New $150 Apple TV Revealed With Touch/Motion-Enabled Controller

[UPDATE] Activision has now confirmed that Guitar Hero Live, Skylanders SuperChargers, and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved will all be playable on Apple TV. Geometry Wars 3 will also come to the new iPad Pro. See this blog post for more.

The original story is below.

Apple on Wednesday announced the next evolution of its Apple TV set top box, complete with a brand new, touch- and motion-enabled controller. In addition, Rock Band developer Harmonix announced a new game for it called Beat Sports, which combines sports and music.

The new Apple TV features deep integration with Siri. You can say things like "Skip ahead 7 minutes" to fast-forward. You can also say "Show me some action movies" or "What are some new movies to watch with kids?" In addition, you can ask questions like, "Show that Modern Family episode with Edward Norton."

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The new Apple TV runs on a proprietary TV OS operating system. And it should look better, too. "All of the screens have been redesigned to look beautiful and they focus on the content," Apple said.

Also during the event, Apple confirmed that mobile versions of Guitar Hero Live and Disney Infinity will be playable through Apple TV. In addition, Crossy Road will be playable on the device.

Per CNET, here are the Apple TV specs: "64-bit A8 chip, 10 mm tall, on the back power, HDMI, Ethernet. Comes with new Siri remote. communicates via BlueTooth so you don't have to point it at the box."

The new Apple TV launches in "late October." Pricing is $150 for a 32 GB model and $200 for the 64 GB edition. The existing Apple TV sells for $70.

The event is ongoing, and we'll continue to update this post with more information as it's announced. For more on Apple's announcements today, head to GameSpot sister site CNET.

Harmonix's Beat Sports:

Beat Sports is described as a "collection of music-infused minigames" based on sports like tennis, volleyball, and golf. The game makes use of the new Apple TV device and will be published indie company Tilting Point, which Harmonix reached a publishing agreement with back in September 2014.

"I'm thrilled to announce Beat Sports on this amazing, new platform," Harmonix creative lead Jon Carter said in a statement. "Apple TV is the perfect home for this unique mixture of music, sports, and wacky fun."

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