Apple TV a no-show, in any respect, at iPhone event

Despite initial hopes for new hardware, and then tempered hopes for a software update, Apple continues to tread water on its set-top box.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter

Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.

Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials

Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)

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Joan E. Solsman

Sept. 10, 2013 11:22 a.m. PT

2 min read

A lot of big names showed up at Apple's event Tuesday -- Al Gore, Marissa Mayer, Elvis Costello -- but one that was conspicuously missing was Apple TV.

Apple held an event at its Cupertino, Calif., home base Tuesday. Headlining the presentation was its introduction of a new budget smartphone, the iPhone 5C, and its new flagship iPhone 5S, as it seeks to attract more customers and revitalize interest in its devices.

Dueling reports last week first stoked anticipation that Apple had a new set-top box on deck for Tuesday's event after long neglecting the device in terms of any significant refresh. But later, the company's TV plans for the event were said to be limited to a simple software update that might, among other things, let one person's Apple-purchased content stream on another person's Apple TV.

After starting out as a glorified Netflix streaming box, Apple TV has bulked up with some desirable channels, recently adding Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Watch ESPN, and Sky News. Though the addition of HBO Go in June made good on one content stream that was rumored to be in the offing, Apple has also been said to be working on a deal for Time Warner Cable channels, and CW President Mark Pedowitz earlier this year said the network would be on Apple TV imminently -- but an app for the channel had yet to materialize.

And neither did updates -- to hardware, software, or otherwise -- for the device itself Tuesday.