Apple is working to offer customers the ability to start watching any show at any given time through a new set-top box with DVR capabilities and iCloud ties.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that viewers could even start watching a show mere minutes after it has begun, a feature that would rival Time Warner Cable Inc.’s Start Over.
According to people briefed on the matter speaking on condition of anonymity, the next Apple TV will have a redesigned interface too, perhaps with social strings. The remote control could be an iOS device, presumably the iPad mini Apple is rumored to launch soon.
As Apple fans might recall, the late visionary genius Steve Jobs had expressed discontent towards the current Apple TV interface. After his death in October 2011, Apple pushed forward with plans to have the interface instated in the Apple TV software.
As noted above, the fourth-generation Apple TV will reportedly put more emphasis on social networking, with the ability to share impressions about the TV shows and movies people are watching.
While a full-fledged HD TV sounds great, it appears Apple hasn’t been hard at work on this project, but rather a new box that connects to regular TVs.
The company’s major roadblock in selling a full-fledged television set has been the cable industry, pundits say.
The same Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the Cupertino giant has, at least once, considered embedding its TV technology in a full-fledged television.
People briefed on the project reportedly said “Apple has worked on prototypes for televisions in the past.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook has recently made a rare appearance at the Allen & Co. Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he reportedly tried to entice media executives to sign deals for a home entertainment system.
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