The new Apple TV may soon get some competition from Microsoft, which according to a new rumor is considering making slimmer, cheaper version of the Xbox One console in an effort to beat Apple in the living room.

Longtime Microsoft blogger Brad Sams at Petri IT Knowledgebase claims that Xbox could receive an update next year in the form of an ‘Xbox slim’ style device that would make the gaming console more appealing to casual users and cordcutters.

“I have heard from internal sources that the company is considering plans for a lightweight Xbox One that may only be for Windows store games and would compete with the Apple TV, but it’s not clear if these plans have been scrapped.”

Microsoft and Apple’s relationship has become less hostile in recent years. Some of the best iOS apps are now built by Microsoft after the company avoided the platform during the days of Steve Ballmer. Competition between the two companies is still fierce though, as Microsoft is currently taking on the iPad with its Surface Pro tablets. A new Lumia device is also supposedly in the works with aims at topping the iPhone.

A smaller Xbox One was in development at Microsoft in 2013 when the console was launched, but the plans were eventually put aside. If the device does launch, Sams claims it won’t be in stores until the second half of 2016, and it will come with a much lower price-point than the Xbox One.

Posted: Dec 30, 2015 8:23 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.cultofmac.com/404388/slim-xbox-one-apple-tv/