Earlier today, BuzzFeed News reported that a revamped Apple TV box and software will be coming in the near future. The new software will have an App Store for third-party apps, something that's been a long time coming, and possibly Apple's upcoming internet-based TV service.
Most likely, it will be officially announced at Apple's new WWDC event in June where the SDK will be released to developers.
The new Apple TV box will supposedly have a new design (possibly a new controller for gameplay and such), a new A8 chip, and will support voice control with Siri.
The current generation Apple TV were just cut from $99 to $69, presumedly to make way for the upcoming ones, but there's no word on whether or not some—or all—of the new software features will be available on older Apple TV set-top boxes.
So, will you be getting an Apple TV now at the cheaper price, or holding strong for the rumored version? Or, don't care at all?
I was thinking of getting the current one because of the price drop, since the majority of my movie files aren't compatible with my Xbox 360, and I don't have a smart TV yet (which also probably wouldn't be able to play my movies), and I'd like to be able to use the AirPlay feature on the Apple TV to make things easy on me, but now I'm thinking about waiting.
11 Responses
With the success and satisfaction I've had with my Chromecast, I find it hard to use any other service. That being said, as a semi-Apple fanboy, I can definitely see myself getting one later down the line.
Exactly. I can't imagine using anything other than my Chromecast to watch movies and play music on my TV. The only reason I would consider an Apple TV is if they were able to create a better gaming experience, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.
What's the streaming quality for local movie files on a Chromecast played through my Mac? 720? 1080? If it looks good, I might just skip the Apple TV and try out Chromecast. Though, I already have a Fire TV Stick. There's no streaming to a Fire TV Stick, is there?
I'm able to get full 1080p quality when casting movies from my Mac using CastNow. I've never had an issue with lag, but that all depends on your local network settings.
I'm not sure about the Fire TV Stick since I don't own one, but I know some people have been able to sideload XBMC onto it.
Here's a good reference detailing the network requirements for high Chromecast quality.
Thanks! That helps.
With a SmartTV and Chromecast already, it's hard to find more use for our Apple TV. But if they price the new TV service right, and include channels like ESPN, TNT, and Comedy Central that could be incentive to start using our Apple TV more and would probably convince more people to buy one in the first place.
I'm curious to see if their TV service will be exclusive to the new Apple TV or backported to the now-discounted one. But other than that, unless you own an iOS or Mac device, I think Amazon Fire TV/Chromecast/Roku are still the way to go.
As someone who doesn't have cable (mostly use Netflix/Hulu combined with Chromecast), I'm interested in what Apple's rumored VOD service has to offer.
If they can get together that "skinny bundle" made up of 25 channels, with only my favorite channels (ESPN, FX, etc) and stay within the price range of $30 to $40, I'll definitely give it a chance.
The Apple TV makes more sense for anyone already deep in the Apple ecosystem (iPhone, iPad, MacBook), like myself. For everyone else, Chromecast is the better (and much cheaper) option.
I'd ditch cable if their TV service had a pick-and-choose option, which will likely never happen for a service like this. If you could choose 25 channels of whatever you want, everyone would want it.
If it can act like a reliable voice-activated universal remote the way Xbox One does, then that might convince me.
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