Apple TV could be closer than we thought. The Cupertino company is discussing its future vision for TV with media execs at several large companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.
And the big news? It looks like it will have Siri for voice recognition, as well as respond to motion controls. Minority Report-style viewing could be just months away…
Senior vice president Eddy Cue is the man holding the meetings. He's been outlining new ways Apple's tech will bring together everything stored on your phone, tablet and TV, according to people familiar with the talks.
In at least one meeting, Apple reportedly described future tech that'll respond to voice and movements, so you could search for a show or change channels just by speaking. We also like the idea of changing volume by waggling our fingers up or down, but maybe that's just us.
Apple is yet to give out any concrete details on the hardware itself. The Journal reports the company was "vague" and is yet to make proposals to license shows. One feature outlined was allowing you to start watching something on TV, then carry on later from where you left off using your smart phone or tablet. Nothing ground-breaking there, but nice nonetheless.
These meetings aren't purely at Apple's behest: some media companies contacted Apple for an update on what's happening with its TV plans. No doubt said media companies have been reading about the Apple TV rumours on CNET UK.
Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted a standalone TV set to sync with other Apple devices, and it sounded like it wasn't just pie in the sky. "It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine," Jobs said. "I finally cracked it."
What would you say to controlling your telly with your voice? Let us know below, or on our Facebook page.
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georg55 19 December, 2011 11:49
I can control my tv now with voice xbox 360 and kinect and with motion Control,nothing new here in this report an apple tv would cost too much anyway, I will wait for samsung who makes the best tv's to add these tech to their products.
claiton 19 December, 2011 12:16
“Minority Report-style viewing could be just months away…”?? Really?? Interesting I did just that yesterday with my normal sony tv and my Xbox with kinect. We searched the web for a movie, rented in HD watched (with full controls during the movie) and also surfed the web and played some games afterwards without touching one single button. All of this with voice and hands movements, ah and could also control my xbox with my mobile if I wanted. Interesting how some technologies get much more hype, but as Jobs’ desire this one will crack it… just until the v2 of course, when you will *need* to buy the next version.
anonymous 19 December, 2011 12:47
I bought an Apple TV ver 2. Very disappointed with what on the face of it should be a good idea, now after the latest upgrade my iphone no longer communicates with the Apple TV nor iTunes. All started going wrong with Apple the day Steve Jobs passed away. The iphone upgrade lost all my applications, gmail no longer worked and every single upgrade has been a pain ever since. Was there just one guy running Apple? I don't know how voice control would work for TV with the kids each shouting at the thing for different channels which would have priority ?