According to sources a new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV will be launched at the Worldwide Development Conference (WWDC) in June. It’s reported that Apple had been working on a new television set for almost a decade but scrapped the plans about a year ago. The reason was Apple didn’t feel that it could come out with a TV with good enough features to stand out in the existing TV market.
Apple has successfully sold off over 25 million units of Apple TV set-top box since it kicked off in 2007. Also, more than 280 million iPads have been sold since the device’s launch in 2010. Many people use iPad as a secondary TV viewing device. However, an Apple-branded television was widely talked about in the consumer electronics industry and also in the investment community.
Apple will be competing with broadcasting companies with its new Apple TV set-top box. The latter will be slimmer along with a newly designed remote control, amazing user interface and Apple Watch support.
According to rumors, the next Apple TV will be unveiled at the WWDC. An App Store would be added to the device and users can play games and use Siri. The new set-top box will have an A8 processor and more storage capability.
Also presented at the WWDC will be a dedicated App Store for Apple TV as well as a fresh software development kit termed TVKit that developers can use to create apps for it. There will be a host of apps provided in the new Apple TV that will need proof of a cable subscription.
Apple intends to offer a limited suite of home control functions from the television set in the new Apple TV. Voice control leveraging Siri will be used to issue commands to the TV. The new Apple Watch may double up as a remote control device.
There have been significant changes in the last four years in the field of television technology. Services such as Netflix and Hulu along with streaming media devices have enhanced the television experience. Hence, there is no need to create expensive new television sets.
