Apple has started sending out invites for a March event that looks to be its inevitable launch of the next iteration of the iPad, but according to some rumors, that’s not all the company has planned.
A report over at 9to5Mac details rumors that Apple intends to announce a refresh of its Apple TV at the event as well. We’ve been hearing rumblings that Apple has been working on a new version of the set-top box that connects TVs to other iOS devices and to iTunes, and evidence is mounting that Apple’s March 7 announcement could include two products instead of one.
As 9to5Mac points out, code evidence has suggested that a new Apple TV might be on the way, but now the website has heard it from actual anonymous sources. The suggestion is that the Apple TV will include some variant of Apple’s A5 dual-core processor chip – the same one currently getting worked out in the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S – which would make it capable of streaming 1080p-quality videos from iTunes or through Apple’s AirPlay software.
The details are a bit on the sketchy side at this point. There have been suggestions that Apple is working on a new variation of the A5 with improved graphical capabilities, which would likely find its way into a new Apple TV box, as well as a remote that uses Bluetooth 4.0. And it’s possible the device could include voice support from Siri (which would make it competitive with Microsoft’s Kinect motion controller, a device that offers similar voice control for watching TV and movies). It also seems as though Apple might be preparing to launch a new movie service in the iTunes Store to go along with the release of the new device.
The possibility of Apple TV being on the docket alongside the new iPad isn’t given too much traction from Apple’s invitation to the March 7 event, but it doesn’t discount it either. Apple likes to hint at what it’ll be announcing when it sends around its invites, and the image used for the March event suggests an iPad sans-home button. The wording on the invite, however, could suggest an Apple TV launch: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.”
It seems as though there’s quite a bit of evidence suggesting the new Apple TV is on the way, but with Apple events, you never know. No amount of leaked technical information or unnamed sources can accurately predict what Apple will actually do at any given launch event. The iPad 3 seems inevitable at this point, but what else might show up on March 7 – like new accessories or a new device for home entertainment – is still up in the air.
