The price tag for the redesigned Apple TV will start at $149, according to a new report that also outlines how Apple plans to set its new set-top box apart from Roku and Amazon’s offerings by making it ridiculously easy to use.
“Sources familiar with Apple’s plans say that a cornerstone of the company’s new set-top box is a universal search feature that will enable searches across multiple streaming video services as well as Apple’s iTunes Store,” writes BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski.
Now instead of having to flip between Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, YouTube and myriad other apps, one search will bring up multiple video services at once for your movie request. Actors and directors can also be search queries, all made via Siri voice control.
The interface will provide a much-needed overhaul to Apple TV’s user experience, which has largely gone unchanged over the last five years. Siri will play a critical role on the new device, but BuzzFeed says Apple used Matcha – a video-discovery startup it acquired in 2013 – to build the engine driving the video search.
The new Apple TV will start at $149 and come with a new motion-sensitive remote, App Store and Siri voice controls. Apple will officially unveil the new device at a September 9 press event in San Francisco.
