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| Apple will meet its October deadline for the new Apple TV hardware … but only just |
APPLE has finally revealed when customers can start pre-ordering its highly-anticipated new set-top box.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed customers will be able to pre-order the new Apple TV starting Monday October 26th 2015.
The first devices are expected to begin shipping later next week – meeting the October deadline Apple set itself during its iPad Pro and iPhone 6S event back in September.
The fourth-generation Apple TV is the US firm's first new model in almost three years.
Apple has updated the device with a dedicated App Store and a new remote control with touchscreen capabilities.
The Cupertino firm has developed a new operating system, dubbed tvOS, which is in turn based on iOS 9 and will run the new device.
tvOS lavishes colour on the previous generations' gloomy greyscale user interface. It also adds Siri to the TV.
Apple's virtual assistant plays a significant role in the new update.
You can ask Siri to find movies by date, or genre – and then narrow down the results based on other criteria, "show only movies starring Steve Coogan", or "Show only animated ones", etc.
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| Ask Siri to recommend movies, then narrow down choices with certain criteria, e.g "animated only" |
Apple showcased a couple more uses for its digital assistant, which first debuted in the iPhone 4S back in October 2011.
If you ask Siri "What did she just say?" during a film or television show, the digital assistant will skip back 15 seconds and temporarily turn-on closed captioning.
Siri can also provide information in the lower-third of the screen, including weather reports, the latest news and sports scores.
That information can be expanded into a fullscreen view for a more in-depth look.
The new Apple TV ships with a all-new remote, which has a glass trackpad to allow users to slide and tap their way through the new interface, similar to using a MacBook trackpad.
Elements of the user interface respond to your movement on the trackpad. Film posters and app icons rotate and move in a pretty 3D effect, based on your movements.
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| The new Apple TV remote has a glass trackpad for quick touchscreen navigation |
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| The remote control can be turned sideways and used as a video game controller |
Apple has also included a Menu, Home, Siri and Play/Pause button. The redesigned remote control also has volume controls, which can be programmed to work with your existing television set.
The new remote will charge using a standard Lightning Connector – familiar to iPhone and iPad customers.
Battery life is around three months on a single charge, according to Apple.
The Lightning port is also used to connect the Remote Loop – a new wrist strap to stop you from accidentally flinging the controller into your HD TV when using the motion controls.
These motion controls allow you to swing your arms like a Wii remote to control characters on-screen.
Netflix, HBO, GILT and Crossy Road and a number of other content providers have already written apps ready for the Apple TV.
Console games like Guitar Hero and Star Wars Infinity will also be available on the new Apple set-top box.
Powering the smart set-top box is an A8 chip, 2GB of RAM and either 32 or 64GB of internal storage.
Apple has not confirmed UK pricing for the device, which ranges between $149 for the 32GB model and $199 for the 64GB in the United States.
That means UK customers can expect to pay somewhere between £120 to £170.
Apple will continue to sell its outdated third-generation Apple TV for its current price of £59 – although it will not be updated to the flash new version of tvOS.
Mr Cook referred to the latest version of the Apple TV as the "foundation of the future of TV."
He also dropped the biggest hint to date about the Cupertino firm's automobile plans.
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