Rumor: Is the Apple TV being replaced?
We just got an e-mail from an anonymous Apple reseller, stating that they received an e-mail from Apple with instructions to remove all Apple TV displays and literature and to destroy them (which I assume means throw away the literature, send back the Apple TVs) by September 30, 2008 at 5 PM. Additionally, the e-mail says that there will be a webcast "kick off" on September 30.
Incidentally, September 30 IS a Tuesday (and the last day of the September quarter), making all of this information, very, very interesting.
So, what does this mean? Could this potentially be the introduction of the Mini/Apple TV hybrid we've all been begging for? Is this related to the rumors of "The Brick?"
I guess we'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out for sure. Hey, it's Saturday, so speculate away in the comments!
Addendum: In the comments and in some subsequent e-mails, we're receiving the impression that the licensing for the shows/images displayed in the literature has run out, and that the actual physical units may not be disappearing. Of course, that still leaves the issue of the webcast event on Tuesday...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
marcus said 2:10PM on 9-27-2008
there could just be a recall.....
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Loca said 2:15PM on 9-27-2008
Well, the much rumored "brick" would then be nothing more but, yes, a brick which you place aside your TV. Same form factor as the Apple TV but probably with some more functionality (read: a "one more thing")
Don't expect a recording functionality as it would destroy the movie and series rental service, but probably games?
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Adam said 2:16PM on 9-27-2008
Could the brick be a very entry level Mac Mini that would sit on your living room stand next to your TV and have full internet and document support and a supped up version of Front Row to replace Apple TV. That would certainly give PC makers a run for their money.
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Ket said 7:35PM on 9-28-2008
I'm this close (holds fingers really close together) to getting an appleTV for outputting all my videos to the TV (mini a bit too pricey for the purpose).
With all of 'the brick' rumors milling, i'm holding off just in case it's an ultra cheap updated mini that would also serve the purpose of a hd media server (and even a little better since it has a dvd drive). either way, hope it has hdmi out.
keep us updated.
elsamu said 2:24PM on 9-27-2008
apple then continued to say in that email that their licensing for all of the images on the display (of artists, movies, tvshows, etc.) expired that day but that the reseller should still keep the Apple TV up and running.
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Big John said 3:22PM on 9-27-2008
Might want to link your source.
elsamu said 3:45PM on 9-27-2008
the email says I can't
mdale said 6:26PM on 9-27-2008
I got the same email (along with thousands of other Apple Authorized Resellers). The new fiscal year starts on the 1st of October. The license on the images probably only covers FY08 and not FY09. Of course, Apple could be planning a refresh of the AppleTV line, but the timing is just to close to the end of the Fiscal Year.
JoshK said 2:27PM on 9-27-2008
Oh man, I love my AppleTV. I hope Apple isn't giving up on it, I know it's not their iPhone but it is pretty amazing. If it's a new device then fine but I want the software for my AppleTV. Please?
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Joss said 7:49PM on 9-27-2008
FilthyRichmond.com is teh taint.
Jon said 2:47PM on 9-27-2008
I would love to see Apple take more of an interest in gaming. They keep promising to but nothing ever seems to come of it. It's the perfect time to do so because a lot of people are developing games for the iPhone which is similar to developing for the Mac. It'd be easy for them to make the transition if Apple gave them a helpful prod ;)
And gaming's made them a lot of money on the App Store as well.
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Vanillacide said 2:49PM on 9-27-2008
Could be why they haven't updated the Apple TV firmware for HD televisions shows.
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Jonathan Wise said 3:41PM on 9-27-2008
HD TV shows from the iTMS work great on my AppleTV. No firmware updates needed...
caleb said 10:31PM on 9-27-2008
...but you can't buy HD TV shows from the AppleTV.
sjkhuth said 3:02PM on 9-27-2008
I think/hope it will be something that is flat and goes behind your flat screen TV, making it disappear, so all you can see hanging on your wall is the TV. It should have a TV tuner to turn it into a full blown DVR and the remote disc tech from the MacBook Air, so you can play back DVDs on your big screen, streaming from your office computer. And DivX support.
I'd actually buy that product, I'm not too big on the iTunes TV Show function, I have them all on an external drive, neatly put into folders, sorted by show and season, that makes it a lot easier to navigate through in FrontRow since iTunes doesn't show you (in FR) what season you have selected, so you have 7 times just 'Scrubs' as to 'Season 1' in FR.
Oh, and I don't know if it has that yet, but it'd be cool if I could plug in my external drive and it would recognize it and play back my divx videos.
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sjkhuth said 3:06PM on 9-27-2008
I have another idea… the iBrick could just be a new remote control with an accelerometer similar to the wiimote, the App store would then be ported to the AppleTV with all the games running there as well and the brick as a gamepad.
A new updated ATV will be released with more capacity and some new features, including the App store. And lower prices.
Sounds pretty logical to me, mystery solved :]
sjkhuth said 3:09PM on 9-27-2008
and to make it even better, remote.app for the iPhone/Touch can be used as an input device with support for multiplayer so you can play games in splitscreen like on your PS1
Ashwin said 8:44PM on 9-28-2008
@sjkhuth
The iPhone and iPod touch run off a completely different architechture from the Apple TV, so it is not a simple matter to port the App Store.
ipodrulz said 3:10PM on 9-27-2008
Apple's sounding very evil.... Destroy the literature! Destroy them all!
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SerranoSlim said 3:14PM on 9-27-2008
A new AppleTV/Mac Mini that can sit between your HDTV and cable or satellite box, and exploits the iPod Touch or iPhone to not only deliver iTunes content but also control the other devices via IR.
It could HDMI in and out, and switch between the incoming and Mac without needing multiple TV connectors for all of your equipment.
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