I Want My Apple TV

I

f the predictions coming out of the tech sphere are right, Apple’s highly anticipated Apple TV may become to TV what the iPhone is to phones. According to an article on bgr.com, the hi-def market is in turmoil and Apple is in a unique position to race to the front of the line.

And if the things we’ve been hearing about the Apple TV turn out to be true, the product will deserve to be the one that sets the standards for all TVs to follow.

Of course, we’re talking about an actual Apple television, as opposed to the current product known as Apple TV, which is a digital media receiver that connects to an HDTV. The next Apple TV will be a fully integrated HDTV, presumably having all the connectivity of the current Apple TV receiver, and then some.

The speculation about this TV (about which no official details and no release date have been announced) is that it will have Siri-controlled voice activation, and an a la carte subscription model, which will allow you to purchase channels as apps from the App Store.

Given that more and more TV viewers are abandoning broadcast TV for streaming media like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, this makes perfect sense. Even the premium channels are getting in on the game, with HBO offering its HBO Go service to subscribers, allowing them to watch any episode of any HBO program over the internet.

Of course, like all things Apple, when its TV finally does arrive, it won’t be cheap. Analysts are expecting a product somewhere in the  $2000-3000 range, but of course that’s only speculation. But given Apple’s history it’s a safe bet that the TV will be stylish, elegant, easy to use, a segment-defining success, and very, very expensive.