The more we hear, the more Apple’s reported web TV service sounds like a dream come true for cord-cutters!
With previous reports suggesting the subscription service will offer around 25 channels in total, a new Wall Street Journal report claims Apple is busy talking with both Discovery and Viacom about the venture. Deals with those companies could bringing channels including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon to viewers.
Apple is planning its own cable-free TV service for a fall launch, and it’s pulling out all the stops to lure potential content partners.
According to a new report, networks Apple is courting have been offered complete access to viewer data, such as what shows they watch and when they watch them. It’s an unusually friendly negotiating approach for Apple that signals the company really wants to get the service off the ground soon.
It’s looking like 2015 will finally be the year that Apple’s dream TV service becomes a reality.
After years of reports that the company has been trying to get its own TV subscription off the ground, June is on track to be the month it’s debuted for the world to see. The service will reportedly offer around 25 channels and cost a little more than the competition.
Assume, for a moment, you’ve always been an Android guy but yesterday’s spintastic Apple Watch presentation sent you over the edge.
Now you’re a freshly minted Apple fanboy with money to burn, and you want to go from zero to full-on Apple hero. How much is it going to set you back if you’re ready to go all in with the latest, greatest gear Cupertino has to offer?
Whether it’s watching it via Apple’s website, or joining us here on Cult of Mac for our live blog, there are plenty of ways to keep abreast of today’s “Spring Forward” Apple keynote.
If you’ve got an Apple TV, you can also tune in to watch the event — courtesy of the newly-added Apple Events channel.
Apple is no stranger to having competitors copy its style. Samsung, HP, and Xiaomi have all been caught in the act multiple times, but the last company we expected to rip off Apple is Comcast.
For its new cable remote, Comcast has taken a page out of Apple’s playbook by copying the company’s iconic “Designed by Apple in California” tagline. The copy job is so bad, they didn’t even bother to change the font. It looks like the words “Comcast” and “Philadelphia” were basically slapped over Apple’s original tagline after production.
Take a look at the ‘premium’ remote below:
The rumor mill has been quiet as of late regarding Apple’s plans to disrupt the TV industry. But now Recode is reporting that Apple is in talks with programmers about doing its own Internet-based TV service for cord-cutters.
Similar to the way Dish’s Sling TV bundles channels together at an attractive cost, Apple would design its own experience around delivering content without the use of traditional cable companies.
To get the fun of virtual bowling without a Wii, look no further than Bowling Central, a magical iOS app that lets you swing your iPhone around to send a virtual bowling ball slamming into all the pins at the end of the lane.
The game is powered by Rolocule Games’ motion-tracking technology, called “rolomotion,” which lets you swing your iPhone like a Wii remote. The gaming company’s two founders wanted to create a Wii Bowl-style experience, only with an Apple TV and an iPhone, and they won a 2014 Edison Award for their solution.
“We worked really hard to get the motion gaming controls right,” Rolocule’s Anuj Tandon told Cult of Mac in an email, “and getting the perfect controls took time. Not only … can you give accurate direction to the ball, but by twisting the wrist, the ball can be given a spin, just like real bowling.”
The Interview has been made available for streaming and purchase online ahead of its theatrical release Christmas Day. YouTube Movies, Google Play, Xbox Videos, and a dedicated website are all offering the controversial comedy for $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to own in HD.
Notably absent from the list of streaming providers is Apple, which refused the chance to make the movie available through iTunes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stream “James Flacco” and Seth Rogen’s North Korean escapades on your Apple TV or iOS device.
Features like Handoff demonstrate just how useful it is to be able to chop and change tasks between different Apple devices, perhaps starting an email on your iPad and continuing it on your Mac.
A similar thing may soon be possible with your Apple TV, as a patent published today shows how Apple has invented a way of carrying out a sort-of reverse AirPlay: sending content from your Apple TV to your iOS device, rather than the other way around.
The big advantage of the concept is that it would allow remote viewing of Apple TV, whether this means having a TV show follow you from room-to-room, or tuning into your Apple TV while you’re away from home.
ABC is making life a little bit better for cord-cutters today with the announcement that all Apple TV users will now be able to access full episodes of aired shows.
The Watch ABC app previously required a cable subscription to view all episodes of a season, but starting today every Apple TV owner will be able to watch entire shows of series like Scandal, Modern Family, and How to Get Away With Murder, one week after they air.
This post is brought to you by IdeaSolutions, creator of AirBrowser.
Would you like to surf the web, watch streaming videos, read newspapers and do everything else you normally do on your Mac browser, in full screen on your TV? Pinch to zoom, swipe, bookmark pages — all using your iOS device as a remote control?
AirBrowser let’s you do all these things. You can get the full desktop browsing experience on your television, with all the sites you visit optimally scaled to fit your TV’s screen size. Read on and watch the AirBrowser video for more info on this easy-to-use app.
Yesterday, we were excited when a major update to the Apple TV introduced a major redesign of the set-top box’s official YouTube app. Today, though, we’re a little less enthused, because it turns out that along with getting a new look, it also got ads.
Apple TV received a huge update this morning with four new channels getting added to the lineup, plus a completely redesigned YouTube channel that makes it easier to find your favorite viral videos.
MMA-addicts will be happy to hear that a dedicated UFC channel was added this morning, along with Fusion, Dailymotion, and Conde Nast’s new offering The Scene, giving users more free video content options than ever.
It’s been over two and a half years since Apple TV was updated, and while Apple’s been happy resting on its laurels, its biggest competitors are passing it by.
Google’s Chromecast is now more popular than Apple TV, reports Parks Associates, which says streaming media players become more popular than ever in the first three quarters of 2014, as 10 percent of U.S. households bought at least one new streaming device.
We know that Apple is interested in giving the Apple TV Kinect-like motion sensing abilities — they bought the 3D motion tracking company behind the tech last year, after all — but who knows when, if ever, it will actually come to living rooms.
If you want to start waving your way through your Apple TV’s interface now, though, meet the Onecue. It’s a cool little gadget that grafts Kinect-like functionality into your home entertainment system.
Great Apple deals can be hard to come by on Black Friday, but here’s a nice exception: If you’re looking to get your hands on an Apple TV, Staples is having a killer deal, selling Apple’s set-top streaming media box for just $79, a $20 savings..
You might think college students are tricky to shop for, but in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth. Since they’re constantly swamped with homework and simultaneously managing a busy social life, all they want is stuff that makes their lives easier and more fun.
If you’re stressing about what to get the student in your life this holiday season, never fear. We’ve collected some great gift ideas, handpicked by college students for college students:
Today CBS News added a new channel to the Apple TV. The network’s CBSN channel is the first of its kind to offer live, anchored coverage without a cable subscription.
CBS is now seriously competing with Fox, ABC, CNBC and other competitors on the Apple TV with a mix of streaming news and on-demand content.
A proposed change in U.S. regulations could have massive implications when it comes to bringing about the kind of integrated Apple television set Steve Jobs talked about producing.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed a revision of rules that would afford Internet streaming services the same treatment as traditional cable and satellite television companies when it comes to negotiating with channel operators like HBO.
If the change is made, online providers would gain “access to programming owned by cable operators” and be able to negotiate licensing deals with content providers like HBO or local TV stations. Wheeler says the move would “encourage new video alternatives by opening up access to content previously locked on cable channels,” similar to the way regulatory changes in the ’90s enabled satellite TV to compete with cable operators.
Apple added two new channels to the Apple TV today with FYI from the A&E network and Feeln being both being added to the line up.
The FYI channel (formerly known as The Biography Channel) brings a mix of lifestyle programming that features DYI, cooking, home improvement, and fashion shows, while Hallmark’s Feeln channel adds a new family friendly movie streaming service to the Apple set-top box.
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to have every episode of The Simpsons ever streamable on your iPhone or iPad, there is no longer any reason to, as a certain yellow-skinned tyke might say, “have a cow.”
You can now stream the complete Simpsons archive over an iOS app, no matter where you are. But there’s a catch.
After the disaster that was Apple’s last keynote live stream, it seemed possible that Apple wouldn’t attempt another one for its October 16, where the company is expected to unveil new versions of the iPad, its long-awaited Retina Display iMac, and more.
Fortunately those fears were for nothing, and with just hours to go before the event kicks off, Apple has added its usual “Apple Events” channel to Apple TV.
The channel is represented by an icon, matching the image on the invites sent out for the event, reading “It’s been way too long.”
The death of cable TV bundling is nearly upon us, as signaled by HBO’s announcement today that it will offer an internet-based streaming subscription in 2015.
“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” said HBO CEO and chairman Richard Plepler. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.”
That’s big news in an industry that has been incredibly resistant to disruptors like Apple. And the Apple TV specifically stands to gain immensely from this shift towards Hollywood finally selling premium content unbundled.
Until September, 2014 was a pretty quiet year for new Apple products. But the drought is over.
After announcing new iPhones and the Apple Watch last month, another media event is being held October 16th at Apple’s Town Hall auditorium on its Cupertino campus. “It’s been way too long,” joked Apple in its invitation to select members of the press. For those itching to see new iPad and Mac hardware, indeed.
While Town Hall is only a fraction of The Flint Center’s size, October 16th’s event shouldn’t be viewed as any less important. iPad sales are stagnant, and Apple’s desktop displays have been needing an upgrade for years. Apple Pay, an entirely new venture for the company, is expected to come out any day now. And then there’s always the chance that Apple still has at least one surprise up its sleeve.