The new Apple TV may soon get some competition from Microsoft, which according to a new rumor is considering making slimmer, cheaper version of the Xbox One console in an effort to beat Apple in the living room.
Longtime Microsoft blogger Brad Sams at Petri IT Knowledgebase claims that Xbox could receive an update next year in the form of an ‘Xbox slim’ style device that would make the gaming console more appealing to casual users and cordcutters.
“I have heard from internal sources that the company is considering plans for a lightweight Xbox One that may only be for Windows store games and would compete with the Apple TV, but it’s not clear if these plans have been scrapped.”
Microsoft and Apple’s relationship has become less hostile in recent years. Some of the best iOS apps are now built by Microsoft after the company avoided the platform during the days of Steve Ballmer. Competition between the two companies is still fierce though, as Microsoft is currently taking on the iPad with its Surface Pro tablets. A new Lumia device is also supposedly in the works with aims at topping the iPhone.
A smaller Xbox One was in development at Microsoft in 2013 when the console was launched, but the plans were eventually put aside. If the device does launch, Sams claims it won’t be in stores until the second half of 2016, and it will come with a much lower price-point than the Xbox One.
Via: BI
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
8 responses to “Microsoft looking into smaller Xbox to take on Apple TV”
Microsoft – the champion of users with piss poor taste.
Apple- Copy/ pasting innovation since 2001.
Alright, lets get this straight. 1. Will there be a slim console? YES. 2. Is it because of Apple TV? NO. Console makers eventually release a smaller version of the same console. Sony PS2 got a smaller revision later because it’s cheaper to make. PS3.. becomes PS3 slim. PS3 slim became PS3 micro. PS4 will get a Slim version as well. It has nothing to do with Apple TV. What the Blogger is keying in on is the digital cable tuners MS is making that use Windows 10 Core in India. These are light weight Windows IoT type devices that can run universal apps (Like Hulu, Netflix, etc) but don’t actually run full scale games. This is not an “Xbox One Lite” it’s a completely different product designed to take the place of the box you likely have from Cox, Time warner, etc. It’s amazing how little these “tech specialists” know about the technology they report on when all they had to do was read two articles to figure out that these are different products.
As for the assertion that the Apple TV product is making waves. Sorry to say it’s not. Most reviewers are trashing it as a functional device that Apple people will love, but non-apple people (about 70% of the market) will not. That means at best it’s a niche system. It’s clever, love the Siri integration, but it’s not ground breaking, or earth shattering. Will it improve over time? Of course! Polishing an Apple is what Apple does. But the assertion by the blogger that the need for a “micro” device is because of the Apple TV, is putting a broken cart before a dead horse. Stop with the poor logic and lets gets back to only reporting facts.
Forget what reviewers say. It’s consumer’s wallets that matter when it comes to product sales.
So while it’s nice you have created your own narrative, its no more or less valid than the blogger.
That’s just crazy. After bragging about how AppleTV games are for children, MS is going to come out with something to compete with AppleTV. What’s the matter with Microsoft running scared. Microsoft has been saying how great the XBox One is as a home media center so they should go with it instead of some watered down device. MS is so greedy for market share in everything it does.
No sane person would ever believe that Apple TV is a competitor to current consoles or than MS is slimming down the X1 with Apple even as a thought. Slim consoles are to cuts costs and space to compete within the gaming market. Apple TV is not a console.
It’s possible they do something like this, but I doubt it’d be because of AppleTV. AppleTV hasn’t really terrified the industry. It’d more likely be a reaction to Roku, FireTV, Chromecast, smart televisions, etc. It’d be more likely to be a direct response to Playstation TV (even though that has been a remarkable failure). Microsoft’s gameplan with Xbox One was to be center of the living room originally, but its focus has shifted back to being more about gaming lately as that’s where their primary revenue comes from with the device.
My guess is it’d primarily handle playing emulated 360 games, Windows store games/apps, and be a DVR. If it has a legit DVR (which Xbox One is added for over-the-air broadcasts) for cable sources as well, I’d go for it. But really, I just think this will be a reworked 360, much like Nintendo put out a smaller Wii even after the Wii U came out.