Apple Store, TV, iPhone 6, iPad Air & iWatch: iTV and Other Apple Release Date Rumors
The Apple TV business, which executives at Apple have long referred to as a "hobby," is now expected to bring in up to $181 billion in sales this fiscal year. The $99 Apple TV set-top box streams content from Netflix and other video sources and earned over $1 billion in sales in the past year.
"It's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days," Tim Coo, Apple CEO, said.
Apple will reportedly introduce Apple TV in April.
The fourth-generation iTV will include an upgraded processor, revamped UI, more apps and Bluetooth game controllers. Finalization of agreements with content providers like Time Warner Cable mean the set-top box will most likely make its its grand debut during this year's holiday season.
"We're working on some things that are extensions of things you can see and some that you can't see," Cook said at the annual meeting regarding the past year's 32 percent increase in research and development costs, which Apple prefers to keep private. "You can see we're getting ripped off left, right and sideways."
Not much is known so far about Apple's new product category of the wearable device, the iWatch, but it is anticipated to launch alongside the new iPhone and iPad in September or October 2014.
iPhone 6 is reported to come in two larger screen sizes of 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions, compared to the current 4-inch size. It will sport a new camera, sapphire screens plus a nearly invisible bezel on the phone's sides. The projected launch date is September.
Similarly, the new iPad is set to launch during the special fall event sometime around September or October of 2014 so it is not unlikely that the entire new product line will launch at the same time.
There are rumors of a 12.9-inch tablet, as well as an upgraded iPad Air.