• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Apple

Apple Could Be Testing New Hardware for In-Home Entertainment

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 16, 2017, 11:52 AM ET
Photograph by Getty Images

Apple might be working on a new Apple TV to boost its presence in the home-entertainment business, according to a new report.

The tech giant is currently testing a fifth-generation Apple TV, codenamed “J105,” Bloomberg is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. The device will support Ultra HD video streaming and could deliver better color accuracy than its predecessor, according to the report. If all goes well, Apple could release the new Apple TV sometime this year.

But Bloomberg‘s sources say it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Apple (AAPL) had plans years ago to, in its own words, “revolutionize” TV. The company had hopes of replacing cable boxes with its own set-top box and ink deals with content companies that would let it stream live television over its Apple TV.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Instead, Apple has released Apple TV updates with only half-baked steps in those directions.

The company’s Apple TV was, before the fourth-generation release in 2015, a streaming box that would play content from video services like Netflix (NFLX) and Hulu. The fourth-generation model added storage and support for third-party apps, including video games, but only streams live programming through apps like DirecTV Now. Apple itself doesn’t offer a foundation on which media companies are jumping to offer their live programming.

Related: Something Is Very Different About Apple’s Next Big Event

“I signed up for revolutionary,” a person on the Apple TV team told Bloomberg. “We got evolutionary.”

Apple hasn’t commented much on its broader strategy for the Apple TV and its desired place in entertainment. But rumors about the company’s plans for the industry have been running rampant. On live television, for instance, reports surfaced last year saying Apple senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue had floated the idea with media companies of an Apple-developed live-television surface. Talks reportedly broke down.

For more about Apple’s iPhone, watch:

Since then, rumors have suggested Apple is considering making a big media company buy to acquire original content and bolster its entertainment offerings. A report last year said Apple was interested in Time Warner and Netflix. But after AT&T (T) announced plans to acquire Time Warner (TWX) in the fall, now only Netflix has been said to be under consideration.

But even that has been called into question after Cue said at the Code Media conference in Dana Point, Calif. this week that Apple has no interest in a media company buy. Instead, Cue said that Apple wants to create “unique” content and not “do what everybody else is doing.” He didn’t elaborate on Apple’s plan beyond talk of the company’s first original series, Planet of the Apps, a reality show that follows app developers in their quest for investment funding.

Related: Watch the First Trailer for Apple’s Carpool Karaoke

It’s unclear whether the fifth-generation Apple TV will finally deliver on Apple’s grand ambitions. But if nothing else, it appears Apple is committed to the Apple TV. Earlier this month, Apple hired the head of Amazon’s Fire TV division, Timothy Twerdhal, to lead Apple TV. Twerdhal previously worked on the hardware and software in Amazon’s (AMZN) set-top box business.

Twerdhal’s charge: succeed in a home entertainment business that, based on recent history, has been difficult for Apple to navigate.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Personal Financemortgages
Home equity loan vs. home equity line of credit (HELOC)
By Joseph HostetlerDecember 3, 2025
6 hours ago
picture of two bitcoins
CryptoBitcoin
Bitcoin bounces back more than 10% after brutal week
By Carlos GarciaDecember 3, 2025
8 hours ago
Rich woman lounging on boat
SuccessWealth
The wealthy 1% are turning to new status symbols that can’t be bought—and it’s hurting Dior, Versace, and Burberry
By Emma BurleighDecember 3, 2025
8 hours ago
satellite
AIData centers
Google’s plan to put data centers in the sky faces thousands of (little) problems: space junk
By Mojtaba Akhavan-TaftiDecember 3, 2025
8 hours ago
Wrapped
Arts & EntertainmentMarketing
Why Spotify Wrapped understands the genius of ‘optimal distinctiveness theory’
By Ishani Banerji and The ConversationDecember 3, 2025
8 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
AIMeta
Inside Silicon Valley’s ‘soup wars’: Why Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI are hand-delivering soup to poach talent
By Eva RoytburgDecember 3, 2025
8 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
10 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.