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Next-gen Apple TV gets J33 codename

Reference to the much-rumored product uncovered by 9to5Mac in new beta of iOS5 given to developers.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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Not the last word? The second-gen Apple TV Apple introduced in September 2010.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

The next generation of Apple TV appears to be moving closer to reality.

Hints of the much-rumored product appeared today in a new beta of iOS 5.1 given to developers. As 9to5Mac notes, as products move closer to release, Apple gives them a codename, such as N94 for the latest iPhone. In this case, the blog found notes in the string code that refer to the next version of Apple TV as J33.

Apple's current Apple TV model is a bit long in the tooth when it comes to processing power. The small set-top box sports an A4 processor, which Apple has since replaced in devices such as the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S with the dual-core A5.

9to5Mac suggests the A5 could churn out something better than the 720p video at which the current Apple TV tops out. Apple's latest iPhone has a 1080p video output.

Amazon recently updated its listing for the current Apple TV, redesignating it as the "(2010)" version of the product. By comparison, Amazon lists the most up-to-date version of other Apple products, such as the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as the "(NEWEST VERSION)," suggesting that the 2010 label could be a precursor to it being outdated by something newer.