Apple is designing the new set-top box to simplify how you access and view programming and erase the distinction between live and recorded content, according to . These claims echo reports from late 2009 that said Apple was working on a $30 per month .

The biggest vision for Apple's supposed new set-top box, which may or may not be an Apple TV refresh, would be a DVR feature that saves shows to an online storage service, presumably iCloud. You could then access your saved shows across all your devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. Steve Jobs imagined a similar feature for a , according to Walter Isaacson's biography of the late Apple founder.

In this configuration, the new box would also have a Start Over feature that lets you restart from the beginning shows that are already in progress. Time Warner Cable such a service, as do other cable providers around the world. The rumored new Apple box would also have an iOS-style menu featuring large, easily identifiable icons, social media features to let you share links to television shows, and easy access to all episodes of current seasons of popular TV series.