Rumor has it that Apple's next iteration of the Apple TV will be rebranded as iTV, and contrary to previous reports, will not include support for 1080p HD out
For as much success as Apple has had with the iPod, the iPhone, and a slew of other hardware, one device that has continuously failed to gain any traction has been the Apple TV. Now, to be fair, no company has yet been able to figure out how to gain a significant foothold in the ongoing “battle for the livingroom”, but Apple appears determined to keep trying to turn its “hobby” into something more substantial.
A few months ago, Engadget reported that Apple was planning major changes for the next iteration of the Apple TV. Some of the rumored changes included a new OS based off of Apple’s iOS, a speedy A4 processor, an extremely slim iPhone-like form factor, 16GB of flash memory, content streaming, and last but not least, support for 1080p HD. Moreover, rumors indicated that the new Apple TV would retail for only $99.
But as with most Apple rumors, the details are always subject to change.
Earlier this week, Engadget clarified their story with a few new nuggets of information from a trusted source. First and foremost, all you videophiles will be disappointed to find out that the upcoming Apple TV refresh will not, in fact, support 1080p HD out. For the time being, we’ll just have to live with 720p quality, which to be honest, is nothing to complain about.
But enough about what the new Apple TV won’t have, here’s what it will have.
– Access to the iOS app store. It remains to be seen, though, whether or not it will have its own dedicated app store or merely access to a random mixture of iPhone and iPad apps.
– A new name. That’s right folks, Apple is bidding adieu to the Apple TV moniker and will reportedly re-brand the device the iTV. Interestingly, Jobs had previously lambasted the iTV moniker as being uncreative, so it’s curious why Apple is going back to the i-prefix. For all we know Apple wants to maintain naming uniformity across their lineup of iOS devices. Or, perhaps, and this is nothing more than speculation, it has to do with an upcoming product Apple has in the pipeline – say, something like an Apple branded HDTV.
