SAN FRANCISCO — Apple introduced its new 1080p Apple TV to the world on Wednesday, and we got a brief chance to check out the improved user interface and features for ourselves.

Thanks to its brand-new A5 processor and new software design, the updated Apple TV experience is snappy and intuitive, largely improving on the 2010 version. The new device is capable of delivering 1080p content, and the fresh UI takes full advantage of the fact that you're probably watching content on a widescreen TV set with large icons and luscious HD images.

Hardware-wise, there's nothing new to see here. The new Apple TV still has the same black hockey puck shape that its predecessor did. No complaints from us, as it's a discrete little living-room peripheral. It also still ships with the same slender silver remote, complete with all the same buttons: Pause, play, menu, four directional keys and a select button. You can also control the device using the Apple Remote app, as per the norm.

The real change is in the software. Apple gave its Apple TV interface quite the face lift. Set atop a black background, your home screen features large images from recently rented or top content across the upper portion of the display (for Movies, for instance, they're movie posters), and beneath that, a row of five iOS-like icons: Movies, TV Shows, Music, Computers and Settings. Below those options are icons for services like Netflix, Flickr, MLB.com and Apple's own Photo Stream.

This visual style selection of content is a welcome update from the drop-down lists you had to choose from in the 2010 Apple TV, better utilizing the space onscreen, and showing crisp, detailed images in 1080p.

When you dive into the movies section, Purchased, Top Movies, Genius, Genres, Search and Trailers menu options are listed across the top of the display. Purchased and Top Movies pulls up movie posters of titles in their respective categories. Genius offers you suggestions based on your previous viewing habits. Similar to Netflix, it's got Movies For You, top picks based on the type of films you watch, as the top row, followed by suggestions based on specific titles. For instance, one of these, "Based on The Incredibles," pulls up other assorted Disney and Pixar family-friendly fare, like Toy Story 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Enchanted. Based on a quick browse through this, it's unclear how Apple's Genius algorithms for suggesting titles compares to that of Netflix and other streaming services.

If you select a title, the movie shows up as a large poster image on the left quarter of the screen, with the title, description, rating, and other information taking up the majority of the rest of the screen. Across the bottom, other movie posters are listed.

There's a lot more to the new Apple TV than just movies. If you've taken a great batch of photos and want to share them with friends and family, you can check them out full-screen using Photo Stream. You can select individual images to pull up, or watch a slide show.

Since we only had a few minutes to take a tour around the Apple TV, there were a number of features we didn't get to try out today, like taking a photo and watching it instantly upload to Photo Stream on your television. Don't worry though – we'll take a deep dive look into all of Apple TV's nooks and crannies in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, current Apple TV owners can snag an update to their set top box today, but you still won't be able to stream 1080p – only new Apple TVs get that perk. The 2012 Apple TV is $99, can be pre-ordered today, and will be available for purchase next week.