Category Archives: Apple TV

Got Apple Music? Not on Apple TV?

By Rich W Woods

Are you one of those people that likes to play your music through your TV? Sure, you could play Google Play Music through your Chromecast, Amazon Prime Music trough your Fire TV Stick, and you can even play your purchased music or listen to iTunes Radio through your Apple TV; however, you can not use the new Apple Music service.

This raises a question that I’ve been asking for some time. Has the third generation Apple TV officially been deprecated? Apple TV runs a version of iOS, so normally when there’s a new iOS beta, we see a new Apple TV beta as well.

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iOS 9: Supported Devices Revealed and Release Date

By Rich W Woods

Apple has announced WWDC for June 8. A lot is expected to happen at the keynote. This includes an Apple TV SDK, new Apple TV hardware, a new streaming music service, Mac OS X 10.11, and of course, iOS 9. Note that we might see other hardware as well, such as a sixth generation iPod Touch, 15″ MacBook Pro, and an 8K iMac. You can read all about WWDC possibilities here.

While Apple will announce iOS 9 at WWDC, it will not be made publicly available until September 16, with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus being announced on September 8, 2015 and released on September 18, 2015. In other words, even if your iPhone or iPad isn’t listed below, you have plenty of time until you have to worry.

I know what you’re thinking. RICH!!! Is my Apple device going to support iOS 9? Please! Tell me now!

Ok, calm down. I’ve been able to come up with a comprehensive list of devices that will be supported by iOS 9.

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Apple has Game of Thrones and The Beatles. What Does Microsoft Have?

By Rich W Woods

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I’m a big Beatles fan and I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan. To be honest, I’m probably the only one that’s a fan of both. Oh, wait, no. I’m one of millions. Out of those millions, how many do you think buy their music digitally and cut the cord on cable? Well, still millions.

I didn’t even have my first smart phone yet when Apple announced that they would have an exclusive to Beatles music through iTunes. As it turns out, they were hardcore serious, because they still do. Look around, The Beatles are not available on Google Play, Amazon MP3, Xbox Music, or many streaming services. They’ll give you something like “Beatles and Friends”, which is going to be covers or some Beatles music that was from before they even produced a record. If you want The Beatles singing Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, iTunes is your first and your last stop. It’s your only stop.

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iOS 8.3 Now Available to the Unwashed Masses!

By Rich W Woods

Not special enough to get invited to Apple’s “public” iOS beta program? No worries. You can now download an install iOS 8.3, along with the rest of the unwashed masses.

iOS 8.3 has about two new features. Those include multi-cultural emojis and wireless CarPlay. Also, if you don’t feel like updating. keep in mind that anyone that tried to send you a multi-cultural emoji will not be able to. You’ll just receive a bunch of alien emojis. So don’t be a jerk. Update.

The iOS developer center still lists iOS 8.3 Beta 4 as the latest version, so we can probably expect that to be replaced by iOS 8.4 Beta soon. Also, there should be an Apple TV update for you and if you’re a developer, Xcode 6.3.

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HBO Now is Now Available, for Some

By Rich W Woods

When Apple launched the Apple Watch last month, HBO officially announced their standalone streaming service, HBO Now, at the event. For the first time, Game of Thrones could be viewed, legally, without a cable subscription, and it would all be exclusive to Apple products.

Well, not really. As it turns out, anyone who uses Optimum Online can get the service too. HBO Now costs $14.99 a month, so if you use Optimum Online or an Apple TV, now might be the time to cut the cord.

New Apple TV Coming with App Store and Siri Coming at WWDC

By Rich W Woods

Wooooooo! Apple TV is now $69! Except, there’s another Apple TV coming at WWDC that will be a million times better. We knew a new Apple TV was coming. We expected it at the Apple Watch event. When it didn’t come, we all knew it was coming at WWDC. Here’s why:

The current third generation Apple TV uses an A5 processor, the same as the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3 (A5X, but for these intents and purposes we can call it an A5), iPad Mini, and fifth generation iPod Touch. Like all of the above devices, the third generation Apple TV will not receive updates starting with iOS 9 in September.

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Apple is Planning a Streaming TV Service?

By Rich W Woods

Word on the street is that Apple is planning a streaming TV service that they will launch later this year. The service will not only compete with Netflix but it will compete with cable companies as well.

Last week, Apple announced that they were lowering the price of the current Apple TV model to $69, which is still something I would not recommend to anyone, as the current Apple TV will no longer be supported this September. If they announce a new streaming service as well as an App Store, the current model won’t get that update.

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Apple Releases iOS 8.3 Beta 3 (with Release Notes)

By Rich W Woods

Today, Apple released iOS 8.3 Beta 3 alongside Xcode 6.3 Beta 3 and a new Apple TV beta. There’s not a whole lot that’s new. It’s mainly bug fixes from iOS 8.3 Beta 2 as well as they added the Apple Watch app, since they released iOS 8.2 on Monday after they launched the Apple Watch.

Stay tuned for the Xcode 6.3 Beta 3 release notes.

Continue reading Apple Releases iOS 8.3 Beta 3 (with Release Notes)

Apple TV Now Costs $69

By Rich W Woods

It would appear that rumors of a new Apple TV at today’s Apple event have been exaggerated. After they announced HBO’s new standalone streaming service, Tim Cook announced that the Apple TV will now be $69.

To me, this is just a way of pushing back a new Apple TV. The current Apple TV uses an A5 processor, the same that is used in the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad Mini, and fifth generation iPod Touch. With the exception of the iPod Touch, these are all deprecated products. This is normal behavior for a product that will not be supported in six months. Just remember, if they announce an App Store for Apple TV at WWDC in June, the current model won’t receive a software update to get that App Store.