At the Apple Special Event earlier today, CEO Tim Cook stated that the company believes that apps is the future of TV. That together with powerful hardware, modern operating system, and new user experience. All these are what the new Apple TV is designed to deliver to consumers next month.
While Apple still retained the black colorway for the new Apple TV, the box itself looked narrower and taller. Inside, a 64-bit A8 dual-core chip is responsible to provide the firepower for the new Apple TV which is able to deliver H.264 video of up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second as well as multiple format of audio and supports Dolby Digital Plus 7.1.
The new Apple TV also features 802.11 ac Wi-Fi capability and HDMI 1.4 port while still retaining Ethernet port and infra-red receiver. It does come with a new USB-C port but it is meant for servicing purpose only. The device also features a brand new remote which is significantly different than the one that the company has included with the previous incarnation of Apple TV.
Called as the Siri Remote, it is a Bluetooth-based remote and equipped with glass touch surface which helps users navigate through the interface of the new Apple TV. As pointed by its name, the new remote control is designed to work with the Siri integration within the new Apple TV which features the brand new tvOS that is based on iOS.
How it does this is via the dedicated Siri button and microphone on the remote. From the demo that Apple showed at the event, users are able to utilize Siri to deliver plenty of actions for the new Apple TV. This include rewind, fast forward, contextual content search, and even to look for information while watching a content.
Other than that, Siri Remote can also be used as a game controller (aha!) on the new Apple TV and its volume control can actually be used with user’s own TV set. Users are able to charge the Siri Remote using its Lightning connector and each charge allows it to last up to 3 months.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGe66lSeSXg
Speaking about games, the tvOS also brings together App Store to the new Apple TV that allows users access to plenty of apps and games just like on their iPads and iPhones. Apparently, Apple brought plenty of key technologies from iOS such as Metal and Game Center to tvOS which means that existing iOS shouldn’t have much problem to develop apps for the new tvOS. Not surprisingly, the new Apple TV also comes with Apple Music and supports MFi-based game controllers.
The new Apple TV will be available starting this October with a price tag of USD 149 (RM 644) for 32GB model and USD 199 (RM 860) for 64GB model. However, the availability and pricing for Malaysia is not known at the moment. For more, head on to apple.com/appletv.
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