set-top bux —

Report: New Apple TV said to cost between $149 and $199

Increase in capability comes with a corresponding increase in price.

Report: New Apple TV said to cost between $149 and $199
Andrew Cunningham

An iPhone refresh at Apple's September 9 event is all but certain, but the more interesting news might actually be about the Apple TV. The company is said to be revamping the set-top box's hardware for the first time since March of 2012, and historically reliable sources say that the update will also include a redesigned remote control with touch capabilities and Siri support, along with a new app store and SDK.

Those features come at a cost, though. A report from 9to5Mac says that the new Apple TV could cost somewhere between $149 and $199, a substantial increase from the $99 that the third-generation Apple TV cost when it was released. That model currently sells for $69 and we don't yet know which of the new capabilities will be back-ported, but the report suggests it won't see the App Store or Siri. Apple apparently plans to keep it around as an entry-level model, though, so hopefully it will pick up some kind of software update.

A price between $149 and $199 would place the new Apple TV above competitors like the Roku 3, the Chromecast, and Amazon's Fire TV Stick as well, though a fully fledged app store and SDK would make Apple's box more versatile than streaming-only devices. The original Fire TV box had a more substantial app store, but as of this writing it's unavailable and Amazon has never been able to garner Apple-esque levels of third-party developer support.

We'll be at Apple's event next week to report on all the new hardware and software, and full reviews will follow in the days and weeks afterward.

Channel Ars Technica