Apple is expected to announce the fourth generation of its Apple TV set-top box later this month, featuring an App Store, a new remote control, Siri voice control, games support, and a new user interface.

With a predicted launch date in October, the new Apple TV is also likely to cost at least twice the £99 price tag of the current model.

Expect a refreshed and slimmer look and Apple’s A8 system chip; a new remote that rumours say has been “drastically improved” by a touch-pad input; an increase in on-board storage; and an improved operating system (iOS 9) that will support Siri voice control. Crucially, the new Apple TV will debut alongside a long-awaited App Store and the software development kit developers need to populate it.”

Additionally, the new Apple TV will feature between 8-16 GB of internal storage for caching video, reports 9to5Mac: “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.”

As for the rumoured OTA video streaming service, rumours suggest Apple is currently in talks with content providers over rights and licensing deals. According to the report, the service could go live in late-2015, though a release in 2016 is far more likely – international licensing agreements tend to be very drawn out and complicated.

The new Apple TV model, codenamed J34, is expected to be the first model to run a full-blown iOS core. Specifically, the new Apple TV operating system will be a TV-optimized version of iOS 9. In addition to the new hardware inside, running iOS 9 will give the new Apple TV a series of benefits over the current model.”

The Apple TV remote will also be getting something of an overall too. According to a recent patent filing, obtained by Patently Apple, Apple is looking implementing its Touch ID technology inside the Apple TV remote. Whether this feature will appear inside the next update to Apple TV, however, remains to be seen.
The inclusion of a fingerprint scanner on the remote will enable a personalised experience for each user, enhanced security features and, perhaps, even the possibility of making payments (via channels) inside the Apple TV ecosystem.