Two years ago, Apple released a pretty
revolutionary piece of equipment named the Apple TV box. This little container
hooks up to any HD television set via an HD cable and allows useres access to a
massive variety of content. For a price of $99.99, customers can get access to
a multitude of digital content from the iTunes store. This includes things like
movies, music, and television shows. Users also have access to photos and videos
from their other devices. In addition to Apple based products, customers can
also view things like Netflix, YouTube, NBA League Pass, Flickr, NHL
Gamecenter, MobileMe, and MLB Tv. This impressive device has been giving users
all over the globe experiences that they could otherwise only get with
expensive gaming consoles or pricey subscriptions. And the good news is, their
TV peripheral is only getting better.
Apple announced a few new features for
the Apple TV at its Yerba Buena event on March 7, 2012. The first new addition
comes in the form of quality. Apple stated that movies and television shows
within the iTunes store will now support a full 1080p HD resolution. The kicker
here is that Apple will not be charging anyone who previously downloaded a movie
or television for the update. Every show, movie, or album that you have
downloaded will be available through a free re-download on any Apple device you
own, including the Apple TV box.
Apple also announced that it has taken
a third attempt at the Apple TV user interface. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed at
one point during the event that making devices and UI’s as user- friendly as
possible was one of the main things that the company has been striving to
achieve. This new Apple TV UI is evidence of that and it looks really
appealing. One of the main features is the new top-down menu. This menu is much
easier to navigate and it includes a number of different categories that are
easy to understand. Getting lost isn’t an issue anymore as pressing the “menu”
button will bring the top-down menu back on the screen, regardless of where you
are and what you are doing.
Another key feature is the newly
integrated “Genius” sub-category. This nifty tool functions much like
Netflix’ “recommend” mode, but in a more detail oriented fashion. The
Genius will make recommendations and suggestions for you, reliant upon the
types of shows and movies you already view. There is no need to turn the Genius
mode on or input any special information into it, it is always on and always tracking
data. This makes it easier to find new shows and movies that you’re sure to
enjoy, without the need to surf through tons of information that you really
don’t care about. This is just one more way that Apple is helping make the
Apple TV interface as user-friendly as possible.
There was, however, no discussion of
an upgraded or enhanced version of the box in terms of hardware. This may
suggest that Apple is moving ever closer to achieving the rumored television
set that many sources suggest is already in the making. This new rumored
television set would already have full Apple integration and the UI would stem
past things like the App store and would move into live television. This could
bring users a very friendly way to browse their favorite TV shows and with the
new addition of the “Genius” it could probably even suggest shows and
channels that the user may be interested in, Although the Apple television set
is just a rumor, the upgrades in UI for the Apple TV box suggest that the
company is working heavily on bringing the customer a great experience, rather
than bringing them expensive and powerful hardware. Perhaps they are not
upgrading the Apple TV box because an Apple television is right around the
corner.
