New Apple TV reportedly starts at $149, packs universal search
No, the torrent of rumors surrounding the next Apple TV hasn't ended yet. Sources for both 9to5Mac and BuzzFeed News now believe that the media hub will start at $149 -- still much higher than Apple TV boxes from recent memory, but better than the $199 mentioned in the past. Whether or not that's your only option is up in the air, though. Apple has reportedly "considered" a two-tier lineup with both a base 8GB model and a 16GB option for those who want to run more apps. It may just as easily offer a lone 16GB version at that price, though, so don't count on anything just yet.
Both leaks also suggest that one of the biggest additions may be the previously hinted-at universal search. As with many rival devices, a single search (including through Siri voice recognition) will pull up content from a host of services, not just those from Apple or whichever app you're using. To put it mildly, that's a big deal. While the Apple TV has long been friendly to competing media services, universal search would give them even better treatment -- you'd know at a glance whether or not you can save some money by watching that movie on Netflix instead of iTunes.
These latest scoops otherwise tend to back up claims that we've heard before. The set-top is expected to use a dual-core A8 processor (much better than the single-core A5 from today), and won't play 4K video. That's a bummer given the price, but the rumors suggest that Apple is less interested in competing on specs and more on hard-to-quantify features like app support and an intelligent interface. If the murmurs are accurate, you'll get the full skinny on September 9th.
