That new Apple TV that went through the FCC last night? Apple says not to get too excited, it’s just a small tweak: it won’t be physcally smaller, nor will it feature any new functionality.

Apple’s been surprising us left and right this week with iOS 6.1 dropping out of nowhere, and the a 128GB iPad announced today. There might be an Apple TV surprise coming in the near future too.

According to some FCC documents, Apple might release a smaller Apple TV pretty soon. The papers show an Apple TV with the same design and shape as the current generation except it’s nearly a half centimeter smaller.

iPhones and iPads aren’t the only products receiving some love from Apple today. Along with the surprise release of iOS 6.1, Apple just pushed out an update for the Apple TV as well.

The new Apple TV software version 5.2 can be downloaded right now. It includes a number of new features such as support for Bluetooth keyboards, iTunes’ Up Next feature, and iTunes in the Cloud.

Video streaming service Watchever is now available to Apple TV users in Germany following an update to the set-top box that was released by Apple on Friday. Launched by Vivendi just this month, the monthly subscription service is a lot like Netflix, giving users the ability to watch local and international movies and TV shows over the Internet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqLBZ4Dh8Hk

Using QuickIO, an iOS app we reported on a couple of weeks back, you can stream your media from your Mac to your iOS device, be it an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Today, the app was updated to include support for streaming that very same media to your Apple TV.

How would you radically improve the iPad? You’d give it more powerful processing, enabling more powerful apps.

How would you improve the 27-inch iMac? You’d make it 37 inches.

How would you create an Apple desktop computer for business? You’d make it work like an iPad, but double as a boardroom device for presentations and video conferencing.

And how would you improve TV and make it Applish? You’d build in a computer, Apple TV-like functions and give it a remote.

If you think about it, these obvious improvements are not moving these four product lines away from each other, but toward each other — resulting in a single super product that does it all.

What if Apple’s next iPad, iMac, business PC and TV set are all one iDevice? 

Apple’s much-anticipated television set has entered its initial testing phase at Hon Hai Precision Industry, a company source has revealed. It’s expected to feature a display between 46 inches and 55 inches in size, and shipments are likely to be “huge.” Don’t expect to have one in your living room anytime soon, however; it doesn’t look like it’s going to get its grand unveiling during 2013.

Still fantasizing about replacing your aging plasma with a new Apple television? According to recent speculation, the Cupertino company is going to announce the revolutionary new set any day now. But according to former Apple executive and current Apple watcher Jean-Louis Gassee, we’re kidding ourselves.

Gassee says that the rumors surrounding the device are nothing but an “enduring fantasy,” and that the only thing Apple will release that’s close to a television is a new Apple TV set-top box.

Since Apple released iOS 5.1.1 for the Apple TV last week alongside iTunes 11, many users have reported problems updating to the new software over an ethernet connection. This appears to be the result of nasty bug in the latest Apple TV OS. Some Apple TVs even failed to boot back up after the update wouldn’t stick.

If you’ve been having problems updating to 5.1.1 on your Apple TV, then try updating over a Wi-Fi connection or manually restoring in iTunes.

Apple unleashed a slew of software updates this afternoon, including an iOS update for the second and third-gen Apple TV. Today’s  5.1.1 update brings full support for iTunes 11 and a number of stability improvements.

iTunes 11 has a music queuing feature called “Up Next,” and the Apple TV can now interface with Up Next to show what’s about to play. The new iOS Remote app also lets you manage your queue from an iPhone or iPad.