Apple prepares to unveil new TV set-top box with App Store in summer

The new version of Apple TV will be unveiled at the company’s annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June and will be a significant overhaul of the previous version of the device, according to Buzzfeed.

The current version of Apple TV has only seen limited take-up compared to the popularity of the company’s other hardware and has been superseded by Google Chrome, which is significantly cheaper and offers a similar service.

The new Apple TV will reportedly include an updated design and include the A8 chip that features in the iPhone 6, and is significantly more powerful than the chip used in the current Apple TV device, which launched in 2012.

It will be supported by an improved operating system that will incorporate Siri voice control and be able to communicate with other connected home devices that use Apple’s Homekit software.

Apple has been eyeing the TV sector as an area ripe for an overhaul for a long time and at last year’s WWDC, Apple senior vice-president of internet software and services Eddy Cue argued “the TV experience sucks.”

Developments will be followed keenly by Samsung, which has been working with retailers to create apps for its smart TVs.

Marks & Spencer became the first retailer to partner with Samsung when it launched an app on the smart TV platform in February 2012.