HEAVILY Updated 4K Apple TV WILL Launch Alongside iPhone 8

Apple’s 4K Apple TV unit will launch alongside the iPhone 8, reports suggest – though 4K Movies will be VERY PRICEY

Word of Apple’s plans for a 4K version of its Apple TV has been doing the rounds pretty regularly for the past few months. But new sources claim the 4K Apple TV will launch alongside Apple’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s.

The news comes via Bloomberg, which, citing unnamed sources, claims the new Apple TV model will feature a faster CPU that is capable of streaming 4K content. On top of this, a new Apple TV app will also be released that’ll aggregate TV Shows and Films from apps that already offer live streaming.

Tim Cook has said, multiple times, that Apple has a grand vision for TV – it’s just a matter of time before we see what’s going on. A lot of work during the past three years has been going on behind the scenes, as Apple looks to lock-down lucrative content deals with film and TV studios.

Apple is also reportedly investing $1 billion in original content; think what Netflix is doing with shows like Better Call Saul and Narcos, just exclusive to iTunes or whatever service Apple uses to house TV and film content. Let’s just hope they’re better than Carpool Karaoke and Planet of The Apps.

Sources also claim Amazon Prime Video will not be available for the new 4K Apple TV once it launches later this year.

The reasons as to why this is the case are not known at present, though it could be Amazon’s way of hampering a competitor product at launch in order to bolster its own position in the space.

Having 4K content, particularly with an Amazon Prime subscription, is quite a USP, so if Amazon keeps it locked to its products this could, theoretically, help drive sales of its myriad streaming devices and sticks during Q4.

Still, there is the point that there are plenty of cheaper alternatives already available that do 4K content. Apple is REALLY going to have to make a good case for the new Apple TV for it to be a resounding success with customers.

Apple wants to sell 4K movies via iTunes for $20, according to sources, but movie executives and studios aren’t happy about this – they want an additional $5 to $10 added to the price.

The idea here is simple: when Apple releases its 4K Apple TV device, it wants to have A LOT of content in place. But in order to do this it needs to get the movie studios onboard. And things aren’t looking good at the moment.

Having said that, $25 for a digital download is very excessive. I mean, you have no production cost, no distribution cost, no packaging cost – so, why are they priced higher than DVDs?

Internet piracy is still a big thing. Netflix has shown that the only real thing that stops it is offering value for money, though movie studios seem hell bent on extracting as much possible money as possible from punters.

“It isn’t clear if the company has managed to make deals with a few studios and there are some holdouts,” notes 9to5Mac, “or if no-one from Hollywood is yet onboard.”

The report added: “Securing last-minute iTunes deals is not an unfamiliar situation for Apple. When iBooks launched back in 2010, Apple secured most of the top book publishers within days of the iPad (and iBookstore) being announced to the public.”

Apple TV lags behind Chromecast, Roku and Amazon’s plethora of streaming sticks and devices. But this is likely down to its restrictive nature; you can only really use it with Apple products and services. Things are changing for the better, but progress is slow.

“In addition to playing 4K video,” notes BGR, “the upcoming Apple TV will also support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video, which any 4K TV owner will tell you makes a huge difference in terms of color and brightness. Apple is also said to be in talks with movie studios to bring 4K versions of movies to iTunes, as well as with video apps that support 4K video on other platforms.”

There will also likely be a tie-in with Apple’s newly announced HomePod and AirPlay 2, which will appear inside iOS 11 later on this year.

Still, the idea of Apple launching the 4K Apple TV alongside the iPhone 8 is, well… kind of weird. I mean, it’s an Apple TV – normally this kind of release would simply be done with a press release. Unless, of course, Apple has something bigger up its sleeve, regarding content and/or content deals.

Maybe it has some exclusive access to film studio content?

All will become clear inside Q4.