Apple reportedly planning June launch for new Apple TV

Apple’s existing Apple TV box

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a revamped version of its Apple TV set-top box in June, along with a new version of its App Store and a software development kit optimised for the device.

According to a BuzzFeed report, the update will mark a “significant overhaul” of the set-top device, with Apple planning to launch the new Apple TV at its annual World Wide Developers Conference this summer.

BuzzFeed claims that the new box will support TV, music and apps, will have an expanded memory that goes “well beyond” existing 8Gb Apple TV boxes, and will run on an improved operating system that will support Siri voice controls.

The news follows a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month claiming that Apple is planning to launch an online TV service this autumn in partnership with broadcasters including ABC, CBS and Fox.

Apple is reportedly in talks with US programmers and plans to offer a “slimmed-down” cable-style bundle of roughly 25 channels that will be available to view across Apple iOS devices – including iPads, iPhones and Apple TV set-top boxes.

Separately, HBO announced this month that it it would launch HBO Now, its now OTT subscription on-demand service, in partnership with Apple in the US in April.

In January, Apple said it has now sold 25 million units of its Apple TV streaming box, while announcing bumper results for its fiscal first quarter of 2015. Asked specifically for an update on Apple TV during the earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said the product had had a “solid quarter” but would not be drawn on Apple’s future living room aspirations.

“We’ve sold 25 million Apple TVs now, which, at the sake of repeating myself, is something that we continue to look at and work on and [aim to] find a way that we can make even greater contribution than what we’re doing,” said Cook.

Speaking on a US talkshow last September, Cook commented that TV is an area that Apple “continues to look at,” describing today’s television experience as “stuck back in the seventies.”