News: the new Apple TV, iTunes 1080p content, 15-inch MacBook Air, and more!

Apple has released the 2012 Apple TV, and it's pretty similar to the older model with one important exception: it now supports 1080p content, either streamed from your Mac or directly from the iTunes Store. In addition to supporting 1080p content, the newer Apple TV also comes with an updated interface, also available for the older Apple TV. The Verge says that while it's still the same great little box, a lack of content mars an otherwise fantastic experience. Speaking of 1080p content on the iTunes Store, there are those who are comparing it to 1080p Blu-ray quality. AppleInsider took at look at some 1080p content and compared it to the quality of a Blu-ray version, and they found the sharpness in most scenes was definitely on par for the most part, in all but the most detailed of scenes. A little strange, but you would probably be hard pressed to notice the difference between the two anyway.

Also from AppleInsider this morning is reports of a 15-inch MacBook Air, which would effectively kill off the MacBook Pro. They're saying the new 15-inch Air will launch sometime in April, but I have my doubts as to whether Apple would cut their product line even more.

Stephen Hackett at 512pixels has a short overview of Apple's server products, sans the Xserve which is boring.