Apple Reportedly Set to Open Up Apple TV to Third-Party Developers at WWDC

I still hold by the idea that a television set is NOT what they're planning. I think the "cracked" format is the current Apple TV. They're cheap, upgradable and gives a user freedom to do what they will with their tv screen. Imagine having an obsolete tv in 3 years and having to buy a new one. That's not a perfect solution, therefore, not apple.

you know what this means right? some developers have already had access to the Apple TV SDK and will be present to demo some apps!

I don't really understand the real purpose of apps on your TV

Look at a product like Roku which has tons of "channels" (as apps). Instead of having one company who publicly calls the :apple:TV a hobby showing it a little love when they feel like it, you can have hundreds or thousands of developers filling in the gaps on all of the things various pools of people wish that it could do.

Also look at the jailbreak features for :apple:TV. These exist because those developers want more out of the little box than it delivers "as is". With an app store some of those kinds of "apps" could become apps (without a jailbreak required). Again, it extends the functionality for those interested in "more".

Thirdly, mentally time travel back to when the iPhone launched with just the handful of apps that Apple chose to include. Imagine it it had stayed that way (only Apple developing apps for the iPhone). Now think about how much utility & fun were added when the third parties got to contribute apps. That should frame the concept of potential for this little iDevice too (imagine what the third parties will be able to do... and then think about what you can't imagine that they'll do too).

Personally, this is (IMO) the best rumor for WWDC. Sure I definitely need a new Macbook Pro but I'm more excited about this rumor than the others.

If we can get some XMBC and Plex action like this on the 1080p Apple TV and not worry about jailbreaking I'll buy 3.

Finally! This will probably be the thing that makes me retire my gen 1 Apple TV and upgrade.

If true, this is WAY bigger news than retina macs. Every network, HBO, movie streaming service, and hulu are going to drop apps immediately.

With all these reports about Apple launching new things at WWDC, WWDC is going to be awesome:

- possibly Retina Macbook (Pro)
- iOS 6
- OS X 10.8
- Possibly all Macs updated at once (including Mac Pro)
- possibly new iPhone
- Apple TV for developers
the list goes on and on

The time has been right for years. Could you imagine where the iPhone would be today if they never created the App Store for it. Now imagine what would have happened if they had released the App Store along with the Apple TV 2.

If this is true, then hard times are ahead for all of the other STB's on the market today.

They better introduce a new model with more RAM. You need up to 6gb of RAM just to watch a 1080p movie.

LOL, wtf are you talking about!? 6gb of ram to watch a movie??? ROTFL. I think you're confusing memory with disk storage. And it's a streaming device, minimal local storage needed for some caching

Here's what I don't get: Why would Apple even want to build a TV set? They've already got the AppleTV, which is cheap for consumers, and it can't get traction. Why would they spend the money to build a $2000 TV that won't sell either? TVs are a terrible industry, because people keep their TVs for YEARS! The reason the iPhone and the iPad are doing well is because people buy new phones every two years, typically, some more often. The iPad has been defined as a product you update every couple of years by Apple with their yearly upgrades. But the TV market is already defined. I just don't see the point in getting into a market where you are destined to fail. I don't see what an Apple TV set could do that the current AppleTV can't do. I think everyone has read into Steve's comments too much. I think his reinvention of a TV has nothing to do with an actual television set, and instead has to do with the AppleTV set top box, and is more along the lines of how to get programming to people, and less to do with the device they are getting it from.