Along with iPhone 6s, could Apple be ready for TV?
What’s Apple got up its sleeve for its annual fall presentation scheduled for Wednesday?
Certainly, it will unveil an upgraded iPhone. But there is also anticipation of a rumored major upgrade to the Apple TV.
Andrew Uerkwitz of Oppenheimer says a souped-up new set-top box will be the most important thing to come out of the Wednesday presentation, because it has the potential to widen Apple’s ecosystem — something the iPhone established.
“People aren’t buying the phone for hardware features, they’re buying it for [the] ecosystem,” says Uerkwitz.
If the rumored specifications for the new Apple TV prove true, Uerkwitz says there’s a lot of potential for apps and gaming to effectively “turn your TV into another screen for Apple.”
That potential is something Apple has been working on for years, but it’s foray into the living room has been much delayed. Even now, the company reportedly had to delay the announcement of a new streaming TV service, because it is still negotiating with TV content creators. The service could debut sometime next year, and the upgraded set-top box is expected to facilitate the service.
But with Wall Street questioning whether Apple’s growth may be slowing, Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital, says many will be watching for significant upgrades to Apple’s current profit driver, the iPhone.
“The camera’s going to be key. That’s going to be a big focal point of presentation,” Ives says. Apple has made a big selling point out of the iPhone’s photography capabilities, even running big billboard ads showcasing photos taken with the iPhone.
The iPhone 6s is also expected to get force-touch technology, which Apple introduced in its watch, and an upgraded iOS.
The iPad will reportedly get a new larger model aimed at business use.
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