More big rumours from the Apple-vine point to a major overhaul of the Apple TV. This may be so, due to the total lack of interest the tech company has been showing in this small-niche product.
Then again, it has been quoted over and over again from Apple that the Apple TV is merely a “hobby” at present. But with Google’s animosity ever-growing against Apple, and that company’s supposed plans to release a tablet of their own, Apple must act fast to really capitalize on this particular market.
Let’s face it: it’s not the pre-iPod era any more. Technology development is happening at an alarming rate, and its a cut-throat business where to survive means to always have the next-best-thing ready to roll. Apple is noted for its innovation, and now is the time for that to truly shine.
At present, the current Apple TV is merely a glorified hard-drive that can be connected to a TV screen, download content from sites like YouTube, or play media from an iTunes library.
What Apple should be doing (and hopefully they actually are), is implement a version of their prolific iOS software. This would be quite interesting to see, as iOS has only-ever been accessed from a touch interface (bar the occasional use of an external keyboard).
The iTV, if that’s what the updated Apple TV is going to be called, should be able to effortlessly connect to a centralised content network where viewers can either choose to access their iTunes library (streaming, of course, from a Wi-Fi network – or even better, from the cloud), access video-sharing sites like YouTube, or visit something along the lines of the Apple Channel, a place where users can access video-on-demand from a wide range of TV shows, films and music. This is currently possible with the iTunes Store, but a more intuitive version designed specifically for iTV would be awesome, especially running on iOS.
Streaming iTunes from the Cloud: This is a strong possibility of actually becoming reality. Apple has recently just finished building a new data centre in North America that could serve exactly that purpose – a cloud-based iTunes network tailored specifically for iTV. Even better, an effortless way of connecting Macs to the iTV so that content from a Mac, like an iMovie video, can be viewed on your flatscreen would be great for aspiring film makers wanting to test their latest creation.
What’s your take on the Apple TV? Just a glorified gadget, or could it evolve into something more? Share your ideas in the comments below.
