profit on its own than most of your competitors make in total it's time to make into another leg of your business.
  • Reply 12 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by total View Post

     

    nice, but thats the main news of today shareholder meeting? or is meeting still in progress? :)


    Interesting rumor that Oppenheimer may retire (I don't know Forbes's credibility on Apple-related matters): http://onforb.es/1khdUdd

     

    If it turns out to be true, I'd say, it's about time. Apple's needs and complexities have far outgrown him.

     

    (Reposted in the other AppleTV-related story).

  • Reply 13 of 40
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    This would also allow for your Apple TV UI to always be on the ready, even overlaying your cable/sat info if someone is calling you, someone is at the door, important news you want to follow, etc.



    I can't express how much I hate having to use the TV remote simply to change the input. It just feels so archaic, and that isn't helped when I can't remove unused input options like HDMI 3, Component 1, Component 2, VGA, and Composite.

     

    I couldn't agree more.  Archaic is a perfect description.  Also, and this might just be my set-up and inability to fix it, I don't know; but the volume levels are all over the place -- cable is one thing, Blu-Ray player is another, AppleTV is something else -- it drives me nuts.

  • Reply 14 of 40
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Interesting rumor that Oppenheimer may retire (I don't know Forbes's credibility on Apple-related matters): http://onforb.es/1khdUdd

    If it turns out to be true, I'd say, it's about time. Apple's needs and complexities have far outgrown him.

    (Reposted in the other AppleTV-related story).

    How has Apple's complexities out grown him? The guy hasn't done anything adverse to Apple's interests that I am aware of.
  • Reply 15 of 40
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    This is an unusually discount for Apple so I would agree.

     

    Steve would never have discounted a model sold as new.

     

    Not going to put quotation marks on that; I think it’s interesting if everyone comes to their own conclusions about whether they’re needed.

  • Reply 16 of 40
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Not going to put quotation marks on that; I think it’s interesting if everyone comes to their own conclusions about whether they’re needed.


    [VIDEO]
  • Reply 17 of 40
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post

     

     

    I couldn't agree more.  Archaic is a perfect description.  Also, and this might just be my set-up and inability to fix it, I don't know; but the volume levels are all over the place -- cable is one thing, Blu-Ray player is another, AppleTV is something else -- it drives me nuts.


    Oh, the volume! Never forget to turn the volume right down before switching to ATV. And every time we use airplay we scramble for the remote. No, let me correct that... we scramble for the right remote. A new box will probably be nice but I am very happy with the performance and functionality of my atv2 generally. For me its all about the software now. I'd like to hide or delete all those useless icons I will never use. I think Netfix should have a two tier plan. The 9 dollar standard and the 15 dollar premier package where I can select a set number of live sports or other premier drama series. Or maybe Apple should do something like it. A hundred subscription based niche or premiere channels (whatever you want to call them) hardly improves the user experience. 

     

    The answer is not straight forward by any means but the Television experience still has a long way to go. Perhaps if we could hide all the crap but there was a content store like the app store, and when you buy or subscribe to a season / show, it appears like an app?

  • Reply 18 of 40
    This can't come soon enough. I've always recommended the apple tv as a nice complementary device to those becoming comfortable with apples ecosystem. But having been a long time user of apple tv, this upgrade can't come soon enough. A few of my issues are: volume (as mentioned in a post above), layout (by far and away the most unintuitative of any apple products I own.), and finally the remote app!!!! How on earth can 3rd party music apps and the like allow me access to pause, skip, and volume on the swipe up menu on my phone and anything I'm playing through my apple tv has to specifically be accessed through the remote app! It's frustrating... as is the responsiveness of that app.

    I, for one, think and hope that this is a spring release. I don't think apple can afford to wait this one out any longer than that... in other words, I don't wanna wait please gimmie gimimie gimmie some much needed improvements.
  • Reply 19 of 40
    imt1imt1 Posts: 87member
    Maybe a New Apple TV device is more of a main house controller (master), where you then still use the current ATV as slaves.
  • Reply 20 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TBell View Post



    How has Apple's complexities out grown him? The guy hasn't done anything adverse to Apple's interests that I am aware of.

    I have not remotely implied that he did anything 'adverse' to Apple's interests. Don't even go there. I just said Apple has outgrown him.

     

    He's been doing a very poor job of managing market expectations. The last conference call (despite a blow-out quarter) was Exhibit A, and for me the final straw. Even Tim appeared quite taken aback -- when he recently mentioned that he had used that dip to buy back more shares -- at how poorly the message about record iPhone sales had been received. The market's expectations were well-known, widely-reported, and overblown.

     

    It was/is the CFO's job to talk these silly expectations down. He just disappears from view between quarterly conf calls. That's doing a poor job in a half-trillion dollar company, imho.

     

    Incidentally, this is something that he would want to do on behalf of the employees (and not so much the shareholders) who are busting their butts producing and selling heck out of the stuff. He owes it his colleagues.

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