The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern

Could an AppleTV refresh be in store at WWDC?

By | May 28, 2010, 7:19am PDT

Summary: One reader thinks that AppleTV may finally graduate from re-runs to prime time at WWDC. Wishful thinking or will Apple finally do something with its “hobby?”

An interesting email from a reader…

Hello Jason,

…today I received an odd email from Apple support that got me thinking. I own an Apple TV and have really enjoyed the experience it brings, specifically given that I’ve long stop using cable or satellite TV.

Recently I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a full season of Doctor Who (love that show) and proceeded to download all available episodes (6 at the time). That was 3 weeks ago and I hadn’t received any new content from Apple, nor is there any new content on iTunes for this show.

Concerned, I emailed Apple support to inquire what was happening, since, according the the Doctor Who website, there had been another 3 episodes made available online from their website.

Apple support replied:

Dear (redacted),

Welcome to iTunes Store Support.

I understand you did not receive the latest episodes of the playlist “Doctor Who, Season 5″.I know how eager you are to have this issue resolved. My name is Manoranjan and I will provide you the correct information regarding this issue.

Thank you for your inquiry. I’m sorry, but I can’t comment on rumors about decisions, products, programs, or promotions that Apple has not officially announced.

By withholding comment, Apple hopes to protect customers from making decisions based on information that is incomplete, inaccurate, or subject to change before the formal announcement. Apple believes this is the best way to ensure that all customers are treated fairly.

I appreciate your interest and encourage you to stay up to date on Apple news. Apple makes its company news available to the public through numerous channels, such as these:

The Hot News webpage: http://www.apple.com/hotnews
The Press Info webpage: http://www.apple.com/pr
Email newsletters: http://www.apple.com/enews/subscribe
Apple and the Environment: http://www.apple.com/environment
The Investor Relations webpage: http://www.apple.com/investor

Thank you for your understanding,

Sincerely,
(redacted)
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Mon-Fri, 11:00 AM-8:00 PM CST

Could it be, that Apple has not been updating iTunes because there is a planned refresh to the Apple TV? I’ve long been speculating, given some of the new changes to the iPhone OS, (scaling, etc..) that Apple easily dive into a completely new market (think game consoles) by replacing the Apple TV interface with the iPhone OS?? Imagine having hundreds of thousands of apps available through your TV, not to mention, web browsing, as well as the usual movies, music, and photos.

Seems to me, WWDC would be the perfect venue to announce that developers can now scale their iPhone apps to display on a 1080p display. Add to that, the added sales from “input” devices such as iPads, Touches, iPhones… Could this be the breath of life Apple TV has needed to make is relevant again?

Thoughts?

My response was:

I like your theory and want to believe!
If anything, perhaps the announcement of Google TV has lit a fire under Apple to do something with its “hobby?”

Photo: Post-Trasmission.com

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Topics

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve
  • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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Control?... How about your i or other device(s)
DigiMediaMan 28th May 2010
With interoperability on the rise, remote control apps already available, etc., etc., I wouldn't expect any new requirement to release the snack, drink or significant other and get up, let alone walk, anytime soon!
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AppleTV? What's that?
NonZealot 28th May 2010
Never heard of it. Epic fail.
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You're the epic failure.
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 28th May 2010
@NonZealot: still living in your grandmothers basement doesn't make you a winner.
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Yeah, well, YOUR an idiot
NonZealot 28th May 2010
@JM1981
Hahahahahaha!!!! Not understanding the difference between "your" and "you're" doesn't make you a winner either!

Hahahahahaha!!!!!
  • Flagged
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NZ if you are going to berate someone and call them names make sure you have got it right. "You're" is short form of "You are". JM1981 is using it correctly and you are not.
Where he wrote, and I quote: Your an idiot

I know the correct usage and I've obviously educated JM1981 since yes, he has used it correctly this time. There you go JM1981, you can't say I've never done anything to help you out!! happy
  • Flagged
so it's a possibility as AppleTV isn't much beyond just another "cable" operator if you think about it.

Though I have been watching Doctor Who for the past few seasons, first when SyFy channel showed it, and now thru Comcast On Demand (free) with the latest Doctor each week.
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Sounds dumb
NonZealot 28th May 2010
@jperg2tami
I'll pass.
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It makes sense
oncall 28th May 2010
My iPhone and iPad respond much faster and smoother than my Apple TV. If you think about it, strip the iPad/iPhone of the expensive screen, battery and leave the A4 CPU and some memory for local storage and it could be made at extremely low cost with very low power consumption.
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RE: Could an AppleTV refresh be in store at WWDC?
kenosha77a Updated - 28th May 2010
@oncall -- Excellent points. I wonder that if this rumor holds true will the size of a next gen Apple TV be reduced as well .. say to the size of an iPhone or iPod Touch?
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@oncall Excellent points. I wonder also if this rumored next gen Apple TV might have a reduced size .. say in a form factor of an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch? Plus, if your theory about the future Apple TV internal components is close to the mark, consider that a possibility might exist for a rumored multi touch enabled Apple iMac / Apple TV hybrid product. Now that might be a game changer.
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Umm... given that the iPhone OS uses a touch based UI and no TV I know supports that (and who would want that anyways), how is the user supposed to interact with this? With their remote control? Ugh! Bluetooth keyboard and mouse? Still less than optimal with a touch based UI. Plus selling this at $99 would really eat into iPad sales. I can see that the AppleTV is in serious need of an overhaul but this speculation seems too far fetched.
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Easy answer
NonZealot 28th May 2010
@RocketEater
how is the user supposed to interact with this

First you must buy a multi-touch screen TV. Then, everytime you want to interact, you have to get up off the couch, walk up to your TV, use a handy dandy iWipe ($4.99 for a pack of 10) to clean your hands, multi-touch the screen to your heart's content, and then sit back down. Intuitive!
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AppleTV is badly in need of an overhaul not just an update. It must have DVR functionality, a web browser to stream Netflix, Hulu, Youtube etc. Without these basic functions it's essentially a worthless appliance that you'd be better off replacing with a Mac Mini.
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I like the mini
oncall 28th May 2010
@Masari.Jones

But a Dell Zino HD with BluRay would be a better choice for a home media PC. The mini really needs built-in HDMI outputs and available BluRay before I would consider it a serious contender.
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@oncall
Do you have a Dell Zino HD? How noisy is it when playing a BluRay DVD? I currently use my PS3 for BluRay but the noise it makes accessing the DVD is annoying. Also does the Zino support bluetooth? TIA!
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With interoperability on the rise, remote control apps already available, etc., etc., I wouldn't expect any new requirement to release the snack, drink or significant other and get up, let alone walk, anytime soon!

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