New Apple TV May Come In 8 GB And 16 GB Flavours
The current Apple TV design, first released in late 2010, has 8GB of internal storage for caching media, and the fourth-generation boxes in testing surprisingly range from 8GB to 16GB of storage. We are told that Apple has considered two pricing strategies: the simultaneous release of a $149 base model with 8GB of storage alongside a $199 16GB model, or the release of the 16GB Apple TV alone at $149. In either case, Apple will offer a $149 Apple TV.
I hate to sound like a broken record but what I am supposed to do when Apple repeats the same stupid decisions. Rather than iPhone, its Apple TV. My vision of a good TV experience does not include weighing up the relative advantages of 8 and 16 GB of storage.
Post-PC is about getting rid of legacy, thereby getting rid of the problems which inherently plague traditional laptops and desktops. iOS devices are in many ways magical, they do just work, but needing to manage storage space is one of those things thats zaps you firmly back into the painful reality of what these devices actually are. Computers. I am so disappointed that Apple is opening this can of worms with the TV too.
Gurman’s post says Apple is considering two strategies, one with storage tiers and one without, so it’s possible Apple makes the right choice when it launches the new box. The fact they are even considering the former option is pretty stupid. There should be no debate about this. The constraints of 16 GB of space is bad enough: it is laughable that an 8 GB option is even under consideration.