Three years of waiting for a major upgrade and six months of rumors have lead to this point: Apple today announced the next generation of the Apple TV.
Apple announced the new set-top box at its special event this morning where it also announced the new iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and iPad Pro.
After months of touting features like an touch-enabled motion remote with Siri built-in, access to the Apple App Store and a more powerful A8 processor, Apple has delivered on many, if not all, of it.
Tim Cook started the presentation on Apple TV with "The future of TV is apps. To deliver on this vision we need a new foundation." Enter the New Apple TV.
There's a new UI, built-in universal search, a new remote and, as promised, a new App Store.
It's all built on top of a new OS called tvOS that works like a hybrid of iOS and OSX. There are 11 million developers on the platform according to Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue.
The set-top box uses a Wii-like remote that has built-in motion control for games and a mic to ask Siri to search for content.
Apps shown off so far are a new-and-improved Crossy Road, Beats Sports - a Wii-like game that uses the New Apple TV's motion remote, MLB At Bat and Apple Music. And for fans of the old-fashioned Home Shopping Network, Gilt will allow you to shop for deals from the comfort of your couch.
Apple is making a push to replace traditional television with its app-centric ecosphere. If iOS is any litmus test, it might just pull it off.
Hardware and price
The biggest upgrade on the New Apple TV is the 64-bit A8 chip, currently found in the iPhone 6 Plus. It will support Bluetooth 4.0 (necessary to work with the all-new Siri remote), 802.11ac WiFi with MIMO and come with either 32GB or 64GB of internal flash storage.
As expected, the 32GB will cost $149 (about £96, AU$200) while the 64GB version will come in at $199 (about £129, AU$280) when the New Apple TV launches in over 80 countries in late October.
