We're excited to announce that development for the new (black) AppleTV is underway! Things were able to get going a bit earlier than expected as the software for the new AppleTVs was released before the devices actually shipped.
Most who pre-ordered, including us, received they're AppleTV shipments yesterday. The long and short is the new AppleTVs have an A4 processor, 8GB of storage, 256MB of RAM, and built-in Bluetooth. There's even been some encouraging discoveries that may allow for full 1080p playback on the new models. iFixit has a very comprehensive teardown article that outlines many hardware features, and includes many hi-res photos - the article can be seen here.
Hardware aside, developing for the new AppleTV software is moving along quite well. We're still exploring the possibilities of what the new devices can handle, but many of the early roadblocks are starting to be overcome.
Below are a few thoughts on what to expect in the coming weeks.
The Plan
As with any small company we have a limited amount of resources available, and as such need to ensure these resources are allocated in the most effective way. With that said, the bulk of development resources have been allocated to developing for the new AppleTV model. Ultimately we plan to develop for both the 1st gen (silver) and 2nd gen (black) models, however for the time being new features for the 1st gen AppleTV may take a bit longer than usual.
Development on the upcoming MiRow application will be unaffected.
Transition
The idea of an updated AppleTV is exciting, and as such many people will be tempted to make the switch from the 1st gen (silver) AppleTV to the new model. We hope to make the transition as easy as possible. During development of the new version, the existing aTV Flash software will remain available on our site. Those who purchase this software can download and start using it on their 1st gen AppleTVs immediately.
Once the new version is complete it will be released as a separate product - code name 'aTV Flash black'. Those with a valid aTV Flash license (purchased prior to the pre-order availability of aTV Flash black) will have access to this new version at no additional cost.
Beta Testing
While we're still a long way from having a complete release we'd love to have a small group of testers who are willing to play with and provide feedback on new features during development. If that sounds like you feel free to signup using the form below. We promise not to spam you. :-)
Update: We've had an overwhelming response - thanks to those who signed up!
Final Thoughts
We're committed to developing for the AppleTV by creating the most feature rich and easy to use software possible. If you're interested in following our progress we'll post any and all news here on this blog - you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Additionally 'the door is always open' and we love to hear feedback, so if there's something you'd like to see in the new version feel free to post a comment below and let us know. We'll do our very best to integrate any interesting ideas that may come along.
If you're interested in working with us, or have an interesting business idea you can send an email here.