Smaller Apple TV (possibly with apps?) on its way

A smaller, and possibly more powerful, Apple TV model was discovered today in the daily filings of the FCC.

Engadget discovered the document, which shows a slightly smaller Apple TV set-top box. That was the only thing that the technology site could come up with, however.

While sifting through the recent software update that the Apple TV received (namely, giving users the ability to use a bluetooth keyboard with the plug-in device) Arstechnica.com, found that the box uses an “upgraded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip from Broadcom, as well as an upgraded Apple A5X SoC rather than the A 5 in the current model.”

The A5X is what we currently find in the fourth-generation iPad and iPhone 5.

It’s still unclear what Apple has in mind for its updated TV set-top box. Many Apple fans took to the Internet Tuesday, suggesting their ideas.

“We better get apps. There’s nothing else to add to it,” one MacRumors forum writer published.

That’s not a terrible idea — especially those popular news apps, like ABC News and CBS News, which are very video-centric. And of course, if there was a way to get the HBO app on Apple TV, that’s one less spot to worry about when recording all of your Sunday night shows on your DVR.

Or maybe this is part of something bigger. Has Apple been working behind the scenes with TV executives and are readying themselves for a big announcement? Maybe we could subscribe to HBO and some other cable channels in the near future. The network stations will still need some work I think.

“Apple would destroy the console business. Please, please, please,” writes another forum poster, likely referring to gaming consoles. If Apple adds an app store to Apple TV, it would likely let us download games like Angry Birds, and use our iOS devices as the remotes. This can already kind of be done on the iPad, which can mirror on Apple TV, but there is a noticeable delay.

What do you think the next Apple TV will hold?