The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted May 28th 2010 10:19AM
posted May 28th 2010 10:19AM
Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon's streaming scheme, though we're talking instant-on 1080p, a la Microsoft). For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be all about streaming. The new ATV will do away with its current OS X-lite variation as a operating system, and will instead adopt the iPhone OS for the underlying experience. There's no word at this point on whether apps and the App Store will be coming along for the ride, but it makes sense given the shared platform. Of course, scaling iPhone apps to that 52-inch plasma in your living room isn't exactly a no-brainer. Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple won't deliver the ATV news at the upcoming WWDC -- that event will be focused on the capabilities of the new iPhone -- but development on the product is most definitely full steam ahead. Is your TV screen the next battleground in the platform wars? Survey says: hell yes.
@Vincent Takes one to know one. The fugliest fanboys are the apple fanboys, btw.
@dagetz I suggest you go read up on it again.
@Bahumbug really? would you care to enlighten me so? i am assuming that you have read the press release and listened to the engadget podcast? i am only repeating what they said
@Starfleet Captain You haven't even seen the device or the device in use.
You're a troll
U FAIL
@Bahumbug I have read up on it, and he is right. It is basically Google search on your TV. That is instant fail. First, people often do not have enough of an idea of what they want to watch at that moment to search for it. Second, if they do know what they want to watch, they will just go to the channel that has it. Even if they are ok with searching, how many irrelevant results will you get versus what you really want. For example, if I search for House, how many nonsense fan reviews on YouTube will I get? Lastly, Google TV will really require a keyboard at least (who wants to search by remote?), and maybe even a mouse, and that is just not going to happen in 99% of living rooms.
Google TV does not offer anything of real value yet because it is too difficult to use. I think the best option is a Roku box on steroids, offered by a big name (Apple, Google, MS, etc) or you TV provider, that has channels like MLB.tv, Hulu, Netflix, etc. That is when internet TV will really take off.
$100 for something with the same internals as the iPhone 4? Ok where's the catch?
Or do they just make THAT much profit on every phone sold
@GmanC Not the same. It lacks a battery. It lacks a display. It lacks backlight. It lacks the whole cell phone part - want me to continue?
@Bahumbug
Yeah you have a point there.
Looks like Apple wants to start taking ATV a lot more seriously rather than just a hobby
@GmanC
The Apple TV is not an iPhone, it uses much cheaper components - cheaper because they're not miniaturized. Phones like the iPhone, Droid, Evo whatever are expensive because that technology is expensive.
Apple TV is not a phone, it's just going to use Apple's A4 chip and run the iPhone 4 OS.
@Jack - yes they do make that much profit on an iphone! Although, there would be savings on the cost of the screen, etc!
I've got internet capable Blu ray players (Sony), so WHY would I want Apple TV? I've got Pandora, Slacker, Netflix, youtube, and a whole slew of other content on those devices. Apple TV?? MEH!
The A4 is capable of 1080p? I mean REAL 1080p?
@plbelanger Wouldnt be surprised if it was a lower red scaled up like the xbox does.
Hmmmm....
A lot of speculation and hot air. We have no idea if this is real or what the specs are and people are already throwing rocks.
If YOU personally can do better, then I will help you throw the rocks but if not, just be patient and then break the glass.
I would like to see major improvements for the Apple TV and cloud storage is OK as long as one of the clouds is here in Australia (I can hope) because if it is from an Apple site offshore I have to pay for every download but if it is here in Oz, then it is a freebie.
I have two Apple TVs and every time iTunes is updated, I have to reinitialise my connections from my computers to the Apple TVs. I know it has been a hobby and a testing ground but I hope they soon get out of pre-Alpha with this.
Cheers from Oz.
@MizuInOz
> If YOU personally can do better, then I will help you throw the rocks but if not,
Are you kidding? Even with an old AppleTV I can do better and I can do even better than that. Just get any cheap nettop with an ION in it.
Contrary to what you fanboys might think of the rest of us, we are not singularly fixated on price. Stuff also needs to work well and fit in with what's to be expected of it. As a device attached to my TV, I am more interested in whether or not it can do ATSC or EyeTV HD recordings than nonsense with the app store.
Apple seems to be thriving on customers that don't care about details.
That's fine so long as grandma doesn't notice AirVideo mangling the home videos.
@jedi
You're bitching about DVR capabilities on a device that isn't claiming to have them. Obviously this is not supposed to replace your DVR. What it's supposed to do is get all your iTunes content onto your TV.
EyeTV can't do that, so why aren't you complaining about that?
*sigh* Xbox360 does all that and much much much more.
@astrocramp
I've tried and failed to stream 1080p video to my Xbox360. Any tips?
@astrocramp Oh XBox is 99 dollars? Since when??
I will take a STABLE and WORKING AppleTV over constant RROD's and a higher price point
kthxbai
http://christybharath.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/thunder-trailers1.jpg
@astrocramp Thing is Xbox's HD isn't as high-def as this. I'd love it if it was though...
I think its 720p HD, while this is 1080p HD.
@EggoEspada
To be fair "this" is just a rumour. You can get a WDTV that plays 1080p of any format you can throw at it for a similar price.
@Tes I'll believe 1080p streaming to a $100 ATV when I see it - not even my on-demand service has reasonable streaming of HD (yeah it's HD, but not blue-ray quality HD). Plus you get netflix, zune, and lots of other choices on the xbox, not to mention xbox live marketplace and KICK-ASS GAMES.
@metalhaze Do you own an xbox360, or just repeating crap you hear on the internet? My first generation xbox360 is still going strong after I don't know how many years (5?). And this is just a rumor, let's see how they actually implement it (you don't know it will be stable).
@Tes Actually I've never tried streaming 1080p to my xbox360 - I have media center pc's setup around my house where i stream ripped blue rays and that works nicely. the reason i didn't do that with xbox is because it won't play ripped dvd's in a folder structure - you have to transcode and I didn't want to deal with that.
@astrocramp
You must buy all your content online because the Xbox 360 sucks as a media center if you're trying to stream your own content. You can only play .avi and .wmv files, what a joke. Luckily I bought one for gaming, the streaming was just an added bonus but if I bought it for just media center functionality, I'd be pretty pissed off. PS3 supports way more file formats and is more ideal for video streaming YOUR OWN CONTENT.
Screw apple tv and google tv, HTPC ftw!!! :3
Apple is using A4 here. using A4 across the board will help them bring down the pricing. leverage iphone OS will bring those 200k applications here. I think this is a master stroke. Think about using ABC, netflix or hulu ipad apps directly on TV.
@memeslayer I seriously doubt Hulu will be on this box. Hulu = Flash.
Apple hate Flash.
Apple smash Flash!
@dalex7777 it could prove to be moot anyway. Hulu might not be on the Google TV either. for the same reason. the contracts with the actual content sources might not allow it.
@dalex7777 You dont need flash for a native app.
@dalex7777
Hulu is making an iPhone/iPad app, so it will almost definitely work on this Apple TV if it's running iPhone OS 4.
"it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!)"
Does that really deserve an exclamation mark?
In a switch from the iPod model where contrary to other business models, the HARDWARE bought in the profits (whilst the iTunes content was/is almost a loss leader), it looks like Apple TV 'HD' is being 'given away' such that the profits can be made on the content. Let's hope it introduces a social aspect for sharing content too. I would love to be able to 'forward' content to a technophone relative. IE, "Hi Mom, see if you can understand Professor Hawkins' latest theory on time travel, check this out... ;)"
If they add passthru hdmi integration as well as NetFlix and udpnp then I think this would work then I wouldnt have to change inputs on the tv to watch netflix or mythbox or cable.
@dorgan Well if it runs the iPhone/iPad OS....then you can use Netfilx because there is a Netflix app to watch their movies online already. Are you not aware of this?
So then it will only be able to play stuff thats Apple video format? Also will probably not let me map a network drive?
Priced a bit under the Popbox or one of its products?
No thanks.
@Flaystus
You can take any video from any source, DVD or otherwise, export it to iTunes and stream it to the Apple TV.
@Jack
Why should the AppleTV need iTunes between it and a video file besides vendor lock?
This sort of nonsense is why people install XBMC variants on their AppleTVs.
If this can take any torrent video file I throw at it, sign me up right now.
@Mango Chutney doubtfull...this is apple remember, it will intergrate with the itunes store and pull all your other content from the cloud not much more i suspect
@dagetz
Do you really think videos downloaded from torrents don't work in iTunes?
The TV's greatest strength was pulling media from your computer and putting it on your tv. No local storage needed.
And for $99? Very cool.
Although I like the Apple hardware and often the software, I don't trust Apple's policies at all. As they have become a company that practices censorship on their iPhone OS platform, who is to say that I won't experience the same on the new AppleTV?
I am a bit wary here.
If Apple ever decides to open back up and allow us users the choice to install what apps we want and view whatever content we want on the iPhone OS, then my support of the platform will open back up too.
@Anatidae
I can put whatever content I want on my iPhone right now. Including full DVD rips, movies and TV shows from other sources, etc. And no, it's not jailbroken.
@Jack Yup, right now you can rip any content you want and place it on your iDevice. But you can't run any apps that you want - only the ones Apple approves. Apple doesn't carry every movie/TV show, so if Apple starts to restrict their devices to content delivered from iTunes, then you will no longer have that choice.
@Jack
You forgot you have to convert all that stuff before you can watch it because iphone OS only decodes h.264.
Thought #1: Nice timing on this particular rumor.
Thought #2: I know! it's a $100 dongle or dock, along with an application that allows you to hook up your iPhone with your TV! (You know Apple likes expensive accessories.)
Thought #3: It's been "in the works long before Google announced its TV Solution" because Apple's spies are everywhere. (Anybody remember how Microsoft decided to stop updating IE, until there was some serious competition?)
Thought #4: Damn. With Jobs in charge, no more Boob Tube.
For $99 why not. Im guessing it will sink all that with my iPad which will be nice.
The current Apple TV is capable of full 1080p, however the HD content on the iTunes Store is only 720p.
I wonder if they are eluding to the fact that they will be releasing 1080p downloadable content on the iTunes Store?