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Tag: Apple TV

  • Hulu Launches a Redesign of Its Apple TV App

    Hulu Launches a Redesign of Its Apple TV App

    Hulu has just announced a significant redesign of its Apple TV app – one that they say make finding and viewing things much easier.

    “Right away, you’ll notice we’ve added content categories across the top navigation bar to make it easy to for you to jump to your chosen section – whether it is TV, Kids, Latino, Search, or something else. Inside each category, you’ll discover what’s new in our content library so it’s easy to discover new shows and keep up with the shows you already love. You can also jump into your favorite shows right away with the “Shows You Watch” tray. We built this to make sure you never miss a new episode or lose your place in a series,” says Hulu’s Dave Herman.

    The UI update also makes playback and viewing simpler. When you find the show you want to watch, all you have to do is press the play button and it will start playing instantly.

    Hulu has also added support for a quick on/off trigger for audio/subtitle options. When you’re watching something, all you have to do is press and hold the select button.

    To experience the new UI, you have to be up to date on your firmware. Make sure to update your software in your settings if you don’t see the changes.

    In other, probably more significant Hulu news, the company just named former SVP of Content Andy Forssell as the acting CEO, replacing Jason Kilar as he departs at the end of Q1.

  • HBO GO Now Available on Apple TV Using AirPlay (No App…Yet)

    HBO GO Now Available on Apple TV Using AirPlay (No App…Yet)

    As of right now, you should be able to stream HBO GO to your television through Apple TV. But you don’t have an actual app with which to do it…yet.

    What you can do is stream HBO GO to your television using Apple’s AirPlay feature on your iPhone or iPad. All you have to do to begin beaming content from your smaller device to your TV is download the update to the HBO GO app on your device.

    (You’ll need iOS 6 or above and v5.1.1 or above on your Apple TV)

    HBO’s Eric Kessler made the announcement at the All Things D: Dive Into Media conference.

    “Our long-term goal for Go is to be on all devices and all platforms,” said Kessler.

    And you should expect to see an actual HBO GO app appear on Apple TV at some point.

    “We will get on Apple TV, as we’ve said all along,” said Kessler.

    Reports from earlier this month put a dedicated HBO GO app on Apple TV by mid-year.

    HBO GO already has dedicated apps on devices like Roku and the Xbox 360., so Apple is lagging behind a little bit here. But at least the HBO GO app now supports AirPlay, which makes streaming possible. Go get your Game of Thrones on, people.

  • HBO Go Coming to Apple TV [REPORT]

    HBO Go Coming to Apple TV [REPORT]

    Starting some time this year, you may have another incentive to go out and grab an Apple TV box.

    According to Bloomberg, two people familiar with the plans say that Apple is in negotiations to add HBO Go, HBO’s streaming service, to their Apple TV devices. If finalized, the deal could see and HBO Go app appear on Apple TV by mid-2013.

    That would bring over 600 hours of HBO content – TV series, movies, documentaries, and more to Apple TV customers.

    Apple TV already sports apps from other streaming video providers like Netflix and Hulu, but having HBO Go could boost the product’s attractiveness. Although HBO Go requires that users already pay for an HBO subscription through a cable TV provider, the allure of the HBO Go app is strong because of the popularity of the content offered.

    Although there are plenty of people out there who want HBO content, but refuse to also pay for a cable subscription in order to get it. HBO has given Nordic customers the chance to subscribe to HBO Go sans cable subscription, but they’ve pretty much rejected the idea in the U.S., where many are clamoring for it.

    Apple TV wouldn’t be the first Apple product to feature an HBO Go app. iOS users can stream HBO programming via their iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches.

    HBO Go is available on those iDevices, Roku, Microsoft’s Xbox, Amazon’s Kinde Fire, and various smart TVs.

  • Apple TV May Come In Sizes Ranging From 46 To 55 Inches [Rumor]

    The Apple TV is already a thing, but people are still holding out for an actual television from the hardware giant. Rumors of an Apple HDTV have been around for years, but 2012 saw a decided jump in reports and rumors. Now at the end of the year, it’s looking more and more like Apple really is making some televisions.

    A report out of Focus Taiwan says that Foxconn is now testing several hardware designs for an Apple TV. The rumor states that Apple’s current TVs are being tested with displays ranging from 46 inches to 55 inches. The LCD panels for the televisions would come from either Japanese or Taiwanese companies.

    That being said, the rumors point to Sharp being the LCD panel supplier for Apple’s first real dive into the television market. The reasoning is that Foxconn’s chairman Terry Gou holds a stake in Sharp. Even then, the report states that it’s not yet known who exactly is providing the LCD panels.

    So, when can we expect to see an Apple TV unveiled or even mentioned? The report points to CES as a likely option, but Apple has traditionally avoided the trade show. The company usually opts to host its own events, but an Apple TV would most likely destroy the competition if it were to be shown at the largest consumer electronics trade show in the world.

    As for when the devices will actually be made available, the report says it’s “unlikely” for shipments to “begin as soon as the end of the year.” If true, we probably won’t see an Apple TV until 2014.

    It should be noted that all of this is just a rumor at this point. None of it has been confirmed and Apple has been famously tight lipped over the potential existence of an Apple TV. It’s looking like we won’t know for sure until next year, and even then, I wouldn’t expect it to be announced at CES. Apple always holds an event early in the year, however, and an Apple TV could be on the menu.

    [h/t: AppleInsider]

  • Most TVs To Be Internet-Connected by 2016, Predicts Analyst

    The tech research firm Gartner is predicting that almost 85% of all flat-panel TVs made in 2016 will be internet-enabled “smart TVs.” Worldwide production of “smart” flat-panel TVs is also predicted rise to 198 million units in 2016, up 35% from 2012’s 69 million units.

    While manufacturers will be excited enough about the new technology to increase production, it is not predicted that consumer demand will rise at the same rate. Gartner’s new report suggests that manufacturers will have to offer “compelling reasons” for consumers to choose their brand.

    “In the end, the choice may be all about the extra content that one TV brand offers over another,” said Paul O’Donovan, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Consumers will be asking questions such as, which Internet TV services can the TV access? Are these the sites I think are valuable? Can I use my smartphone or tablet with this TV? It is critical for the TV industry during this global economic downturn and decline in consumer confidence levels, to sustain sales and maintain or grow market share – especially in emerging markets. This is difficult when demand has slowed, so the extra functionality offered by smart TVs becomes the product differentiator – if prices are already competitive and all other variables are equal between brands.”

    These predictions follow an entire year of rumors that tech’s biggest brand, Apple, will be entering the flat-panel TV with an iOS-based HDTV. The rumors have persisted through reports that manufacturing troubles and cable company stonewalling have delayed the release of the device.

    If the cable industry continues to overvalue its content and delay the merger of computers and television, the television industry might not have the luxury of an Apple-led, iTunes-like push into a new business model. With YouTube channels now reaching subscriber numbers in the millions, traditional networks may end up regretting their stubbornness when most customers have “smart” TVs in 2016.

  • Where to Watch Apple’s iPad Mini Event

    Where to Watch Apple’s iPad Mini Event

    Apple is notorious for refusing to live stream their various press events online, but today they are making an exception. Or possibly creating a new rule. Yeah, let’s go with that one.

    If you want to watch today’s event live, you can do it on Apple’s website.

    On the Apple Events page, the company currently lists a “Special Event” for today at 10 am PT. You can access it here. One note of warning, however: Apple is keeping it in the family by only allowing users with Apple products to live stream the event from their website.

    That’s right – in order to stream the event today, you must be running Mac OS X v 10.6 or later and Safari 4 or later.

    Apple is also allowing mobile streaming on iOS, if you’re running Safari on iOS 4.2 or later. Just open up this link on your iOS device to access the live stream (h/t BGR)

    Apple is also giving people another way to watch the event: Apple TV. As long as you have the second or third generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later, you should be able to stream the event later today.

    It’s widely accepted that Apple will unveil the iPad Mini at today’s event, the 7-inch version of their popular iPad tablet. Other possible launches include a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and new Mac Mini, and iTunes 11. We also think that the event will probably focus on education.

  • Apple HDTV on Hold as Cable Companies Balk

    Last month it was reported that Apple was in talks with cable companies over changing the current cable TV model with the upcoming Apple HDTV. Rumor had it that these talks were unlikely to yield results due to the cable companies’ hold over their content, and that an Apple branded HDTV would not be seen this year as a result.

    Today, those rumors are confirmed, and it turns out that cable companies are even more paranoid about controlling their content than was commonly believed. Bloomberg cites a “person familiar with [Apple’s] plans” as saying analyst predictions of a fall release for the Apple HDTV were premature. It seems none of them took the cable companies’ stubbornness into account.

    According to Bloomberg, there were two huge stumbling blocks preventing the negotiations from being successful. One was that cable companies insisted the Apple device be rented to consumers through cable providers, the way poor-quality DVRs and cable boxes currently are. The second is that cable companies wanted a say in the user interface software running on the device. Apple’s user interface. Given their history and business model, the user experience with an Apple product is obviously not something the company is prepared to negotiate on.

    This demonstrates that even a company such as Apple, which changed (some would say saved) the music industry and revolutionized the tech industry in the past decade, can have the technology and design acumen to improve TV but still be stopped by entrenched, decades-old industries that refuse to embrace their growing obsolescence.

  • Apple TV Set Could be Delayed by Cable Companies

    Rumors of an Apple TV set have been flying a for over a year now. In recent weeks, some excitement for the product has even been built by rumors that the product is already being manufactured.

    Whether or not that is actually the case, it is known that the “iTV” is on the way, and it’s is well-known that Apple is currently in talks with cable companies over distributing their content. An analyst who recently spoke with Apple executives has said that the outcome of those talks, unfortunately, could mean the difference between a sooner iTV release and a later one.

    Fortune today quoted a memo by Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves, stating that an iTV is “extremely unlikely in the near term.” Fortune quotes Hargreaves’ memo:

    Relative to the television market, Eddy Cue, Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services, reiterated the company’s mantra that it will enter markets where it feels it can create great customer experiences and address key problems. The key problems in the television market are the poor quality of the user interface and the forced bundling of pay TV content, in our view. While Apple could almost certainly create a better user interface, Mr. Cue’s commentary suggested that this would be an incomplete solution from Apple’s perspective unless it could deliver content in a way that is different from the current multichannel pay TV model.

    Unfortunately for Apple and for consumers, acquiring rights for traditional broadcast and cable network content outside of the current bundled model is virtually impossible because the content is owned by a relatively small group of companies that have little interest in alternative models for their most valuable content. The differences in regional broadcast content and the lack of scale internationally also create significant hurdles that do not seem possible to cross at this point.

    It’s clear that Apple intends to revolutionize the TV industry the same way it did the music industry. To do this, though, Apple is going to have to break up the huge multi-channel packages cable companies currently offer. These are the same packages that keep many less-watched cable channels on the air. When a-la-carte viewing and pricing finally does come into effect, the cable industry will inevitably contract.

    Whatever Apple is offering cable content distributors, they would be wise to take it, as it could be their only lifeline to a new business model. A contraction of the cable industry would be better for it than a future where it doesn’t exist, replaced by individual channels creating, marketing, and selling their own content. As entertainment shifts steadily toward streaming and social content, time is running out for cable companies to change direction on their own.

  • New Apple TV Could be a DVR and Set-Top Box

    If anyone can fix the DVR, it’s Apple. The company has been trying to impact the way consumers watch TV for years with the Apple TV, but without cable TV content the device doesn’t do much that other online streaming content boxes such as the Roku HD or many Blu-Ray players can’t also do. This week it was revealed that Apple is in talks with cable companies to allow an Apple device to be used as a DVR and set-top box. Now the details of just what Apple has in mind have been revealed.

    According to a Wall Street Journal report, an Apple device used as a DVR would allow customers to store TV shows in the cloud and begin watching them at any time, even if the show is still airing live. It would also allow users to share TV shows over social networks and play content from other Apple devices, such as an iPhone or iPad.

    The report also states that such a device would, of course, use an icon-rich iOS user interface. TIVO was hedged out by cable companies that prefer their customers use DVRs that allow those companies to more tightly control how content is consumed. Since then, the user interface and product design of DVRs has taken a back seat to digital rights management (DRM) and advertising considerations. This issue is only now beginning to be improved upon, though cable customers still have little choice in what DVR they receive from a cable company.

    Of course, cable companies make money by forcing customers to rent DVR cable boxes. However, Apple has proven with iTunes that it can single-handedly change an industry and drag it into the future. Perhaps cable companies, who are coming up against streaming services such as Netflix and technologies that invalidate their business model, will see this outreach from Apple as a lifeline and turning point for the cable industry. Only time will tell whether Apple will provide the restrictions that cable companies prefer to put on their content or open that content up to ideas such as an a-la-carte pricing model. An Apple “channel” store instead of an app store would be a step in the consumer-friendly direction.

    What sort of device the Wall Street Journal was referring to isn’t clear. It seems obvious that Apple will implement such features into the Apple TV if it can, providing customers with an inexpensive way to upgrade their cable-viewing experience. Rumors of an Apple HDTV set have been swirling for more than a year, though, and it wouldn’t be surprising for Apple to market an all-in-one solution for TV viewing.

  • iOS 6 Lets You Move Your Apple TV’s Icons

    If you’ve paid much attention to the news surrounding iOS 6, you know that the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system will be bringing a whole lot of new features for Apple’s fleet of devices when it launches alongside the new iPhone this fall. Some of those features were discussed at Apple’s WWDC 2012 keynote two weeks ago. Others have been discovered since. A few of those were introduced earlier this week with the second iOS 6 beta release.

    Now Brazilian site MacMagazine (Google Translation) has discovered a new feature. This one, however, isn’t for the iPhone, nor is it for the iPad. It isn’t even for the iPod Touch. It’s for the Apple TV. It seems that with iOS 6, you will finally be able to reorder the icons on your Apple TV’s main menu.

    As you can see from the video, the interface isn’t quite the same as it is on touchscreen iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. The icon has the same characteristic wiggle you’ll see on your iPhone, but only one icon at a time can be manipulated. Whereas holding down the home button on your iPad makes all the icons wiggle – and keep wiggling until you’re done and hit the button again – the Apple TV’s lack of a touch interface means things have to be done a little differently. You access “wiggle mode” by holding down the center button on your Apple TV remote, then use the arrows to move the icon to where you want it to be. Once you’re done, you have to navigate to the next icon you want to move, then repeat the process.

    While the process of moving Apple TV icons around is a little more cumbersome than on a touchscreen device, it’s still a welcome addition to the Apple TV.

  • Vizio And Google Are Making Your TV Smart With The CO-Star

    Smart TVs will be all the rage sooner or later or so says the company execs who have been pushing them for the past year. Most people seem to think that it won’t really take off until Apple makes a true Apple TV, but it’s still a pretty niche market for now. Vizio is taking a shot at that niche market with their newest device.

    Vizio announced today the impending launch of the CO-Star. It’s a small device similar to the current Apple TV that turns any HDTV into a smart TV. It effectively beats what hurts smart TVs at the moment – their price and need to buy a new TV – by offering a small discreet box that offers all the best Google TV has to offer.

    Alongside all the features that Google TV has, the CO-Star actually has a second function that makes it stand out from the bunch. It can connect directly to a satellite or cable set top box to deliver all the television you want from your cable provider, but also allowing you to switch over to the apps whenever you want.

    Speaking of apps, the CO-Star has plenty of them. It features the usual suspects like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube and iHeartRadio. Surprisingly enough, the device is the first Google TV to offer the OnLive app. For those unfamiliar, OnLive is a service that allows gamers to stream PC games in all their glory directly to your TV without any additional hardware. Be sure to have a fast Internet connection and no data cap before using it though.

    Of course, some people may be scoffing at the CO-Star calling it a mindless Apple TV ripoff. I would agree on the actual device, but it trumps Apple’s attempt in one key way – it has an actual remote. Apple fans hate to witness truth, but more buttons is sometimes a good thing. The CO-Star’s remote is a fully featured remote with all the buttons you could ever desire alongside a touchscreen for easy navigation for those who just hate buttons.

    As for the innards of the device, it can stream full 1080p HD and 3D content. It only has Wi-Fi so you better bust out that router. It also features a USB port for hard drives, keyboards and other peripherals. It also features DLNA-integration for cameras, tablets and computers that support the protocol.

    Best of all, the CO-Star will be directly competing with the Apple TV at a price of $99.99. Pre-orderes will go live in July and will offer free shipping for a limited time. No actual release date was announced, but I can’t imagine being long after they open pre-orders.

  • Google TV Announcement Coming At I/O This Week?

    Google TV Announcement Coming At I/O This Week?

    Years ago Steve Jobs called the Apple TV a “hobby.” As hobbies go, though, this one has turned out to be pretty popular. Though not one of Apple’s best-selling products, the Apple TV has made quite a respectable showing, especially since the launch of the second generation version in 2010 (the third gen, of course, came out in March alongside the new iPad). The same can’t be said, though, for Google’s own foray into television. The Google TV has been pretty underwhelming, on the whole. Plagued by high prices at launch and somewhat limited content offerings, Google has struggled to get Google TV off the ground.

    That may be about to change, though. Citing “sources involved in the keynote address,” Fox News’s Clayton Morris claims that Google’s got big news coming for Google TV during the keynote for this year’s Google I/O conference. According to these sources, Google will shift the TV interface’s focus away from content sources and onto the content itself. That is, instead of having to worry about whether the show you want to watch is on Netflix or being broadcast live or is stored on your DVR, you just pick what you want to watch and watch it.

    Other updates and new features will reportedly be coming from third party developers. Most notably, Google TV might be getting its own version of Apple’s AirPlay, allowing people to stream content from their phones onto their TV through their Google TV box.

    While Google TV showed a lot of promise initially, it simply hasn’t managed to live up to Google’s hopes for it. Though these rumored new features are bound to improve the experience, it still remains to be seen whether Google can offer a serious challenge to the other major players in the streaming TV market.

  • Apple TV LCDs Headed To Foxconn Next Quarter?

    Production of Apple’s long-rumored HDTV could begin as early as next quarter, according to recent reports. The television’s LCD displays are rumored to be headed to Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn from Sharp sometime during the third quarter of this year, with a release date scheduled for sometime in the fourth quarter (just in time for the 2012 holiday shopping season, naturally).

    The information comes from a Chinese news site via Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White. It seems that the news site – 21cbh.com – spoke with several sources at Sharp, all of whom claimed that the company’s LCD panels have been ordered and will be shipped to Foxconn next quarter.

    The idea that Sharp could be the supplier of LCD panels for the Apple TV (or iTV, as it’s occasionally called), has been around for a few months now. Back in March we brought you news that Foxconn’s parent company, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., had purchased a 10% stake in Sharp, a move that would allow Sharp to offset billions of dollars in potential losses next quarter.

    Of course, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner buying a stake in a display company set off rumors about the Apple TV. Those rumors were bolstered earlier this week by news that Hon Hai may be preparing to make yet another investment in Sharp.

    There have been rumors of Apple diving into the television market with its own HDTV for several years now. Over the last 8 months or so, though, those rumors have been growing consistently more intense and, on the whole, more credible, due in part to statements in Steve Jobs’s biography that an Apple television was among Jobs’s last projects with Apple, and Job’s claim that just before he left Apple he finally “cracked it.”

    The majority of the rumors about the Apple TV have suggested a release sometime in the late third or early fourth quarter of this year, which White’s information supports. If so, it looks like some of us will have to make some room on our Christmas lists this year.

  • Apple May Be Most Profitable Company Ever In 2012

    By pretty much any standard you care to look at, Apple has had an amazing year. With the exception of a few hiccups, their stock has remained consistently in the neighborhood of $575-600, with a market cap that has occasionally broken $600 billion (though it currently sits at $547 billion). With new products coming out at regular intervals, and Apple regularly reporting massive quarterly revenues, that doesn’t look likely to change any time soon.

    In fact, according to one recent estimate, Apple may be in the midst of the most profitable year ever. Not Apple’s most profitable year ever, mind you. According to Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, Apple may be on its way to the most profitable year ever had by any publicly traded company ever.

    White argued that the $500 billion market cap mark won’t be the kind of barrier for Apple that it has historically been for other companies, who reach that point and find further growth difficult. While other such companies have enjoyed near-monopolies in their areas (e.g., Microsoft’s share of the PC market, Intel’s share of the processor market). Apple doesn’t have anything approaching a monopoly of the smartphone market. The tablet market, meanwhile, is of Apple’s own making and is just two years old, meaning there is plenty of room for further growth.

    Based on that, White says, Apple’s potential for growth is huge. Indeed, he claims they could reach a market cap in the trillions, and profits as much as six times that of other tech companies that reached the $500 billion market cap point.

    With a new iPad and a refreshed line of MacBook computers – including a new model with retina display – already out, a new iPhone on the way, and maybe even an iPad Mini and iTV coming this year, it’s easy to see White’s point.

  • Foxconn Investing In Sharp Again, Stoking iTV Rumors

    Back in March we brought you news that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry had made a $1.6 billion investment in Sharp in an effort to save the struggling company from potentially massive quarterly losses. The deal also prompted speculation about Apple’s rumored iTV. Hon Hai is the parent company of Foxconn, one of Apple’s primary manufacturing partners, and an investment in Sharp was seen as an easy way to get the company’s LCD displays into Apple’s rumored HDTV.

    Those rumors have gained new life today on news that Hon Hai is preparing to make another major investment in Sharp. According to a report by Reuters, Hon Hai and Sharp are currently negotiating a deal whereby Hon Hai will purchase even more of Sharp’s shares. In the past week Sharp’s stock has taken a significant dip, prompting the company to approach Hon Hai again.

    It is, of course, entirely possible that these investments have nothing at all to do with Apple’s HDTV (usually dubbed either the iTV or the Apple TV). After all, not everything about Foxconn is also Apple related. On the other hand, Foxconn is Apple’s main manufacturer for iOS devices, and these deals do provide a shortcut between Sharp and Apple, should Apple decide to use Sharp’s LCD displays in the iTV.

  • Apple Announcement: Apple TV Absent From WWDC 2012

    Apple announcement today included a ton of cool stuff, including a brand new line of MacBooks, a host of snazzy new features in iOS 6, and the integration of Siri with certain automobiles. What it didn’t include, much to the horror of fans across the entire planet, was the iPhone 5. Another gadget that didn’t make it onto the stage this morning was the Apple TV, which many believed would be a part of a major announcement at WWDC 2012.

    Depending on who you talked to, lots of individuals seemed to think that Apple would allow third-party developers to create apps for the Apple TV. Others would have you believe that the company would unveil a full-blown TV set, one that would incorporate a number of nifty features into its design. Unfortunately, much like those who were disappointed by the absence of the iPhone5, fans of Apple TV will have to bide their time.

    What Apple TV fans did get was something called “AirPlay Mirroring”, which allows Mac users to transmit 1080p video to their televisions or projectors. Additionally, users can also stream audio to the device, as well. iPhone and iPad users have been able to stream video to their Apple TVs for a while now, though never at such high resolutions.

    Janko Roettgers at Gigaom suggests that the reason Apple didn’t give third-party developers access to the SDK is because of the numbers. Since the iPad currently outsells the Apple TV by leaps and bounds, the company wants them to focus on the device that brings in the most money. Sure, Apple TV has sold 2.7 million units, but that’s nothing when compared to the 40.5 million iPads that were picked up by tech-hungry consumers in 2011.

    So is Apple cooking up something bigger? Is a full-blown Apple TV with all the bells and whistles coming down the proverbial pipeline in the near future? Right now, it’s all just speculation. Considering how many people thought we’d get something at WWDC 2012, your guess, at this stage, is honestly as good as mine.

  • iOS 6, New Mac Updates On Tap At WWDC 2012 Today

    It wouldn’t be much of a stretch at all to say that Apple’s WWDC 2012 keynote is the most highly-anticipated keynote in a long time. Historically, Apple has used WWDC to unveil new generations of the iPhone. Last year’s delayed launch of the iPhone 4S, however, means that we won’t be seeing the next iPhone (probably “the new iPhone,” instead of the iPhone 5 or iPhone 6) until October, or possibly September.

    Nevertheless, expectations for this year’s keynote are running high, and with good reason. There have been a lot of rumors zipping about in the last few weeks, and if even half of them are true, it’s going to be a big day.

    With that in mind, here is what we know so far about what we should expect from Apple’s WWDC 2012 keynote. But first, a disclaimer: WWDC is a software conference. Strictly speaking, the focus isn’t on hardware. That means that all we’re guaranteed from today’s keynote is iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion. Anything else is just gravy. Though as you’ll see, there’s reason to expect a sizable helping of gravy.

    iOS 6

    The first of the two guarantees for today’s keynote is iOS 6. Even though the new iPhone isn’t coming out for another 3-4 months, Apple will be unveiling the latest version of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch’s operating system today. While it’s been treated as a given for some time that iOS 6 would be on today’s menu, we got the best confirmation we could want short of an official statement from Apple on Friday. An Instagram user managed to catch a picture of workers raising a giant iOS 6 banner inside Moscone West, the San Francisco venue for WWDC 2012.

    So, iOS 6 has been confirmed, but what should we expect from iOS 6? Well, the biggest news is a new Maps app. Back in May it was reported that Apple was preparing to ditch Google Maps as the source for the iOS Maps app and replace it with mapping data developed in-house by the three mapping companies Apple began purchasing in 2009 (just a year after Google launched Android). Since that initial report there have been several additional leaks confirming a new Maps app. According to the reports, the new app will be largely the same in terms of interface, but will sport a hyper-realistic 3D mode. Check out a mockup of the new app below:

    iOS 6 Maps Mockup

    But that’s not all we should expect from iOS 6. Speaking at AllThingsD’s D10 Conference at the end of May, Apple CEO Tim Cook all but promised that iOS would be getting Facebook integration soon. Later reports have appeared to confirm that, saying that iOS 6’s system-wide Facebook integration will be much like the Twitter integration introduced last year with iOS 5.

    While reports suggest that iOS 6 won’t actually look much different from iOS 5 on the surface, Apple appears to have completely rewritten all of the stock iOS apps – Weather, Clock, Contacts, Calendar, etc. – in addition to Maps. While details are a little thin, the new versions of the apps are expected to have some pretty remarkable new features, and a slightly different user interface.

    During the same D10 session mentioned above, Tim Cook also strongly hinted that there would be major improvements to Siri coming soon. Though he was, naturally, coy about the details, it’s a fair bet that with iOS 6 Siri will be losing her “beta” label, and getting several new features and performance improvements. Though it may be too much to hope for Apple to release Siri’s APIs to developers, it’s certainly possible.

    Finally, iOS 6 will be getting some of the same improvements to existing features that are about to be rolled out with OS X Mountain Lion, including a Do Not Disturb feature for Notifications, Mail VIPs, and iCloud Tabs. The Do Not Disturb mode is pretty self-explanatory: it temporarily disables notifications from popping up while you’re, say, watching a movie or trying to sleep (nobody appreciates waking up to a Words With Friends notification at 3 in the morning, after all). Mail VIPs makes it easier to find and read mail from your selected list of VIPs, and iCloud Tabs allows you to see from one version of Safari (mobile or desktop) the tabs you’ve got open in all versions of Safari.

    OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

    There actually hasn’t been a lot of detail surface about Mountain Lion since Apple made the original (and quite unexpected) announcement earlier this year. That said, here’s what we know. Mountain Lion will be releasing sometime later this summer (possibly this month). It will include OS-wide Twitter integration like iOS 5, though surprisingly there has been no hint of Facebook integration making the jump to OS X. It will be getting a variety of sharing options including Flickr and Vimeo. It will also feature Message, an app that syncs with iMessage on your iPhone and iPad. While there’s currently a beta available for OS X Lion, that beta will stop working after Mountain Lion launches, making Messages a Mountain Lion-only product.

    Mountain Lion will be continuing the tradition Apple began with OS X 10.7 Lion last year of bringing iOS features “back to the Mac.” Consequently, Mountain Lion will be getting Notification Center, Reminders, and Notes, in addition to the aforementioned Twitter integration. There have also been recent rumors that the Dictation feature that made its way to the iPad in March will also be coming to Mountain Lion.

    Another new Mountain Lion feature will be Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper is a security feature that allows you to lock down your Mac so that only software from the Mac App Store can be installed. You can also set Gatekeeper to allow apps created by participants in Apple’s Developer ID program, or you can turn Gatekeeper off completely, allowing software from any source to be installed. While it’s likely to be popular with businesses and parents, there are those who worry that it’s a step toward making OS X the same sort of walled garden that iOS is.

    Finally, there appear to be several new features coming to iCloud. Early last month Apple accidentally made their test of iOS-style banner notifications for the iCloud web interface public. A few days later a beta version of the iCloud web interface revealed that Notes and Reminders apps were being added as well. It’s not certain that these new features will be unveiled at WWDC 2012, but a third report predicted that several major new features would be shown off at the conference, including vast improvements to iCloud’s photo handling and sharing.

    New Macs

    If you pay much attention to Apple’s product cycles, you may have noticed that while the company has been aggressively updating iOS and its associated devices, and has been incorporating certain features into OS X, there hasn’t been much attention paid to actual Mac hardware. Though the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac lines have gotten feature bumps in recent years, there have been no major upgrades. Indeed, some models – namely the Mac Pro – have been without an upgrade of any kind for years.

    According to what we’ve been hearing over the last few weeks, that’s about to change. While there have been rumors since the launch of the iPhone 4 in 2010 that Macs would start getting retina displays, it looks like this time it might actually happen. Back in May we started hearing the first serious rumblings of the MacBook Pro getting a retina display. The next day reports surfaced that the same might be true of the MacBook Air and iMac. While nothing has been confirmed, of course, Apple did let a retina display-ready app into the Mac App Store last week.

    Last week rumors surfaced that a fourth Mac line would be getting an update. While some believed it would be the Mac Mini, I speculated that the Mac Pro would be the model to get updated, which is in far worse need of an update than the Mac Mini. A report the next day appeared to confirm that it would indeed be the Mac Pro, though there’s little information on what, specifically, will be updated.

    Finally, there was a report last week that all these updates we’ve been hearing about for the MacBook Pro might not be headed to the MacBook Pro at all, but to an entirely new line of MacBook. This new MacBook would drop the “Pro” branding, and would get the lion’s share of the upgrades, leaving the MacBook Pro with only a basic feature bump. If it sells well, this new MacBook would eventually replace the current MacBook Pro (which replaced the original MacBook line a few years ago).

    New Apple TV OS (and the iTV?)

    Last but not least, there have been reports that Apple may show off a new operating system for the Apple TV at this year’s conference. There aren’t many details, but it’s possible that this update is meant to pave the way for the much-rumored iTV, Apple’s entry into the HDTV market. Though there has been some speculation that the iTV itself would be unveiled at this year’s conference, that is not likely.

    While little is known about the new Apple TV OS, one exciting detail has been circulated. It seems that Apple may release a software development kit (SDK) for the Apple TV alongside the OS update. That will mean that third-party developers can create apps for the Apple TV. That’s right, the Apple TV (and possibly the iTV?) may finally be getting the App Store.

    Conclusions

    It’s worth noting again that WWDC is a software developers’ conference, and that the only things that have been confirmed about this year’s keynote are iOS 6 and Mountain Lion. The rest is just speculation, though much of it appears solid. At any rate, we’re less than two hours from the keynote now, when all will be revealed. Until then, you can follow our WWDC 2012 page for more information, and check back for our live coverage of the keynote itself at 1 PM Eastern time.

  • WWDC 2012: Apple TV Getting Third-Party Apps?

    Last week we brought you news that Apple might be unveiling a new Apple TV operating system during the keynote at WWDC 2012 next week. The new OS would replace the version of iOS currently running on the Apple TV, and would be the operating system that powered the much-rumored iTV.

    While the original rumor was light on details concerning the capabilities of the new operating system, information that surfaced just a little while ago may provide one very major detail. According to BGR, Apple will release a software development kit (SDK) alongside the new Apple TV OS next week. If this is true, then third-party developers will be able to develop apps for the Apple TV (and, presumably, the iTV). In other words, the App Store could, at long last, be coming to the Apple TV.

    When the second generation Apple TV launched in 2010, the fact that it did not feature the App Store raised a lot of eyebrows. While the device certainly packed an impressive feature set and proved quite popular, virtually everyone agreed that what it really needed was apps. In fact, rumors about the App Store coming with various iOS updates have sprung up periodically over the last two years. When the time came for the third generation Apple TV to launch earlier this year (alongside the new third-generation iPad), many expected that Apple would finally announce apps for the Apple TV. Again, it didn’t happen.

    Now, though, it looks like Apple TV users may finally be getting their wish: the Apple TV may finally be getting access to the App Store. What’s more, if Apple really does have their own HDTV in the works, then it will be getting the App Store as well. While many (myself included) have wondered whether Apple could truly revolutionize the TV market in the same way they did the MP3 player, smartphone, and tablet markets, the App Store would go a long way toward making that happen.

  • DirecTV Chairman Not Worried About Apple TV

    Speculation that Apple would release their own HDTV set sooner rather than later have gotten a boost from an unlikely source. Michael White, chairman of DirecTV, predicted that Apple would be launching their own TV, but that he didn’t feel his company had anything to worry about.

    According to Variety, White was speaking at an investors’ conference in New York. White denied that Apple would be able to disrupt the existing TV market enough to present companies like DirecTV with a genuine threat. Discussing rumors that Apple would be unveiling an update to the Apple TV operating system, White said that Apple is “going to launch something, maybe in the next two weeks,” but that “it’s hard to see [it] obsoleting our technology.”

    White’s reasoning depends a lot on the fact that media companies aren’t likely to allow Apple to offer the kind of a la carte channel subscriptions they reportedly want to offer. Of course, the FCC is currently considering a rule change that would take that decision out of the media companies’ hands.

    What’s really interesting here is how very much White’s predictions about Apple’s chances of “obsoleting our technology” sound like the kinds of things people were saying about the iPhone’s chances of success in 2006 and early 2007, and about the iPad in 2009. Plenty of people expected both products to fizzle. On the other hand, both products were aimed at taking a traditionally non-consumer oriented device and bringing it into the consumer market. The HDTV market, though, is a bit different: it’s already a consumer oriented-market, and a fairly saturated one, at that. So there’s a good chance that White is right, and that Apple really won’t do in the TV market what they did in the smartphone market. A lot will depend on how the FCC comes down on that rule change, and a lot depends on the TV market’s response to whatever product Apple offers.

  • Apple Analyst Predicts What An Apple TV May Look Like

    In the world of Apple, there has been an incessant rumor that the company will be releasing a high definition television. It’s pretty much a given that Apple wants to control your entire living room and the television is the last stalwart that consumers have had to go with another manufacturer on. An analyst recently gave his take on what to expect from the Apple TV.

    Speaking to Business Insider, Apple analyst Gene Munster said that it’s now a matter of when, and not if, when it comes to Apple TV. That seems to jive with rumors that Foxconn has begun production on an Apple TV. What would an Apple TV consist of though? Munster seems to have an idea.

    The biggest change that Apple will bring to television according to Munster is the unbundling of channels. He feels that Apple will work with studios and allow consumers to only pay for channels that they want instead of paying a monthly fee for only three channels that they watch regularly. He also feels that Apple will bring DVR functionality that is similar to what DISH Network now offers with its Hopper DVR. Unfortunately, DISH is now on the end of a lawsuit from multiple networks claiming that skipping commercials is akin to theft. Apple may be able to throw its considerable weight against these networks and force them to adapt to new technologies.

    As for the other features, Munster feels that Apple will focus on interface, apps and design for the new TV. The interface will include Siri and compatibility with third-party devices. He also feels that Apple will include integration with content guides. As for apps, Apple will no doubt include its App Store on the TV allowing developers to create apps and games for the device. iOS already has a massive amount of developers making games for the platform so the Apple TV could be Apple’s foray into the console market. As for design, he says that the TV will look like every other Apple device including aluminum casing and an LCD screen to avoid the cost of OLED screens.

    Speaking of cost, Munster estimates the cost to be at around $1,500 to $2,000. He says the cost will reflect the fact that consumers are getting a TV, set top box, gaming console and blu-ray player all in one box. I would argue that the cost would be more around the $2,000 range, but that’s just because Apple tends to charge more than the average manufacturer for their products. Regardless, it would become an instant hit and sell millions in a mere few days. Apple is slowly taking over the world and the TV is next, folks.

  • WWDC 2012: Apple To Show Off Apple TV OS Update

    Apple may be preparing to show off a new update to the Apple TV that will round out the device’s feature set, according to a recent report. The new update will replace the current Apple TV’s version of iOS with the software that will be running on the iTV.

    Citing “a trusted source,” BGR is reporting that Apple has been in talks with manufacturers to get them to support a “control out” feature that would allow users to control a variety of third-party accessories (including cable set top boxes) with their Apple Remote, or from the iOS Remote app.

    BGR’s source claims that only the Apple TV’s OS update will be shown off at WWDC. Apple appears to be saving the HDTV announcement for a later date.