14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is finally ready to expand the capabilities of its puck-sized set-top box with a new input method based on the motion of your body, rather than a remote control or the “magic wand” that Steve Jobs mentioned years back.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo relays to AppleInsider that “The new set-top box will [...] integrate motion control technology to allow users to easily interact with the device without the need for a physical remote.”
Apple is known to have acquired PrimeSense with the purpose of refitting its motion-sensing technology into an existing or upcoming product of its own, and the Apple TV seems the best candidate for this implementation.
Kuo says the product will offer a “unique experience,” but it should be noted that Microsoft’s Kinect has been working along those lines for years. It isn’t clear what novelty Apple has planned for its users, and Kuo admits there might not even be an App Store for the TV box just yet.
The analyst is also unconvinced that Apple plans to create and sell a full-fledged television set anytime soon: “Considering the high cost involved in creating a TV supply chain, we don't expect the iTV to debut before the TV ecosystem improves,” he said.
Kuo says he expects the updated Apple TV set-top box to be deployed in the second half of 2014.