Apple Is Planning a 4K Upgrade For Its TV Box (bloomberg.com)

Apple is planning to unveil an upgraded Apple TV set-top box that can stream 4K video and highlight live television content such as news and sports. Bloomberg reports: The updated box, to be revealed alongside new iPhone and Apple Watch models at an event in September, will run a faster processor capable of streaming the higher-resolution 4K content, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't yet public. The 4K designation is a quality standard that showcases content at twice the resolution of 1080P high-definition video, meaning the clarity is often better for the viewer. Apple is also testing an updated version of its TV app, which first launched in 2016, that can aggregate programming from apps that already offer live streaming. Apple is seeking to revive its video ambitions with the new product. In order to view 4K video, users will need to attach the updated Apple TV to a screen capable of showing the higher-resolution footage. In order to play 4K and HDR content, Apple will need deals with content makers that can provide video in those formats. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has begun discussions with movie studios about supplying 4K versions of movies via iTunes, according to people familiar with the talks. The company has also discussed its 4K video ambitions with content companies that already have apps on Apple TV, another person said. Popular video apps on the Apple TV that support 4K on other platforms include Vevo and Netflix.

Comments

Kind of late to the party Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't every other streaming box offer a 4K version? So Apple makes headlines for finally accomplishing this? Yes, let's have a "Event" for such a great accomplishment.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[sittingnut]

absurd hype(sadly parroted by /.) of this delayed introduction of something already in market through others, indicate the desperation and lack of ideas at apple.
apple is now just a marketer of over-hyped, overpriced, mediocre products to its fanboi base, and dependent on 1 such product(iphone) in a mature market for its profitability and survival.
sad.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[DontBeAMoran]

Don't worry about it, they'll probably call it Ultra-Retina or something.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[Paradise Pete]

What hype? It's merely stating the fact. It's still news, even if they should have done it last time (and they should have).

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[DontBeAMoran]

Over-hyped? Maybe.
Overpriced? Positively.
Mediocre? That's debatable. Their products work and their support currently has no equal in the industry.

Is Apple in a decline since Steve Jobs' death? Absolutely. With a rich bean counter at the top we get even more expensive products with ridiculous features that most people can't afford (expensive low-end MacBook without usable ports, OLED touch bar on MacBook Pro, $5K iMac Pro) and a discontinuation or lack of updates for low-end products that just work (iPod shuffle, Mac mini, MacBook Air).

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[mccalli]

Apple. Proudly going out of business for over 40 years.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[sittingnut]

apple really was going out of business for a decade and half, before it had some new ideas, and brought back steve jobs (sacked earlier due to poor performance) to sell them(which is what he was good at), starting with putting an "i" before each brand.
if you love apple, hope and pray for some new ideas and new great salesmen. but there is no reason to think that new ideas and salepeople will concentrate there again to such a degree again.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[mccalli]

Apart from, you know, the last 40 years that is. Even in the dark days they still had ideas - the Newton for instance, which yeah Jobs didn't like and blah blah blah, but he was one of the few that didn't.

What Jobs did really well is sell, yes. But he also brought other qualities - a consistent product line was one of them. This is where things like the 4k TV are well over due, and also where legitimate criticisms like the no-USB C-cable-in-an-iPhone-box come from. Apple's entire with phones, tablets, computers etc. can do 4k. The one place I might show the family those photos can't. That's ridiculous, and this incremental upgrade is overdue.

Bear in mind though that Apple aren't hyping it, in fact they haven't even mentioned it. Others have looked in firmware and found what seems to be a sensible upgrade and have publicised that they've found it - that's all. For me as owner of a gen 3, it's interesting. World changing no, but yeah - it's something I'm following. If they launch that and the rumoured Prime app comes out, then that's finally all my media (iTunes/Netflix/Prime/self-ripped so Plex or similar) in one place so I'd likely buy.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[known_coward_69]

does it make you feel better to have been the first one to buy something and spend the most money on it just to wait panting like pavlov's dogs to fully utilize the features of your new toy?

Re: Kind of late to the party Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

Uber-Retina

Do you even iNerd?

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[__aaclcg7560]

When Apple does something, they do it better than the competition and brought it out to the market first.

Re:Kind of late to the party Apple

[Neuronwelder]

Yea, over hyped. Pretty much like all the other products on the market.. Got to MAKE that sale!

Re: Kind of late to the party Apple

[UnknowingFool]

One of Jobs' better attributes was having a vision and getting others to focus on that vision. Reportedly one of the first things he did after getting back to Apple was draw a 4 box grid. Personal and professional on one axis. Mobile and desktop on the other. Apple would reduce the large number of computer models to just 4. It helped Apple refocus on the basics. Today, Apple's products are larger grid but they still don't make a large number of models.

Re: Kind of late to the party Apple

[mccalli]

Yep - completely agreed. I remember the "is it an LC or a Centris or a Performa...?" days of identical models with different badges. Was just silly.

Re: Kind of late to the party Apple

[UnknowingFool]

Personally I've waited because my estimation was that if I bought 4K equipment when it first came out, I'd likely have to replace it all anyways by the time 4K content was widely available. I mean not all the TV stations in my area are 1080p yet. Some are still 720p.

Typical Apple

[DontBeAMoran]

In order to view 4K video, users will need to attach the updated Apple TV to a screen capable of showing the higher-resolution footage.

Well isn't that typical of Apple. If they're so good how come they can't display 4K HDR video on my old 36" Sony Trinitron? First they remove floppy drives, now this?!

Re: Typical Apple

[UnknowingFool]

I don't know if you've ever dealt with customer service, but people have been know to use CD trays as cup holders, shove two floppies into a drive, etc. I'm sure there will be a lawsuit from someone claiming they didn't know they needed a 4K TV to watch 4K content with an AppleTV. Also there are some people looking to make quick money. Like the two guys who sued Apple over the original iPhone not having a user-replaceable battery.

Planning???

[Anonymous Coward]

Only planning? You realize this is already a commodity market, you can already buy a lot of Android 8 core, 4K res TV boxes, they cost practically nothing and do practically everything.

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&SearchText=android+tv+4k+8+core

And these boxes also have access to Google Play, and a large choice of games and apps (I use my Cable providers TV's mobile app to stream their channels plus my Netflix account). Plus they take Ubuntu if you want Linux on them instead of Android.

So, dear Apple, forgive me if I refuse to be wowed by something I already have in my house that costs less than $50 a pop for a typical box and supports my Logitech USB wireless keyboard and mouse and my bluetooth joystick for games, etc., while you box is locked down, and doesn't support a lot of this.

Re:Planning???

[DontBeAMoran]

Don't worry. If the current 4th-generation Apple TV is any indication, their new box will cost at least three times as much as yours. This means (in market-speak) that it's three times better than your Android box because of the Apple logo.

Me? Fuck Android. It seems so insecure that I want no part of it. My next box will be a Roku.

Re:Planning???

[DrXym]

That might be true. But none of these boxes play media that people have foolishly purchased from the Apple store and only plays on Apple devices.

That's the audience for the device - people locked into Apple's ecosystem. Everyone else can pick and choose and if they're smart they won't buy any kind of media - audio, video or books which is locked to one service / provider. Of course technically they're not buying media at all, just a licence to view the media which is why this chicanery happens at all. Digital content could be legislated and imbued with similar concepts of ownership / transferability & copyright as physical content but no region or country seems to have the balls to go there yet.

Box

[dohzer]

Is an Apple TV Box kind of like a media PC?
Will increasing it to 4K enable it to compete with my 4K media PC?

Re:Box

[DontBeAMoran]

An Apple TV is similar in features to a Roku.

Re: Box

[UnknowingFool]

Compete in what way? Can it save and replay terabytes of music and videos? No, that is not the purpose. But it can stream Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. at a fraction of the power requirements and price. Your media PC probably cost way more that but can do more.

Re: Box

[grub]

On our Apple TV 4th gen (and iPhones and iPads), we use a streaming app called Infuse. It scours our server (many TBs), fetches metadata, and presents a Netflix-like interface for all our stuff.

It has replaced our old PopcornHour boxes.

Re: Box

[UnknowingFool]

Good to know about this app. I used to have media PCs for every TV. It's hard for me to justify the cost/effort anymore with streaming boxes like AppleTV, Roku

Must be a slow news day...

[bogaboga]

Apple simply "planning an upgrade" makes news! Really? Think about it...Merely "planning" making news!

So next time Apple "plans" to upgrade another of its products will also make news I guess, right?

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[DontBeAMoran]

If they plan to update the Mac Mini or MacBook Air, it will really be news.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple simply "planning an upgrade" makes news! Really? Think about it...Merely "planning" making news!

So next time Apple "plans" to upgrade another of its products will also make news I guess, right?

And when Elon Musk does it, everyone is glued to Slashdot masturbating furiously over his announcements.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, no fucking shit Apple is planning a 4K Apple TV. The only reason they wouldn't be is if they discontinued the Apple TV altogether, but since we know they're planning on spending $1 billion on making TV shows, why WOULDN'T Apple be planning on making a 4K Apple TV?

News would be Apple dropping the Apple TV line entirely or "courageously" deciding that 4K "isn't worth it" and deciding not to support it. But since they already release iMacs with over 4K resolution, it's not really that surprising that they're making a 4K Apple TV and looking for content to show on it. It'd be news if they weren't.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[Anonymous Coward]

Musk is trying to change the world; apple trying to sell over priced consumer electronics. Big difference

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[mjwx]

Apple simply "planning an upgrade" makes news! Really? Think about it...Merely "planning" making news!

So next time Apple "plans" to upgrade another of its products will also make news I guess, right?

This is very important as it signifies that Apple is planning to invent 4K set top boxes. It's not like you can just get one off of Amazon for $50 that plugs right into your HDMI port and has Netflix and Amazon Prime. Nope, no sireee, Apple is first to market as always.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[theurge14]

Feel free to scroll down to the million Surface Pro announcements these past few weeks.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea but apple will do 4K better.

Re:Must be a slow news day...

[TheFakeTimCook]

Apple simply "planning an upgrade" makes news! Really? Think about it...Merely "planning" making news!

So next time Apple "plans" to upgrade another of its products will also make news I guess, right?

Qui it being overly literal.

It means that they WILL be upgrading Apple TV soon, like in about a month.

You KNOW what it means; but waste no opportunity to Hate on Apple.

They may be a bit late to the party on 4k; but their interface, voice control and App support is second to none.

Plus, if you already have Apple computers or other devices, the drop-dead simple peer-peer AirPlay streaming abilities are a really nice feature with deep integration in all the various Apple OSes and many Apps/Applications, that goes far beyond simple display mirroring (although it can do that, too),

It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody really watches 4k for anything other than a novelty. It takes too much bandwidth and you really need to get close to even notice the difference. It's the 2017 version of 3d television.

Re:It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, that's just a load of rubbish. I have no bandwidth issues at all in the UK. 36Mbps is a fairly standard minimum speed available in a good part of the UK with the vast majority of urban areas providing from this up to around 330Mbps. This means 4K content isn't even an issue at all when it comes to bandwidth and download caps are very much a thing of the past. The limiting factor is the number of people who have upgraded their TVs since 4k became affordable but that's changing at a very healthy rate. It's in no way a novelty like 3d TV and to say something like that shows a great lack of understanding of the technology, industry and the reasons behind 3d TV not catching on.

Re:It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

The US is much, much different. Most people here don't have broadband (well, the government says they do, but they define broadband very loosely). We have entrenched monopolies in place that have dug in their feet against upgrading their systems to handle more data. If someone were to stream 4k, there is a very good chance the rest of neighborhood would start tiling and buffering and stuttering. For us, the display and streaming technoogy have far outpaced the networking technology. We need to open up the market and let people like Google Fiber into all areas.

Re: It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck Google Fiber. Fuck Google period. And fuck Alphabet.

Your post is a fucking lie. Most civilized areas of the country can get 100Mbps or more. Even small towns of less than 5,000 people near me can get Gigabit cable. So shut the fuck up and go get you 14 cents from Google or whatever and stop posting lies.

Re:It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's Apple. Apple users are all about novelty at the cost of practicality. Don't forget Apple pioneered the "retina" display, the definition of "more DPI than you can actually notice."

Re:It'll flop.

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny. That was every apple mouth breathers argument about why iTV didnt need 4K until today. Now its magical.

Re:It'll flop.

[rthille]

I pay for (IIRC) the cheapest Comcast internet only deal I can ($50/month) and get 120Mbits

Won't have a remote

[Sebby]

They'll announce it, and Phil Schiller will come on stage and say they've innovated their ass off, and figured out a way not to need to ship it with a remote.

"Just like the iPhone doesn't need a headphone jack, just like the MacBooks don't need a SD card slot, the new AppleTV doesn't need a remote! Why? Well, there's already millions of remotes out there: the iPhone. All you need to use the new AppleTV is an iPhone 7/7S/7+/7S+/8. And because we don't need to ship it with a remote, it's now $5 less! Aren't we just great?"

Re: Won't have a remote

[Anonymous Coward]

...and it'll only work with Apple iRemote, which will cost at least $100!

Re:Won't have a remote

[dgatwood]

They'll announce it, and Phil Schiller will come on stage and say they've innovated their ass off, and figured out a way not to need to ship it with a remote.

They won't do that. It wouldn't be a viable gaming platform if they did, and there would also be nothing to differentiate it from the Chromecast Ultra that costs less than half as much.

Re:Won't have a remote

[TheFakeTimCook]

They'll announce it, and Phil Schiller will come on stage and say they've innovated their ass off, and figured out a way not to need to ship it with a remote.

"Just like the iPhone doesn't need a headphone jack, just like the MacBooks don't need a SD card slot, the new AppleTV doesn't need a remote! Why? Well, there's already millions of remotes out there: the iPhone. All you need to use the new AppleTV is an iPhone 7/7S/7+/7S+/8. And because we don't need to ship it with a remote, it's now $5 less! Aren't we just great?"

Apple TV has a Remote, with a touchpad and a voice interface.

They also have a Remote App for the iPhone and the iPad, that even does Voice input on my ancient iPad 2, even though that iPad has no Siri support.

So, WTF are you saying, Hater?

Re: Won't have a remote

[TheFakeTimCook]

...and it'll only work with Apple iRemote, which will cost at least $100!

The Apple TV comes with its Touchpad/voice Remote.

The Apple TV Remote App for iPhone/iPad is free on the iOS App Store. I think there is a macOS version, too.

so, as usual, the AC Hater is talking out their ass...

Good to future proof it

[CastrTroy]

Good idea to future proof it a bit, but I have no plans of upgrading my TV to 4K. I've looked, and sure, I can see the difference, but it's not enough to buy a whole new TV for. When my current set dies, the next one will be 4K, or maybe even 8K depending on how long the current one lasts. But I don't have any need to upgrade the experience. 1080p is entirely sufficient. Going from SD to HD was a huge change and well worth it, although I still waited a while until I could get a TV at a reasonable size for an acceptable amount of money.

Re: Good to future proof it

[UnknowingFool]

But that's too practical of you getting something only when you can use it. Of course many here on slashdot would probably chastise you that you didn't have a VR set either even though there's not a whole lot you can do with one of them. My next TV will probably be 4K only in that some 4K TVs are cheaper than 1080p versions. Just never plug a "smart" TV into the internet.

4K is four times the resolution, not twice

[Anonymous Coward]

There are two dimensions. 2x2=4. For a news site for nerds you're stumbling hard.

Re:4K is four times the resolution, not twice

[Anonymous Coward]

+1

Honestly, was this advertising blurb written for 6 year olds?

"Upgrade"

[110010001000]

It isn't an "upgrade" if you need to buy a new box. It is just a "new model".

Extreme clarification required...

[Anonymous Coward]

could you explain what this "4K" thing is again? I didn't understand...

This is not the Roku you are looking for

[Anonymous Coward]

Many bothans died to bring us this information. Hopefully our scientists can find a weakness so we can destroy it.

Trying to catch a lost opportunity

[bfwebster]

I'm actually a fan of Apple TV; we have one hooked up to our family room TV (55", a/v receiver, 3' speakers, subwoofer literally the size of a steamer trunk) as well as one hooked up to our bedroom TV upstairs. And yet as I sit here at the dinner table on my laptop (we have one of the family room/dining area/kitchen open rooms), I'm listening to streaming music from...our Amazon Echo. Why? Because when I came downstairs to feed the dogs, all I had to say was "Alexa, play my 'Mornings' playlist", and it did. No remote to fumble with, no checking to be sure I was in the right 'spot' in the Apple TV menu to play a playlist.

Apple blew it by not releasing a hands-free, voice-activated Apple TV a year ago. 4K doesn't wow me; I have no plans to run out and buy a 4K tv any time soon. What I want is better and more functionality, and in particular true voice activated functionality.

Anyone want to predict what actual Apple HomePod sales end up being?

Re:Trying to catch a lost opportunity

[Bongo]

It's great that works, and/but there's also the privacy thing, and some people may find it creepy.

As for speech, first thing I did with the AppleTV was press the little speech button and say, "find veep"

And the next ten minutes told me all I needed to know about the prospects of AIs destroying humanity.

Re:Trying to catch a lost opportunity

[rsborg]

I'm listening to streaming music from...our Amazon Echo. Why? Because when I came downstairs to feed the dogs, all I had to say was "Alexa, play my 'Mornings' playlist"

Good for you, let Amazon know everything about you, and let them hear your raw voice data. Me, I know what that would mean in terms of privacy so I'm not going to do it.

Amazon will have it's public creep-mode moment like Uber where we find out how they're dissecting our voice fingerprints. I'm not going to become a statistic there.

Re:Trying to catch a lost opportunity

[TheFakeTimCook]

I'm actually a fan of Apple TV; we have one hooked up to our family room TV (55", a/v receiver, 3' speakers, subwoofer literally the size of a steamer trunk) as well as one hooked up to our bedroom TV upstairs. And yet as I sit here at the dinner table on my laptop (we have one of the family room/dining area/kitchen open rooms), I'm listening to streaming music from...our Amazon Echo. Why? Because when I came downstairs to feed the dogs, all I had to say was "Alexa, play my 'Mornings' playlist", and it did. No remote to fumble with, no checking to be sure I was in the right 'spot' in the Apple TV menu to play a playlist.

Apple blew it by not releasing a hands-free, voice-activated Apple TV a year ago. 4K doesn't wow me; I have no plans to run out and buy a 4K tv any time soon. What I want is better and more functionality, and in particular true voice activated functionality.

Anyone want to predict what actual Apple HomePod sales end up being?

Yep. Spectacular.

Still rocking with plasma.

[grub]

We have two Panasonic 1080p plasma sets. It will be a sad day when they die, the picture on them is fantastic. When that happens, I'm expecting 4k sets to be dirt cheap and, even if 'smart', they'll never be connected to the network.

Re:Still rocking with plasma.

[Anonymous Coward]

Mario Kart 8 for the Switch is awesome on a 1080 plasma. The most colorful and vibrant experience yet on a TV :)

2k option please

[LostMyBeaver]

I've notices that almost every single movie I've seen on 4K looks absolutely awful. It's horrifying. You see all the edges, you see all the mistakes, you see human features gigantic and up close which aren't even attractive in real life.

2k and lower is nice because you see what the movie looks like well enough to really enjoy it but you don't see your favorite actresses pours as if they were craters in her face. I don't want to see anyone in that detail.

4K is great if a movie was designed for it and if there's proper film grain applied to the pictures. But I've been enjoying the movies far less since watching them on 4K and TV shows that are produced in a week to rush out a whole season are just absolutely terrible in 4K.

If they box doesn't offer 2k downsampling, then I'll just watch SD instead.

Welcome to the club

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple, you're joining a market where Roku 4, NVIDIA SHIELD TV and Chromecast Ultra have all been showing 4K streams since 2015.

As usual Apple is late to the party. (not the first smartphone, not the first app store, etc). But I'm sure fanbois will tell us all how innovative Apple is.