No Apple TV Set this Year

News from Apple partners is not looking good for the introduction of a new Apple TV release this year. Your choice now if you are in the market for an Apple TV is to buy what’s on the shelf or wait out the release of the new version sometime next year.

They’re now "working off timelines that assume a launch next year" according to a source familiar with the plans.

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One reason for delays is that they couldn't call it the iTV due to a company in the UK with that exact name that's been in business since the 50's. Not something they can say "We came up with the name before your did but forgot to trademark it" lol

They'll probably move the whole thing to the iWatch anyways lol.

Every year, for the past few years, bloggers and tech journalists hear (or create) rumours that a fabulously perfect Apple TV is coming. It never shows up but still manages to get more coverage than existing units.

New one will show up most likely when hdmi 2.0 is cheaper to implement.

Ididar said:

Every year, for the past few years, bloggers and tech journalists hear (or create) rumours that a fabulously perfect Apple TV is coming. It never shows up but still manages to get more coverage than existing units.

Click to expand...

Isn't that the deal with every product Apple releases? I'm pretty tired of hearing rumors of what will be released and when, which then turn out to be completely false.

zehoo said:

New one will show up most likely when hdmi 2.0 is cheaper to implement.

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Yup...makes no sense to do a major home AVR device release when all the current interconnects are about to be obsolete.

As a background, I am a Windows user and work in the IT world. While I do not like Macs and I don't really care for some of Apple's business practices, I have to say that I do like their devices. So as to keep my media fragmentation minimal, much of my media is through iTunes. Now on with the show...

I've been hoping that a newer AppleTV gets released soon, so I would like for these new rumors of another delay to not be true. The last rumor of a delay pointed to the cable company mergers and how they were impacting the contracts Apple and said cable companies were working on together so that you can access cable provider contact via your AppleTV. Since I ditched cable over a year ago, this wouldn't have been a big deal for me.

On the upside, at least Apple has been updating the AppleTV's software quite regularly lately and have introduced some long overdue features and content. They've added some nice channels (PBS Kids, Vimeo, Vevo, Smithsonian, etc.), finally improved the Netflix layout (also allowing profile use, finally) and autoplay features (goes to next episode automatically), and reintroduced the ability to access much requested iTunes Extras directly from the AppleTV (I can finally access the Pixar shorts, bloopers, and behind the scenes stuff). That last item was something I have been complaining about from day one of owning my 3rd gen AppleTV.

The only things now I am waiting for are:
-Native 1080p/24 and 1080p/60 playback. Currently, it can only do up to 1080p/30 but forces it to a 1080p/60 display instead of allowing native 1080p/24 to play on TV's that support 1080p/24 output. Same goes for the 1080p/60.

-Support for 3D content. Yes, yes, I know...some/many hate 3D. And while there may not be a ton of great 3D content, there is some that I really enjoy that works well. To enjoy this 3D content, I have to either use a bluray player or use my SmartTV's native apps. Plus, it looks great on my Samsung 51" F8500 1080p plasma TV.

-The ability to use iOS apps natively on the TV instead of having to rely on mirror mode. Mirror mode is nice on occasion, but some apps are laggy.

-While getting iTunes Extras back is nice, I would like the option to be able to access this content from my local library. Currently, iTunes Extras requires an internet connection and it pulls the content from the cloud. Well, if I am experiencing an outage or I am dedicating my internet bandwidth to something else, I would like for my AppleTV to hog as little as possible and attempt to see if the content is available locally.

-Speaking of local library, it would also be nice if they would allow us to connect a local USB drive to the AppleTV and store our library directly onto that. Not a big deal for me since everything is on my desktop and the AppleTV connects to this share library via gigabit ethernet, but it would be a little more convenient.

-Here's a big one: Access to Vudu. Having taken advantage of the Disc to Digital program, I have a decent size library in Vudu that I can't access on AppleTV. Instead, I have to rely on my SmartTV apps to access that content.

-Amazon Prime and NASA would be nice channels to have too. I've been avoiding Amazon Prime due to it not working in AppleTV. Not much of a biggy since I get most of my content through Netflix and Hulu Plus, but it would be a nice 3rd option. Honestly, I would like a NASA channel more than an Amazon Prime channel.

-Ability to connect an iOS device to act as a remote directly to the AppleTV via Bluetooth. Currently, they access each other via your WiFi network. While fine for some general controls, if the iOS device is to be used as a controller for apps then we need a more direct connection to minimize latency.

-Add the ability to FaceTime through the AppleTV. I understand this would require a separate camera accessory. Yes, I use FaceTime a lot so that my family from afar can "visit" with us and watch our daughter grow.

If Apple can fulfill some of these requests and improvements, I would certainly be handing my money over to them to upgrade.

Love my amazon fire tv. Glad I stopped waiting for new apple tv. I'll probably still get one when it comes out though haha.