Is Apple about to what it said it never would, and give up on its rather exclusive charging port standard for one of the most popular streaming devices of all, the iPhone?

According to influential tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will abandon its decade-long fixation on the Lightning port in favor of the more popularly used USB-C standard starting with its 2023 iPhones. 

Via an unspecified survey, Kuo said USB-C “could improve iPhone’s transfer and charging speed in hardware designs, but the final spec details still depend on iOS support.”

Apple has long favored the somewhat exclusive Lightning standard because it allows more streamlined product design and offers better waterproofing capabilities. 

But Apple has faced pressure from entities like the European Union, which would like to see iPhones adopt the same charging cable standard the vast majority of the global smartphone market uses. This would cut down on electronic waste, the EU contends.

For its part, Apple has said that suddenly switching all its phones to USB-C would generate more e-waste, not less. And it has been widely assumed that Apple will abandon Lightning when it takes its iPhones portless, relying on wireless charging and data transfer. 

But as The Verge, which first reported on Kuo's tweet, noted, Apple has come around a bit lately, integrating USB-C in its most recent iPads. 

Apple is developing a new subscription model that would provide pricey gadgets to consumers for ostensibly affordable monthly fees, according to Bloomberg, which said the new business scheme could be deployed as soon as the end of 2022.

The report provides unnamed sources and sketchy details, but has given the tech press all it needs to jump into speculation ... as in, what if everyone who owned an iPhone had access to services like Apple TV Plus?

Clearly, Apple likes the subscription model. In the first fiscal quarter of 2022, Apple reported revenue of nearly $20 billion from selling subscription-based services.

And it likes bundling its subscription services. 

In late 2020, Apple introduced its "Apple One" bundling strategy, packaging together services including Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage in tiers ranging from $19.95 - $29.95 a month. 

Currently, you can buy devices like the highly popular iPhone from Apple in installments, paying for it in 12 - 24 monthly payments. That's a separate bill from your service subscriptions, but what if the device subscription were to be bundled with services like Apple TV Plus under the Apple One strategy?

With 113 million iPhone users in the U.S. alone, according to 2021 Statista data, that could dramatically increase the subscriber count, as yet unknown, for services like Apple TV Plus. 

Consider that there are only around 75 million U.S. subscribers for the leading subscription service, Netflix. 

Apple has goosed uptake of Apple TV Plus by offering the service for free promotional periods with the purchase of Apple hardware.

But if distribution of the subscription streaming service were permanently tethered to popular hardware, it could truly change the game in terms of Apple TV Plus scale. ■

Apple is looking to further accelerate the growth of its $50-a-year services business by offering discounts to customers who bundle offerings like Apple TV+ and Apple Music. 

The initiative, reported by Bloomberg quoting inside sources, is called Apple One. According to the report, the service would be tiered, with more expensive iterations adding services like Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and iCloud storage to the base package of Apple Music and Apple TV+.

Apple One would offer savings in the range of $2 - $5 a month, the report said. 

Apple One is reportedly set to launch later this year and is being spearheaded by Peter Stern, a top lieutenant of Apple services chief Eddie Cue. Notably, Apple is set to debut its latest iPhone in October, along with the newest iteration of its mobile device software, iOS 14.

Also read: Apple TV+: ‘Greyhound’ a ‘Summer Blockbuster,’ But SVOD Still Struggling with Production Shutdown

Since it launched Nov. 1, 2019, Apple TV+ has been a middling contender in the so-called streaming wars. Apple hasn’t released signup numbers for the SVOD service, but it’s believed that most of its users have come from a promotion that offers a year free of Apple TV+ (aka Apple TV Plus) to those who purchase new Apple devices such as iPhones. 

However, in totality, the Apple services business is growing quickly, with the company touting a doubling of revenue for the business segment from 2016. 

In pursuing Apple One, the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant is purportedly seeking to mimic the success of Amazon Prime, which has achieved a bedrock of steady subscription revenue for Amazon by bundling a variety of music, video streaming and other services to a core of free shipping of retail goods. 

Apple and Roku are reportedly close to finalizing a deal that will enable AirPlay 2 support in Roku devices.

This would let users of Roku streaming devices and Roku-powered smart TVs port videos, photos and music directly from iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and other Apple devices to the Roku user interface.

It’s a particularly big win for Roku’s bid to become the dominant operating system of smart TVs. As the Consumer Electronics Show got underway in January, Apple announced AirPlay 2 support for Samsung, LG, Vizio and Sony TVs—a deal thought to have put Roku at a significant disadvantage.

The Roku interface powers smart TVs made by TCL, Sharp, Hisense, Hitachi, Sanyo, and RCA. Those makers would be challenged to remain loyal to Roku if their rivals end up with AirPlay 2 support and they don’t.

Related: Roku Gets TCL's Backing in Smart TV Battle with Apple

After CES announcement, one investment firm called Roku’s stock “uninvestible.”

News of the Apple and Roku talks comes from MacRumors.

The two technology companies have yet to confirm the agreement. 

In a move that could significantly simplify the work of those developing applications for Apple devices, Bloomberg reports that Apple is aiming to enable them to create just one app serving both mobile and Mac computers by 2021.

Currently, separate apps must be developed for iOS, the operating system behind iPhones and iPads, and macOS, the software system that powers MacBooks and other Mac computers.

According to the report, Apple’s multi-step initiative, codenamed “Marzipan,” will spur the development of software for Apple devices, with developers needing to come up with just one app.

This certainly matters in the video market, where companies like Charter Communications, just for example, have to create multiple Apple software iterations for streaming services designed to run on Apple devices. For video, the big unanswered question is whether tvOS, the operating system that powers Apple TV, is also included in Marzipan.

Apple isn’t commenting.

Later this year, Bloomberg said, Apple plants to let developers port over their iPad apps to Mac computers using a new software development kit. Developers will still need to submit separate versions of their app to Apple’s iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new kit will mean they don’t have to write two different versions of the same underlying software code.

In 2020, meanwhile, Apple plans to release an SDK allowing the same convenience for iPhone apps. And by 2021, Mac application development would, under the plan, move to what is known as a “single binary,” merging iPhone, iPad and Mac applications into one app submitted to a single app store.

Bloomberg said that the leading edge of the plan could be unveiled in June at Apple’s annual developer’s conference.

Comcast said a report last week that it is purposely avoiding ongoing development of its streaming platforms for Apple platforms contains “numerous inaccuracies,” and that the story “wrongly conflates individual business dealings and relationships with Sky, NBCUniversal and Comcast Cable.”

However, the statement tweeted out by Matthew Strauss, executive VP of Comcast Cable, on Tuesday did not address one of BESTAppleTV’s key assertions: that Comcast actually told Apple that in early December that it would not build a tvOS app to stream pay TV subscriptions to customers.

“Comcast’s press release talked about a litany of subjects, but did not include the phrase, ‘Yes, we are actively working with Apple and the Apple TV team,' ” noted Diffusion Group analyst Michael Greeson to MCN.

Related: Comcast Anoints Roku, Shuns Apple TV Amid Now TV Development Push: Report

Did the enthusiasts blog, which is focused more on the business of Apple and Silicon Valley, and less on the cable industry, possibly conflate some things? Maybe. But again, Comcast’s protestations don’t necessarily damn BESTAppleTV’s post on this, either.

Comcast’s streaming ventures encompass numerous platforms and two other acquired divisions, each with their own relationships with Apple. Let’s unpack these first:

1. ) There’s Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app, which streams much of the company’s subscription cable TV experience to Roku and Samsung smart TV devices, and soon smart TVs from LG and Sony. This device ecosystem, enlisted under what is known as the “Xfinity TV Partner Program,” allows users to eschew their cable box for OTT devices.

2. ) There are the multiscreen/TV Everywhere capabilities that have been offered to Xfinity TV subscribers for years that allow them to authenticate their cable subscription through the individual apps of more than 130 programming networks. Xfinity TV subscribers can watch these channels on Apple TV, as well as Apple’s iPhone and iPad mobile devices, among many other third-party devices.

3. ) And then there is Now TV, the OTT platform launched by recent Comcast acquisition Sky in Europe, which Comcast says will furnish the technological backbone of a new streaming service being launched by its NBCUniversal division in 2020. Now TV also has apps for Apple TV and devices using iOS (the operating system in Apple mobile devices).

For its part, Comcast is claiming that Apple’s inclusion in Nos. 2 & 3 prove that it isn’t dissonant towards Apple—it merely hasn’t gotten around to carving out a deal for No. 1, the Xfinity Stream app, yet.

BESTAppleTV, meanwhile, claims that Comcast had no intention of ever introducing No. 1, Xfinity Stream, into the tvOS or iOS ecosystems.

And here’s where the news site gets accused of conflating: BESTAppleTV, quoting an unnamed source “connected to Comcast,” seems to imply that the operator’s elbow grease, in regard to streaming apps, is now being shifted away from Xfinity Stream and towards the new “Now TV” app. But Comcast will keep the same distance with Apple for that app, as well.

“Comcast is focused on the Now TV solution as the future of its streaming infrastructure and Apple has been told this,” the source is quoted. “Apple has also been informed Comcast will concentrate its [U.S. Xfinity] efforts on this platform, not on adding other third-party devices to the product mix with separate apps.”

The report also stated that Comcast will take the Now TV-based platform and distribute it on Comcast-branded Roku devices.

Does the source seem wildly off-base?

Diffusion Group analyst Greeson, who was quoted in the BESTAppleTV story, said that while he has no direct knowledge of Comcast and Apple’s dealings, keeping Apple out of the loop isn’t surprising behavior for a major pay TV operator like Comcast.

“Pay-TV operators have long been tentative about building deeper relationships with Apple, so in that respect, there's nothing new here,” Greeson added. “Apple has worked to build trust with legacy operators, and just a month ago announced support for Charter’s Spectrum TV App on Apple TV. At the present time, however, Comcast appears a bit less enthusiastic about such a partnership.”

Dish Network said it is enabling customers to interact with live customer reps via Apple Business Chat, part of its broader, ongoing customer service effort dubbed “Tuned Into You.”  

“TV should be simple, so we’ve made reaching our live customer service representatives as easy as sending a text,” said Dish chief operating officer John Swieringa in a statement. “Adding messaging with Apple Business Chat is a powerful way to connect with us, giving another choice so you can pick what fits with your life.”

Dish customers can use Apple Business Chat to contact a live agent to ask questions, make account changes, schedule an appointment, or order pay per view movie or sporting events using their credit card on file. Apple Business Chat does not display customer contact information to an agent, so customers are in complete control of whether they want to share any contact information and can authenticate their account to make changes or purchases.

Related: Dish Unveils New Spokeslistener Spots

Customers can leave a conversation with Dish at any time and pick it back up when convenient, even on another Apple device linked to the user’s Apple ID. The conversation never times out and ends when a customer deletes the message thread in the Messages app.

To start an Apple Business Chat, customers can search for Dish on iPhone or iPad, then tap the Messages icon that appears next to the Dish search result. Soon customers will be able to open chat from the contact page of their MyDish app. Devices must be running iOS 11.3 or higher.

Apple is pleased about the progress being made with its TV platform, but the company didn’t provide any shipment detail Tuesday when it reported fiscal Q1 results.

On the call, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the company has “put in our toe in the water” with respect to creating original content for Apple Music.

RELATED: Apple Ramping Up Plan for Original TV Shows, Movies: Report

“We are learning from that, and we’ll go from there,” he said, noting that Apple is positioned to participate in “the changes that are going on in the media industry” and the “break down” of the cable bundle.

One way the company is participating in that is with the Apple TV and the apps-friendly version of the product that was launched in the fall of 2015.

RELATED: Apple Launches New Apple TV

“We’re pleased with how that platform has come along,” Cook said.

Though no Apple TV unit sales were forthcoming, Apple posted $4.02 billion in revenues in its “Other Products” category (not including iPhones, iPads, Macs and services), down from $4.35 billion in the year-ago quarter.

But Apple was strong overall in the quarter, setting record revenues and iPhone sales.

Apple posted fiscal Q1 revenues of $78.04 billion, up 3.3%, and net income of $7.8 billion, or $3.36 per share, beating analyst estimates.

Fueled by the iPhone 7, Apple said it sold 78 million iPhones in the period, ahead of the 77 million expected by analysts. The iPhone 7 was Apple’s most popular model in the quarter, but also saw “strong demand” for the iPhone 7 Plus, Cook said.

Cook also said the company set revenue and unit records for the Apple Watch in Q1, but didn’t offer specific numbers. Apple also set revenue records for Services ($7.17 billion), which includes the company’s App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Music and iCloud businesses, and for the Mac ($7.24 billion) in the period.

However, Apple continued to see sales slow for the iPad on a year-over-year basis. Apple still sold 13 million of them in Q1, down 19% from the year-ago quarter. iPad revenues for Q1 came it at $5.53 billion, off from $7.08 billion, or 22%.

Luca Maestri, Apple’s SVP and CFO put a positive spin on it by pointing to NPD data showing that iPad has 85% of U.S. share for tablets priced above $200.

Cook added that Apple had a 1.6 million unit swing on channel inventory on the iPad in Q1 on a year-versus-year basis. “I’m very bullish on iPad,” he said.

Cook also reiterated Apple’s stance on M&A activity.

RELATED: Cook: Apple ‘Open to Acquisitions of Any Size’

“We are always looking at acquisitions,” he said. “We acquired 15 to 20 companies per year for the last four years. And we look for companies of all sizes…There's not a size that we would not do based on just the size of it. It's more about the strategic value of it.”

Expanding into a new line of business, Dish Network  said it has deployed its national fleet of professional technicians to repair iPhones for consumers and business users, whether or not they get service from Dish.

Coverage all 50 states, Dish’s new Smart Phone Repair service will fix  cracked screens and replace batteries on several Apple iPhone models, including the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus. Dish currently doesn’t fix Android devices, but noted in its announcement that it plans to expand service to include other devices and smartphone accessories in the coming months.

Dish said the new service aims to eliminate the hassle and uncertainty of smartphone repair using transparent pricing and its pro techs, while using “high-quality replacement parts from respected third parties.” Dish sees its on-site capabilities as a key differentiator particularly in the area of convenience.

Dish also outlined fixed pricing on its services (see below), which include a $35 “Drive to Me” fee. For example, repairing a screen for an iPhone 6 Plus costs $184.99, while a battery replacement for a supported iPhone models costs $74.99.

Dish added that it also offers appointments seven days a week, including same-day and next-day availability, and offers a 60-day warranty on all repair work. The service also works with Dish’s “My Tech” app, a tool that provides info on the repair tech assigned to them and a way to track the progress of the technician’s vehicle.

Dish said it also offers onsite corporate events for large-scale repairs on enterprise smartphones and employees’ personal devices.

The new service will compete with Apple’s own repair program. Per Apple’s support site, fixing a screen for an iPhone6 Plus costs $99 with AppleCare+, or $149 without, for example.  Battery replacements on all models are no cost if the device is still under warranty or covered by AppleCare+, or $79 if the device is out of warranty. Apple lets customers bring a device in for repair at Apple Stores or by sending it in, with a turnaround of three to five business days. Dish’s service will also come up against retail specialists such as BatteriesPlus, which also repairs iPhone screens and installs new batteries if customers bring them in to physical store locations. 

“Fixing your phone shouldn’t mean losing your phone for days on end, so we come to you – whether you’re at the office, the gym or even the coffee shop,” John Swieringa, Dish’s executive vice president of operations, said in a statement. “DISH is uniquely positioned with the technical know-how and ability to respond to a customer’s needs in every state across the country. Instead of paying $650 or more to replace a smartphone, our technicians step in to extend the life of the phone when a screen shatters or a battery loses its charge."

Here’s the initial pricing on Dish’s new smartphone repair service:

-Screen repair for iPhone 6 Plus: $184.99

-Screen repair for iPhone 6: $154.99

-Screen repair for iPhone 5s, 5c, or 5: $134.99

-Battery replacement for iPhone 6 Plus, 6, 5s, 5c, and 5: $74.99

-Screen repair/battery replacement for iPhone 6 Plus: $224.98

-Screen repair/battery replacement for iPhone 6: $194.98

-Screen repair/battery replacement for iPhone 5s, 5c, or 5: $174.98

Privacy activists took to the streets Tuesday night, including outside FBI headquarters in Washington (pictured), to protest the government's attempt to get Apple to bypass its encryption on a phone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The issue is more than a single phone or incident, but more generally of government surveillance versus privacy rights and protecting business models.

The protests came exactly a week after the FBI obtained a court order, which Apple is fighting, that would require it to write software to override the deletion of data after 10 failed attempts to access it. The protestors say that would undermine the safety of hundreds of millions of people.

Apple has argued that, once created, the software could make data on all iPhones less secure.

Fight for the Future organized the protests, which were supported by Demand Progress, CREDO.

Long-time Apple exec Jeff Williams has been named chief operating officer at the CE giant, heading up one of several exec moves at the company announced Thursday. 

Among the other moves, Johny Srouji is coming on board as senior vice president for Hardware Technologies, and Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, will expand his role to include leadership of the App Store across all Apple platforms, including the new app-friendly Apple TV and the Apple Watch.

Additionally, Tor Myhren will join Apple in Q1 2016 as vice president of marketing communications, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Joining Apple from Grey Group, where he was chief creative officer and president of Grey New York, Myhren will succeed Hiroki Asai, who is retiring 18 years with Apple.

Newly named COO Williams joined Apple in 1998 as head of worldwide procurement, and in 2004 was named vice president of operations. He has overseen Apple’s supply chain since 2010, and was key to Apple’s launch of the iPhone, and oversees development of the Apple Watch.

Srouji joined Apple in 2008, and headed up custom silicon and hardware technologies at Apple, including batteries, application processors, storage controllers, sensors silicon, display silicon and other chipsets that power Apple’s product line, including the A4, the first Apple-designed systems-on-chip.

The pomp and pageantry for the latest round of Apple’s inventions drew hordes of smartphone and tablet fans, but most eyes were watching for the technology giant’s latest gambit into the TV business.

Without a hint of hyperbole, Apple said the latest iteration of Apple TV — its new, shiny TV-connected device — represents “the future of television.”

While a bona fide over-the-top pay TV service from Apple remains a no-show (there’s still not a lot of “TV” in Apple TV), the CE giant believes its latest, greatest box is poised to transform the television business in ways less obvious, but more meaningful.

The late Apple chairman and CEO Steve Jobs famously called Apple TV a “hobby” back in 2007, when the first-generation product was launched, but comments from his successor, Tim Cook, indicate that the company is ready to take its video game to the next level and create some competitive headaches for traditional pay TV players.

“It really is the golden age of television,” Cook proclaimed at the media event in San Francisco. “As important as TV is, the TV experience itself hasn’t changed that much in decades … Today we’re going to do something about that.”

While analysts and industry watchers didn’t see the new Apple TV as something particularly earth-shattering, the platform does represent a quantum leap when compared with Apple TV’s previous generation.

A major difference is Apple’s decision to open up its ecosystem for apps that can run on the new Apple TV, which will use a new operating system, tvOS, that is based on iOS but optimized for the big screen. That should open up the floodgates for apps, creating a conduit for more over-the-top video, games and other services.

Apple has more than 11 million developers. “We can’t wait to see what apps they bring to the big screen,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, said.

“Our TV vision is simple and provocative,” Cook said. “We believe the future of television is apps.”

That future also involves Siri, the voice-recognition technology that has been integrated into the new Apple TV, and a more-capable remote that also features a touch-based navigation interface that will let users swipe at will. Early on, Apple TV search will sift across the libraries of iTunes, Netflix, Showtime, HBO and Hulu, with more to be added later.

But what the new Apple TV has also contrasts with what it still lacks — no support for 4K, and nothing in the way of an Apple-delivered pay TV service.

Apple is reportedly developing an OTT “skinny bundle” TV service that will focus on broadcast-TV channels, but the company has been bogged down with negotiating rights to offer a service that can be offered nationally. Delayed, that offering is not expected to see the light of day until sometime next year.

By comparison, Sony PlayStat ion Vue’s multichannel-TV service currently lacks national distribution (it’s currently available in seven markets) and still doesn’t carry ABC. Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT TV service for cord-cutters, has yet to add any broadcast-TV channels to its lineup.

ALSO MISSING: THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR

Some analysts were not blown away by Apple’s new entrant, holding that it needed a “wow” factor that can help it stand out from the pack.

“It was exactly as we expected,” Colin Dixon, founder and chief analyst at nScreenMedia, said. “This was, in my mind, a me-too upgrade. This is Apple catching up with the competition. It gets them back to parity to everybody else in the market … If I’m Roku, I’m probably taking a deep sigh of relief.”

Granted, some of the luster was off the new Apple TV before its debut, as many (accurate) details about it leaked in the weeks leading to the event.

“First and foremost, every product was foreshadowed in the press,” music-industry analyst and critic Bob Lefsetz noted in a newsletter entry about Apple’s event, which also saw the intro of the iPad Pro (and a stylus called Apple Pencil), new Apple Watch gadgetry and two new smartphones — the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

“If Jobs were still running the company tyrannically, heads would have rolled,” Lefsetz said. “Where was the element of surprise?”

Dixon found the fusion of Siri and the Apple TV interesting, but said other OTT platforms have already taken the concept further. By way of example, Roku’s crossplatform search spans at least 17 video sources, including Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, HBO Go, Time Warner Cable’s TWC TV app, Netflix and Vudu.

Apple TV’s jump onto the gaming bandwagon, a move that represents a possible threat to console makers, also mimics what’s being offered via the Amazon Fire TV and (to a lesser degree) on Roku players. Games are also expected to play a key role on a new family of devices powered by Android TV. But adding a Wii-like gyroscope to the remote could help Apple “offer some pretty powerful games with this platform,” Dixon said.

Bringing an actual TV service to the Apple TV and tightening that experience “could make it much more interesting than it is today,” though, Dixon added.

PLAYING CATCH-UP

While it’s debatable as to whether the Apple TV had fallen behind from a capability standpoint, it’s clear that it has lost ground to the competition. While Apple has shipped more than 25 million Apple TV units so far, Roku held 34% of the streaming device market at the end of 2014, giving it the lead on Google Chromecast (17 million units shipped at last count) and Amazon Fire TV, with Apple TV bringing up the rear, according to Parks Associates.

“Given the pricing, Apple is targeting a premium market, rather than market share, so we would not expect to see significant lifts in overall share of sales but would expect to see a strong showing among a premium market segment,” Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, said.

She believes, however, that the new Apple TV could steal some gaming share from platforms such as Xbox and PlayStation if it can carve out a niche between the core and casual gaming markets.

Still, the Apple TV’s open app approach could put pressure on Roku, Microsoft, and even pay TV operators to do the same.

PRESSURE TO OPEN UP

Apple’s decision to go with an open ecosystem for the new Apple TV “is a bold statement,” Jason Flick, the CEO of You.i TV, a maker of a crossplatform user interface platform that counts Sony Crackle and Corus Entertainment among its clients, said. “It’s a blow for others that are using a closed, more template-based approach. People will need to open up. It will raise the bar quickly for TV apps.”

That could create concern for multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) pushing forward with IP-based platforms and technologies such as the Reference Design Kit, which are designed to foster innovation and help operators create systems that support their own apps as well as those from third parties.

But so far, MVPD app lineups are relatively small. For example, Comcast’s X1 platform, which uses the RDK, supports a few apps from outside developers, including Facebook, Flickr, Pandora and a new set-top gaming service offered in partnership with EA.

BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield said he believes Comcast has something to worry about, particularly when it comes to Apple TV’s revamped interface. The new Apple TV UI and remote, he tweeted, “make Comcast’s X1 look ancient.” Ouch.

CABLE CONCERNS

But if cable operators are harboring fears about Apple’s new platform and the potential OTT TV competition it represents, they are showing it in a measured way.

“Apple is another competitor for us, a serious competitor for us,” Cox Communications president Patrick Esser said soon after the debut of the new Apple TV during an interview on Fox Business Network’s Closing Bell With Liz Claman. Traditional pay TV providers and their packages still provide more bang for the buck than what consumers can create on their own using OTT options, Esser said.

“I think our product is the best value on the market, and often customers go out, and by the time they buy a number of over-the-top services, they find out that [with] our multichannel video product they actually get more for the money they pay than they do if they go and try to pull it off of the Internet,” he said.

But is Esser “dreading” the adoption of Apple TV?

“No, I’m not,” he said, though he acknowledged that the video market is more fragmented than it has ever been. He said, Cox, like Apple, has opportunities to innovate over broadband. Cox has already created over-the-top offerings delivered outside its cable footprint, including flarePlay, a subscription gaming service, and a recently released free, video streaming aggregation app for youngsters called flareKids.

But the new Apple TV could open up more doors for programmers, a group that is increasingly going over-the-top and direct to consumers, though some are still trying to make heads and tails of it.

The new Apple TV is “more exciting than terrifying … It’s a little of both,” AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan said last week at an event in San Francisco hosted by technology website Re/code. “All of this technology means you can choose more and be dictated less by a bunch of people who work in television programming.”

Tale of The Tape: The New Apple TV

Price: $149 for a 32-GB model; $199 for a 64-GB model. Apple is still selling the older Apple TV model for $69, making it the low-end entry-level model of the lot

Availability: End of October

Size: 3.9 inches by 3.9 inches by 1.3 inches

Weight: 15 ounces

Ports and interfaces: HDMI 1.4, 802.11ac WiFi with MIMO, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0, IR receiver, USB-C (for service and support)

Processor: A8 chip with 64-bit architecture

Video formats: H.264 (up to 1080p and 60 frames per second)

Remote: Bluetooth 4.0 wireless (for non line-of-sight), IR transmitter, researchable battery (three months on a single charge), Siri integration, built-in accelerometer and gyroscope

Content: OTT offerings on board with the new Apple TV in the early going will include MLB.tv, HBO Now, Showtime, Netflix, Hulu, Watch ABC, YouTube, CNNGo, NBC Sports Live Extra, Fox Now, PBS Kids, PBS, USA Now, WatchESPN, Watch Disney, and NHL GameCenter

— Jeff Baumgartner

Apple has set September 9 for a media event in San Francisco that’s expected to mark the debut of next-gen iPhone models and a new, more powerful iteration of the Apple TV streaming device.

In its tease to the media, Apple’s invite to the event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium includes the tagline: “Hey Siri, give us a hint.”  Apple will also live-stream the event starting at 1pm ET/10 a.m. PT.

The actual Siri platform isn’t shedding much additional light on what Apple will have in store for the world on September 9.  When one asks Siri the question, responses include, “You’re cute when you’re desperate for information,” and “Look deep within yourself and you will find the answer. Especially on September 9.” So helpful! 

Rumors of what’s in store include the debut of the next-gen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models that will include a new, reinforced body and  a upgraded camera and an A9 processor. Apple is also expected to launch a new version of the  Apple TV that includes a product redesign, Siri support and broader access to the Apple App Store.

This TechCrunch report shed more light on features that will grace the new, more polished Apple TV, including a freshened interface and a more powerful processor that can handle more demanding apps, a new, motion-sensitive remote (plus Sir)i, and a native SDK that will “for the first time ever, turn the Apple TV into a platform.”

Apple could use some fresh ammo in the OTT streaming device department. While Apple has shipped more than 25 Apple TV units without making any big adjustments to the platform in recent years but managed to add services such as HBO Now and the new Showtime standalone OTT service, it has fallen behind rivals. According to Parks Associates, Roku led the way with 34% of the streaming device market in 2014, followed by the Google Chromecast, Amazon  Fire TV and the Apple TV. Apple will also have to contend with Android TV, Google's new OS for smart TVs, streamers and other connected TV devices. 

What’s not expected to make the cut at Apple’s September 9 to-do is the introduction of a long-rumored OTT-TV service. That offering is still snarled in content distribution talks and not likely to see the light of day until sometime next year, per Bloomberg.

Apple is taking aim at subscription music services such as Spotify and Rhapsody with Apple Music, a new music app/streaming service that will feature a 24/7 live radio station called Beats 1.

The service, to launch in more than 100 countries on June 30, will fetch $9.99 per month for an individual subscription, and $14.99 per month under a family-friendly tier that will provide access to as many as six members. Apple Music will initially be offered on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC starting June 30, and will be available on the Apple TV and Android phones sometime this fall, the company said.

Apple will prime the pump for Apple Music with a three-month free membership. Users will get to pair music purchased or ripped from CDs at the iTunes Store alongside Apple Music service’s new streaming library, which features a catalog of more than 30 million songs. The service will also include a curated “For You” playlist and tight integration with Siri.

Apple said Beats 1 will broadcast live to over 100 countries, and will be lead up by DJs Zane Lowe in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden in New York and Julie Adenuga in London.

Apple Music Connect, another element of the service, will provide an avenue for artists and fans to connect via the service, enabling artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or even release songs. Fans, in turn, can comment on what artists have posted and share via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email.

Apple also used its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco to preview iOS 9, which will bring some new multitasking features, including a new Slide Over feature that lets user work in a second app without leaving the first. iPad users will also have access to a new picture-in-picture capability that enables them to resize the video window. During the event, Apple demonstrated the feature using the WatchESPN app.

Apple has released the iOS 9 beta software and SDK to developers, and will follow with a public beta program in July. iOS 9 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later.

Apple also showed off the next software release for the new Apple Watch, watchOS 2, noting that it will support native applications. It’s due out this fall as a free update to the Apple Watch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also shared a new milestone, noting that the Apple App Store has surpassed 100 billion app downloads.

Apple on Tuesday unveiled two new bigger, more pixel-packed iPhone models – the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus.

The models represent the “biggest advancement in the history of iPhone,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the event, which was being live streamed, though many viewers were complaining on Twitter as the stream was buffering and breaking under the stress.

The iPhone 6 touts a 4.7-inch display and resolution of 1334x750 (over 1 million pixels), while the iPhone 6, considered a “phablet” as it’s a cross between a phone and a small tablet, has a 5.5-inch display and 1920x1080 resolution (over 2 million pixels).

The new devices also sport a next-gen Apple A8 64-bit processor that touts 2 billion transistors, and 50% GPU performance gain, Apple said.

The new models will also support higher-quality calls using voice over LTE ( VoLTE) as well as WiFi-based calling, and will be capable of connecting via up to 20 LTE wireless bands. Both phones also use Apple Pay, a new system that lets consumers buy goods and services with a touch of a finger.

Apple will start the pre-orders process on September 12. The iPhone will sell for $199 (16 gigabytes),  $299 (64 GB) and $399 (129 GB), with a two-year contract.  The iPhone 6 Plus will start at $299 (16 GB), and move up to $399 (64 GB) and $499 (128 GB), with a two-year contract. Consumers can preorder them on Friday, Sept. 12; they will become available at retail in the several countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on Friday, Sept. 19.  

Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 5 starting at $99, and the free iPhone 5c.

Apple said the new iPhones will also allow developers to optimize their apps for the different screen sizes in the iPhone lineup.

The @XfinitySports Twitter handle chimed in, tweeting: “The @XFINITY TV Go app is going to look FANTASTIC on the iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus #AppleLive. #MostLiveSports all the time!”

Apple said the App Store is now has 1.3 million apps available.

Cook’s version of the “one more thing” line made famous by the late Steve Jobs was the expected smartwatch. The squarish Apple Watch (no “i” for this one) is controlled by a dial on the side of the device, called a “Digital Crown,” that’s optimized for navigating the smaller screen size (including zooming and scrolling), as well as something called Force Touch, which senses the difference between a tap and press. 

“We didn’t take the iPhone and shrink the UI and strap it on your wrist,” Cook said.

The Apple Watch will come in gold, black,  gray, aluminum and stainless steel,  offer three “collections” (the basic Apple Watch, Apple WatchSport and Apple Watch Edition) and two different sizes (38 mm and 42mm). It also bakes in health monitoring features and  uses a wireless charging mechanism. It also ushers in a “Taptic Engine” and a built-in speaker that, when used together, delivers alerts and notifications that the consumer “can both hear and feel.”

Apple Watch supports 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair with the user’s iPhone.

Apple Watch, to be available in early 2015, will start at $349, and will be compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus running the latest version of iOS 8. 

As Apple gets into the smartwatch game, programmers are already starting to target the platform. Among recent examples, both ESPN and The Weather Channel have launched apps for the Pebble smartwatch platform.

Apple also announced that iOS 8 will be released on September 17 and include new features such as predictive typing for Apple’s QuickType keyboard and Family Sharing. iOS 8 also comes with a new Health app that gives users fitness data that can be stored and accessed from iCloud Drive.