Wednesday evening at 5 p.m Irish tine all eyes move to Cupertino in California as Apple prepares to wow us with its latest offering.
To those interested in consumer technology, Apple’s annual homage to wonkaesque secrecy has become almost routine.
This year the hot topic on everyone’s lips is Apple TV. Last year it was the underwhelming Apple watch. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has described Apple TV as his hobby, so we can assume that he has been tinkering away on the project since he took over.
Since Cook took control of the technology giant, he has yet to leave us breathless, something Steve Jobs did at these unveiling events as a matter of routine. Cook’s mantra seems to be more geared towards evolution than revolution.
Consumers now expect the annual announcement of a beefed up iPhone almost as a given.
Apple already has a TV player, but it hasn’t been upgraded in the past two years. So what can we expect on Wednesday?
This box will probably have SIRI voice control, the possibility for third party apps and a much more powerful processor.
What does that mean?
Well first off owners of a new Apple TV will be able to interact with their TV. The Siri interface can answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions tailored specifically to the individual user.
Walking into a room and asking “What’s on the box?” to your television may not be in the realm of science fiction for much longer!
The possibility of third party apps is very interesting. If Apple opens up the TV to third party developers we could see a thriving app market similar to the iPhone, the possibility of which probably has some of the more creative developers chomping at the bit.
The TV is also likely to have a gaming interface which may be very interesting and could open up the PlayStation and Xbox to some competition.
Apple has also been rumoured to be working on a television subscription service of its own. With HBO, Netflix and Amazon all now producing high quality content, i it time for Apple to step into the fray? Or could it use it’s clout to potentially bring them all to heel as iTunes did to the record companies?
One thing is certain if Apple manage to make one of their sleek, user friendly devices a cornerstone of multipurpose home entertainment, their profits will skyrocket.
We’ll have a better idea on Wednesday evening.
