While Apple TV (and Apple television) rumors have been spinning for a while, the real question in mind isn’t about specs or input controls. It’s about content.
Adam Satariano and Edmund Lee at Bloomberg — in an article that inexplicably runs with an image of the first-generation Apple TV — address this question:
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to introduce a new Apple TV set-top box as early as April and is negotiating with Time Warner Cable Inc. and other potential partners to add video content, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
If this is true, Apple may be extending its set-top box’s reach beyond Internet-specific content like iTunes, Netflix and Hulu.
I’m not sure I buy it, though. Unless it’s a radically new device that could be leaked during government approval, I’m not sure why Apple would announce something so far in advance. I’m also not sold on the idea that Apple would want to work with cable companies for content, or could even get said companies to the negotiating table. I may be proven wrong, but at this point, this report just doesn’t ring true for me.