Curious Shipments Suggest New Apple TV To Be Announced Next Week

Most of us feel confident that at least one new iPhone is set to be announced by Apple at its Sept. 10 media event. However, according to a number of curious shipments received by the Cupertino, Calif. company throughout the month of August, one further product could be in the cards for next Tuesday: a refreshed Apple TV. The news comes from New York-based trade intelligence service Panjiva, who notes that on Aug. 11, Aug. 18, and Aug. 25, 2013, supplier BYD Precision Manufacture shipped three mysterious packages to Apple. The website explains:

• On August 25th, Apple received a shipment described as “Set Top Box with Communication Function” from BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, China.
• On August 18th, Apple received another shipment, again from BYD, described as “Set Top Boxes.”
• And on August 11th, Apple received its first shipment from BYD of “Set Top Box with Communication Function.”

No shipment dimensions have been published for any of the three packages, and as such we can only guess what Apple's "Set Top Box with Communication Function" could entail. It may be that a next-generation Apple TV is in the works: after all, Apple enjoys refreshing its set-top box, and it wouldn't be out of place for a new Apple TV product to reach Apple Store shelves later this year. That being said, an Apple HDTV product and service has been rumored for some time now. This fully-fledged television product is expected to offer consumers an HDTV set along with a built-in, Internet-powered TV service. Over the course of the last few months, networks appear to have been moving towards establishing such a mode of programming; whether it's too soon, however, for an Apple HDTV to come into fruition of course remains to be seen. Panjiva also notes that, while an exciting prospect, there is one other scenario concerning the curious shipments that most Apple fans won't want to consider: "Something that’s not particularly interesting, but that has an interesting description to throw us all off." Here's hoping this isn't the case. Apple's media event is scheduled for Sept. 10, and will take place at the company's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters. In addition, a subsequent standalone event will take place in Beijing, China, on Sept. 11, 2013. We'll keep you updated with further information as we receive it. In the meantime, see: Apple Releases OS X Mavericks Developer Preview 7 For Registered Devs, Apple Holding Separate iPhone Media Event In Beijing On Sept. 11, and Today's Best Apps: Wordly And Da Vinci’s Demons: The Apprentice.

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