FCC filing reveals new, slightly smaller Apple TV

newa1469appletv

This is pretty interesting. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s discovery of an unknown AppleTV3,2 device in the new iOS 6.1 firmware comes evidence that Apple is indeed planning to refresh the set-top box sometime in the near future.

The proof comes by way of a new FCC (Federal Communications Commission) filing, published today, from the Cupertino company. The documents out an unreleased Apple TV, model A1469, with slightly smaller dimensions…

Engadget, who made the discovery, reports:

“While the diagram pictured above doesn’t suggest any major changes to the device’s appearance, it does list some slightly smaller measurements: 93.78mm square compared to the 98mm of the current model. That’s certainly not the biggest of differences, but the measurements in previous Apple FCC filing have been spot on. The model number, A1469, is also one that we haven’t seen before, but the documents unfortunately don’t offer much else in the way of details (only confirmation of the same WiFi capabilities as the current-gen Apple TV).”

Typically, electronic devices pop up in the FCC as they are being prepped to go to market, suggesting that we could see the new ATV in the next few months. That would line up with a recent report from KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo.

It’ll be interesting to see what Apple has done with the new model to entice current Apple TV owners to upgrade. Last year, for its third-generation ATV, it added the faster A5 processor and boosted video output to full HD 1080p.

What are you hoping for in the new Apple TV?