Apple's 5th Generation Apple TV Coming This Year With 4K Support
Apple has been reportedly testing a new Apple TV capable of streaming ultra-high-definition 4K.
Internally codenamed "J105," the new box will be capable of streaming ultra-high-definition 4K and more vivid colors, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier this month, Apple poached the chief of Amazon's Fire TV unit to run its television operations.
Apple TV was originally designed to replace the set-top boxes from the cable companies and stream live television. However, it never happened. Apple doesn't disclose how many Apple TVs it sells, but Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri acknowledged in a recent interview that sales decreased year-over-year from the 2015 holiday season to this past 2016 holiday period.
The latest Apple TV box was announced in September 2015. Widely considered an improvement by consumers and product reviewers, the Apple TV features the App Store, voice control and a glass remote that enables motion-controlled gaming, which for example lets players use the remote like a steering wheel.
But the latest Apple TV sells for $149, more than twice as much as its predecessor, $60 more than Amazon's Fire TV and $20 more than the priciest Roku. Apple TV users still have to buy an individual episode via the iTunes Store, pay extra for services like Hulu, or download an app tied to a particular channel and log in with an existing cable subscription.
Apple also considered offering consumers a web service that would let viewers choose channels rather than paying for ones they don't watch. Apple proposed bundling the four main broadcast networks and some cable channels as well as on-demand TV shows and movies for $30 to $40 a month. But the two sides stumbled over cost, the composition of the bundles and negotiating tactics.