New Apple TV announced App Store and gaming, coming in October for $149

The long-awaited overhaul to Apple's living room set-top box is here. Today the company is unveiling its latest Apple TV with a revised physical design, faster internals, updated remote, and key new features including a built-in App Store. "It's the golden age of television," said CEO Tim Cook. "Our vision for TV is simple and perhaps a little provocative. We believe the future of television is apps."

The new Apple TV is much more powerful than its predecessor, which is a crucial upgrade for the device’s gaming ambitions. It's powered by a 64-bit A8 processor and supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. "It's just 10 millimeters taller," than the previous device, said Apple's Eddy Cue. As for connections, the new Apple TV carries over the same, simplistic power / HDMI / ethernet setup as the old model. It will launch in late October in two configurations: 32GB for $149 or 64GB for $199.

With the newly built-in app store, Apple and third-party developers will expand Apple TV's software ecosystem and widen its core functionality to put a much bigger emphasis on gaming. "When you consume this way, you realize just how much better it can be," Cook said. This is the next step in Apple's attempt to own the living room, and arrives ahead of the company's own internet TV subscription service, expected to arrive sometime in the next year.

You interact with the new Apple TV using Siri, Apple's personal assistant technology. Similar to other set-top box makers like Roku and Amazon, Apple has embraced voice search as the primary means of finding content to watch. Apple's universal search can browse multiple video services (iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime) for the shows and movies you're looking for. You can search for titles, actors, genres, and even granular criteria like guest spots or cameos on TV shows. Siri can also make content suggestions for general questions like, "What are some new movies that are good to watch with kids?"

Along with the deep voice search capabilities, Apple is bundling a new and vastly improved physical remote with the latest Apple TV. The remote features a touch surface for easier navigation through the device's user interface, which resembles the previous menu system but is now refreshed and much more in line with modern iOS devices. 

Apple says the new software is called tvOS. As you watch shows and movies, Siri can also provide current weather conditions or keep you updated on sports scores.

But third-party apps are by far the biggest addition to this new Apple TV. The bundled remote can be used to control games running on your TV screen. On stage, Apple showcased a few titles including Crossy Road and Beat Sports, a game made by Harmonix. Apple's gaming push seems tailored around casual players — the same people who've collectively downloaded millions of titles onto their iPhones and iPads.



But apps extend beyond gaming and other sources for video streaming. Apple also brought companies like Gilt on stage to demonstrate how consumers will be able to shop directly on Apple TV. In this way, Apple TV will offer much broader functionality than similar living room devices from Roku or Amazon, which stick largely to entertainment.



But there'll be plenty of that on Apple TV, of course, with Apple also giving stage time to MLB.TV and NHL Game Center; apps can offer push notifications and take you right into a critical moment of a live sports game.



The revamped Apple TV has been rumored for months, and after reportedly delaying a WWDC announcement earlier this year, Apple set today's September 9th event as the new reveal target. Eddy Cue labeled the new Apple TV "a foundation for the future of television," offering another hint of the company's plans for a subscription service down the road.