Sources say new Apple TV box likely coming soon, App/Game Store possible
We've learned that Apple is making progress on its development of a successor to the current Apple TV and that the device is well into testing. We are led to believe that the new device, which is said to be a set-top box rather …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second sourcing pass on the same thread: 9to5Mac reported back in September 2013 that a new Apple TV was in development and could arrive within weeks, and today's follow-up narrows it to a set-top box that is 'well into testing.' The story also traveled unusually far for a rumor — Engadget, Ars Technica, the Los Angeles Times, and notably games outlet VG247 all picked it up, which tracks with the App/Game Store angle rather than a mere spec refresh.
The syndicated iLounge version carries the most concrete claim: Bluetooth controller support and direct game downloads possibly by March. If accurate, that would move the Apple TV from streaming box toward a lightweight games console built on iOS titles — hence the games-press attention.
First-order effects
- Apple's own roadmap shifts from a 'hobby' streaming box to a tested successor with a plausible App/Game Store, giving iOS developers a potential third screen for their existing catalogs.
- If Bluetooth controller support lands alongside game downloads, current iOS MFi-style controller accessories gain a living-room use case, while the rumored March timing puts pressure on Apple's usual announcement cadence.
Second-order effects
- Console incumbents Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft would face a low-priced entrant whose game library costs Apple nothing to commission — iOS apps ported to the TV — forcing them to justify premium hardware against casual-price competition.
- Content partners and pay-TV providers would see Apple holding both a distribution box and an app storefront, strengthening its hand in any carriage or content negotiations for the living room.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the set-top box stops being a channel-delivery appliance and becomes an app platform — the same revenue-per-active-device logic Apple applies to iPhone and iPad extended to the television, with the storefront rather than the hardware as the profit engine.
The trend: Living-room hardware is converging with the mobile app economy, as set-top boxes evolve from licensed-channel terminals into open app stores that put them in competition with game consoles.