At Apple’s big media event today, CEO Tim Cook presented what he dubbed “the future of television”: the new, fourth-generation Apple TV. This Apple TV is a feature-rich home entertainment unit that comes with a new remote, operating system and App Store.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, showed off the set top box and remote, the latter with a new glass touch surface. Cue claimed that this surface made for a “great touch experience”. He also demonstrated how Apple’s familiar virtual assistant, Siri, could help Apple TV users in finding exciting content across multiple apps, and pointed out that iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and HBO content will be available to watch.
The new operating system for the device is tvOS, which is based on iOS and very developer-friendly thanks to tools like Metal, GameKit and UIKit. Apple’s own apps, meanwhile, including Apple Music, have been redesigned for easy use through the new Apple TV.
The audience was also treated to various demonstrations on the Apple TV, including one of the new multiplayer version of Hipster Whale game Crossy Road. No wonder it ran so well; the device runs on a 64-bit A8 chip, making it what Cue claimed is the fastest Apple TV ever.
The new Apple TV comes in 32GB and 64GB flavors, and will be available in late October, its pricing starting at $149 for the base model.
