Apple Inc staked a new claim to the living room on Wednesday, as the maker of iPhones and other hand-held gadgets unveiled an Internet TV system that is designed as a beachhead for the tech giant’s broader ambitions to deliver a wide range of information, games, music and video to the home.
Chief executive officer Tim Cook and other executives also showed off two new iPhone models, a plus-sized iPad with detachable keyboard and updated software for the Apple Watch during an exhaustive, two-hour event in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
“TV plays a huge role in our lives and it occupies an important place in our homes,” Cook said during his presentation. He added that Apple believes “the future of television is apps” that deliver streaming video, games and other services.
Photo: Reuters
However, for now the iPhone is still Apple’s most important product. Sales of the iconic smartphone contributed more than two-thirds of the company’s US$107 billion in revenue during the first half of this year.
Apple announced on Wednesday that sales of the two new iPhone models, dubbed the 6S and 6S Plus, begin on Sept. 25. They are roughly the same size and are to cost the same as the record-selling 6 and 6 Plus models introduced last year, which will now sell for US$100 less.
The new iPhones have more memory and faster processors, along with a new 12 megapixel camera.
The most noticeable upgrade is the addition of “3D Touch,” a feature that uses added screen sensors to detect the difference between a light tap and extended finger pressure, triggering different menus and functions for apps made by Apple and outside developers.
Apple sold more than 183 million iPhones since the last models were introduced last year, which is 40 percent more than it sold in the same period a year earlier, but the company might be hard-pressed to show more growth, especially when smartphone sales are slowing worldwide.
“The smartphone market is headed for a peak and everyone is going to be feeling that,” Technalysis Research veteran consumer tech analyst Bob O’Donnell said.
“So Apple has got to diversify,” he said.
Cook, while insisting there is room for iPhone sales to grow, has begun pushing into new product categories. In addition to the Apple Watch, introduced earlier this year, executives spent a large part of Wednesday’s event showing off the new Apple TV.
The new TV box is a significant upgrade from older versions the company has sold since 2007. The new device has a more powerful processor and updated software for running Internet apps and games on TVs, along with streaming music and video. The starting price will be US$149 and is to be made available in late October.
An integral part of Apple’s system is a hand-held remote that can be controlled with a touch screen and voice commands, allowing users to request information and search for music, movies or TV shows by using Apple’s electronic personal assistant, Siri.
Apple is not alone in its ambitions for the living room. It is entering a market where rivals such as Roku Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Nvidia Corp already sell sophisticated, voice-activated TV systems at prices ranging from US$100 to US$250. Google Inc makes a popular streaming video device, the Chromecast, that sells for US$35.
Cook and other executives made no mention on Wednesday of a long-rumored streaming video service to compete with Netflix Inc and Hulu LLC, which analysts say might help Apple’s TV system stand out from rivals. Nor did they mention any plans to make the Apple TV a hub for controlling thermostats, lamps or other “smart” home appliances — although O’Donnell said he expects that might come later.
Still, even competitors say Apple’s clout could change the landscape of the living room.
Cook and his top lieutenants on Wednesday also showed off a new iPad Pro with a 13-inch screen, attachable keyboard and a stylus, which the company hopes might help turn around a two-year slump in iPad sales. Earlier full-sized iPads have had 10-inch screens.
While Apple executive Phil Schiller said the bigger screen offers improved viewing for movies, the company is also promoting the device for workers who might use specialized business apps.
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