To catch up to media streaming box rivals Google, Amazon and Roku, Apple needed to “pull a rabbit out of its hat” and offer something new in terms of features or content in order to help it stand apart from the rest. With a universal search between all your apps like HBO and Netflix, Siri will find movies and even give you suggestions on what to watch. “It just has to execute really well, and tie it in with the Apple ecosystem.” said David Mendels, CEO of Brightcove, a leading online video hosting platform. Unlike Apple or Amazon or Google, Roku has no streaming service to shill – that means the voice search is less likely to nudge you toward its own product. Apple showed off a lot of games while blatantly avoiding any discussion of whether or not it will be a gaming console, instead showing off what we’ve seen before: Mobile games on a TV screen.
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Nearly everyone seems sure that Apple will finally upgrade its Apple TV box for the first time in three years. It starts at $99, while the new Apple TV, which comes out in October, will start at $149. Unless yelling at your remote catches on, don’t expect the Apple TV to break out of its niche.
The most impressive part of the remote and Apple TV is the dedicated Siri button for speech navigation of the device.
Amazon’s Fire TV media streamer hasn’t had a hardware update since it rolled out in early 2014, but all signs are pointing to a new streaming box debuting soon, possibly with 4K capabilities. According to the research firm Parks Associates, Roku leads the United States market with a 37 percent market share, to 19 percent for Google Chromecast and 17 percent for Apple TV.
Apple TV will now search across multiple apps. If you look at Roku, it has over 1000. The new TV is certainly a big step for Apple’s expansion into the living room as these new features allow the TV to go beyond normal television viewing. “I think it will create a much more exciting device for consumers, and a big opportunity for publishers”.
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“At $200 a box, that’s now what an Xbox 360 costs”, Rayburn said. Interestingly, the first one that came up was Guitar Hero Live, which immediately raises a bunch of questions, like how you’re going to get your old plastic instruments to work with your Apple TV.
