With the market for digital media players now more competitive than its ever been, Apple really needs to step up its game if it wants to ensure that Apple TV remains successful. Rumors suggest that the company will finally be giving the current-generation Apple TV an update this September, but simply improving the hardware and adding a few new features won’t be enough to compete with what companies like Amazon, Google, and Roku have been releasing recently, so what can Apple do to ensure that the next Apple TV succeeds?
An Apple TV update has reportedly been in the cards for a few months now, and late last week, reports suggested that the much-awaited new version of the set-top box would arrive this fall. But the question on everybody’s mind is exactly what such an update will entail. The existing Apple TV has grown long in the tooth without a really substantial update since the second-generation version appeared in 2010. (The third generation, which debuted in 2012, added a better processor and support for 1080p.) No surprise there for a product that Apple executives have repeatedly categorized as a “hobby.” Meanwhile, competitors like Amazon, Roku, and Google have continued to raise the bar, adding support for apps, better search features, and new form factors. But Apple makes its bread and butter not by being first, but by entering a populated category and being the best. So when a new Apple TV does arrive, what might it bring?
