The Apple TV made a staggering $1 billion in sales in 2013. Tim Cook shared the news during Apple’s annual meeting with shareholders today in Cupertino, California.
“It’s a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days,” said Cook during the meeting. For years, Apple has referred to the Apple TV as a hobby, but the company’s tone towards the $99 product is starting to change.
Apple has added a dedicated channel to the Apple TV for TV4 Play, the country’s largest commercial broadcasting network.
Live broadcasts and original programming are available for free. Full episodes of TV4 Group shows are available for playback up to seven days after their release. Premium TV4 subscribers get access to additional content, and the window of availability for TV shows is longer.
Apple TV users in the U.S. received a smackdown early Monday in the form of a the WWE’s new 24/7 streaming channel.
After being revealed at CES this year, wrestling fans can now watch all the brutality and drama the WWE has to offer with its live streaming network that includes access to pay-per-view events, reality shows, documentaries, and classic matches.
It’s been more than 700 days since we’ve seen an Apple TV hardware update, but Apple’s not the only company hurrying out the finishing touches on TV set-top box.
Amazon is planning to launch its answer to the Apple TV this March, according to a report from Re/code. The Amazon TV box will take aim at the Apple TV and Roku, utilizing Amazon’s growing video catalog.
Comcast, the number one cable provider in the U.S., has announced that it plans to acquire Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable firm in the U.S., for a reported $45 billion.
The deal — set to be officially announced later today — will see Comcast offer $158.82 per share in an all-stock deal.
It’s been nearly two years since Apple has updated the Apple TV, but according to a report from Bloomberg fans will only have to wait until April to see a redesigned Apple TV with new interface and plenty of new channels to boot.
To celebrate 50 years since The Fab Four appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Apple TV has been quietly updated with its own Beatles channel, which streams the band’s famous debut performance on U.S. shores.
In addition to streaming all 14-minutes of the Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the new Beatles channel also allows you to purchase all of Steve Jobs’ favorite band’s U.S. albums.
Don’t have an Apple TV? You can check out the same content on your Mac or PC through iTunes here.
This time on The CultCast: iBras make the world a better place; Apple TV is your tele’s next gaming console; iPhone 6’s get huger screens; Net Neutrality and why you should care; and Erfon pitches the best Fave N Rave pick EVER…
Chuckle your way through this week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin.
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For years, Apple has been saying its set-top box, the Apple TV, was a mere “hobby,” and Apple.com reflected that distinction, listing the Apple TV as an accessory instead of a product worthy of its own Apple Store section.
Well, no longer. Today, Apple upgraded the Apple TV to the status of full product line on Apple.com alongside the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. There’s now a dedicated Apple TV section, as well as a section for Apple TV accessories, Community Q&A and more.
It’s hard to think this timing is a coincidence, given the fact that a new Apple TV update with a focus on gaming is expected soon. Apple’s about to double down on the living room, methinks, and this is just the first sign.
Apple TV got an extra shot of adrenaline this morning with the addition of Red Bull TV to the device’s channel listings.
As the first branded-content channel to be added to Apple TV, the channel offers viewers action-sports videos produced by energy-drink maker, along with live programming, films, shows and other clips that are available on the Red Bull TV website and iPhone app.
It has been nearly two years since Apple has released a major update to its set-top box. And now a fourth-gen Apple TV could be announced as soon as March. Today a pair of reports from iLounge and 9to5Mac claim that a new Apple TV will be unveiled within the next couple months.
While the hardware probably won’t be that exciting, Apple is rumored to finally give the product’s software the overhaul it so desperately needs. Some kind of dedicated gaming experience may even be in the cards.
More than two million videos from the web are being saved to Pocket each week now. To make the viewing experience more seamless, Pocket has integrated AirPlay into its iOS app for sharing with the Apple TV. The update went live today in the App Store.
Thanks to the slickness of AirPlay, users can exit the Pocket app when a video is streaming. There’s a new AirPlay button embedded in the app’s video player.
“This is just the beginning of how Pocket plans on truly becoming the DVR for the Web, and we think it’s going to be a great addition to our users’ experience in general,” said Pocket.
Source: App Store
If you’re anything like me, as much as you love your Apple TV, the fact that it is so small actually causes some problems in your entertainment center, as it can actually be nudged around and fall behind things. That’s a big pain, especially since the accompanying Apple remote isn’t just equally tiny (and even easier to use), but depends on line-of-sight to work properly.
The Apple TV holder by Tinsel & Timber is a wonderful solution to this problem. A beautifully carved block of walnut with indentations for your Apple TV and remote, not only will it keep your entertainment center organized and the remote where you can find it, but it also looks great.
Tinsel & Tinder’s Apple TV holder is also available in maple, and no matter which one you buy, you can choose between three different felt colors to line it. It’s not actually that expensive, either: each one costs just $49.99.
Looking for a slightly cheaper alternative? Consider the similar product Bloc, which we previously wrote about here.
Source: Tinsel & Timber
The AppleTV is one of the most underappreciated pieces of technology around, but it can be limiting. If you’re anything like me, you want to get more out of the tech you love. So if you want to get the most out of your AppleTV then aTV Flash from Firecore is the way to go.
And the great news is that Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $19.99 during this limited time offer.
1Keyboard looks like a great way to avoid having to spend $100 on Logitech’s K811 Easy Switch keyboard. It’s an app that takes the input from your Mac’s keyboard and sends it to the iDevice of you choice, and it costs exactly $0.
It was widely reported in January that Apple was in talks to buy Waze, an Israeli startup with a hugely popular maps app. Waze was rumored to be asking Apple for $750 million. The same outlet that broke the acquisition rumor quickly backpedaled and said no such deal was taking place. Google ended up buying Waze in June for $1 billion.
And so goes the buyout game in Silicon Valley, a power play where tech giants like Apple and Google court hot startups with the hopes of adding them to their war chests.
Apple had its biggest year ever for acquisitions in 2013, with a record 15 smaller companies joining the fold. A dozen of them have now been publicly disclosed.
For an entity as secretive as Apple, examining the companies it buys is one of the only ways to peek into its future plans. When AuthenTec, a company that specialized in fingerprint readers and identification software, was purchased in July 2012, speculation immediately followed. What did Apple want with fingerprint sensors? The answer ended up being obvious, and the technology debuted in Touch ID in September 2013.
Often the outcome of an Apple acquisition isn’t so immediately apparent.
Historically, Apple acquires far fewer companies than its competitors. But the line is starting to blur. Google publicly bought three times as many companies as Apple in 2012 and not even twice as many in 2013. Apple bought more companies than Microsoft in 2013.
So what does all of this say about Apple’s future?
Apple TV owners across the pond have received an early Christmas gift, a dedicated channel for Sky Sports through Now TV. Live sports can be viewed without an existing cable subscription, and Sky Sports is offering day passes that offer unlimited access to six sports channels. Pocket-lint explains:
Andrew Ambrosino, the same concept designer who showed us what the next version of OS X could look like, also has an interesting take on the Apple TV’s interface. His concept design is inspired by Jony Ive’s iOS 7.
“I know, it’s a Samsung TV so it can’t be a “real” Apple TV / iTV concept,” notes Ambrosino, “but unfortunately I just lack the skill for hardware.”
Throughout 2013 Apple has turned Apple TV into more than just a hobby by beefing up its lineup of channel offerings, but it looks like the company isn’t quite done yet with its new additions for the year.
Apple added four new channels to the the Apple TV this morning including Bloomberg TV which includes free access to a live stream of the company’s coverage as well as access to shows like Bloomberg West, Charlie Rose and many more.
It’s the third most asked question next to “did I make the right choice of next generation iPad?” and “why is it so cold at the moment?” (I’m writing this post from England) — but what exactly does Apple plan to do with PrimeSense?
Having acquired the Israel-based 3D-motion tracking company behind the original Xbox Kinect for an estimated $360 million, most people assumed that Apple would use the technology to incorporate motion tech into its long-awaited television-based hardware.
According to Washington Post tech journalist Jessica Lessin, however, that’s not right at all.
I love my Apple TV. I hate the Apple TV remote. Oh, sure, it looks slick, but it might as well be a contact lens for all of the instantaneous ease with which it is lost.
I’ve taken to just velcro-ing my Apple TV remote to the back of my bigger, bulkier TV remote, but if you’d like a slightly less duct-tape solution, why not consider these fluorescent skins for the Apple TV remote that glow-in-the-dark?
Like most glowing items, these charge by absorbing ambient light and releasing it later. They come in multiple colors, and just peel on and off.
You have to admit, this would help you more easily spot your Apple TV remote. If you want one, you can get it now for just $9.95.
Source: Slickwraps
Apple has added another two new channels to the Apple TV today in the form of Yahoo Screen and PBS. The former provides access to the Yahoo video portal, which delivers popular clips from shows such as Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show; while the latter allows users to enjoy their favorite PBS shows like Frontline.
There’s no Downton Abbey, though, unfortunately.
Want to make your Apple TV look like an SNES, Gamecube, NES, or even a big waffle? These decals have you covered.
Target has today revealed its Black Friday deals for November 28 to November 30, which include some incredible savings on the latest Apple devices. Consumers will be able to pick up a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Air — usually priced at $499 — for $479 with a free $100 Target gift card.
The 16GB iPad mini (original model) can also be had for $299 with a free $75 gift card.
We didn’t get a glimpse of the new Apple TV at this week’s event, or even a major UI update, but Apple did release a small update for Apple TV this afternoon bumping it up to version 6.0.1.
Apple still hasn’t said what kind of new goodies version 6.0.1 Build 11B511d contains, but we’ll let you know if we discover anything worth noting in the meantime.Users can download the update to your Apple TV by going to Settings >> General >> Software Update
Here are the direct download links: