With an expected update on the Apple TV box, to be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this coming June, Apple fans are also expecting a new remote for the device.
Apparently, an employee from Apple gave the information about the new remote to the New York Times, which is said to have a touch pad feature, and will be thicker than the current version and comparable to the thickness of the remote of Amazon's Echo speaker system.
Other Apple products, like the wireless Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and the Apple Watch, have touch control features.
The update to the second-generation Apple Remote, CNET reported, would still have two physical buttons to retain its minimalist design.
MacRumors suggest that the touch pad feature would be a portion of the remote which function is comparable to Apple Remote apps on the iPhone and Apple Watch. With it, available contents in the Apple TV can be browsed by swiped-based controls.
Apple made no comment regarding the information of a new remote.
Aside from a new remote, it is believed that the update on the current Apple TV streaming box will include better hardware - a much powerful processor and additional flash storage. There's also the integration of Siri, improved operating system, and a dedicated App Store for the device.
There's also plans of Apple offering streaming television programs coming from several broadcasting networks which will available for the Apple TV as well as iOS devices.
It can be recalled that the original Apple Remote was launched in 2005. It had a design that resembles the first-generation iPod Shuffle made of white plastic and cost $29.00. While it was originally used to wirelessly control Apple's Front Row software, which was discontinued in July 2011, it can also be used to control other applications like Keynote, iTunes, Quicktime.
iPods placed on a dock with an infrared sensor can also be controlled using the Apple Remote
Meanwhile, The latest Apple TV was released in March 7, 2012 which is connected to high-definition widescreen televisions via HDMI. The current design of the device has no integrated buttons and can only be operated externally with the supplied remote.
Compared to its predecessors, the third-generation Apple TV has ditched the internal hard drive and has 8GB internal flash storage for buffering streaming media either taken from online sources or locally connected devices. It has a A5 single core processor and operates with the Apple TV Software 7.2
