The Apple TV hasn't had a significant update since March of 2012 when the box was upgraded to support 1080p video. The software has been updated a few times since then, but the hardware has only received mild internal tweaks.

A new report from 9to5Mac indicates that this may be changing in the first half of 2014—their sources say that Apple's working on a brand-new set-top box (not the fabled Apple television set) that will ship with a revamped operating system. And like the current Apple TV software, this OS will be derived from iOS. 9to5Mac's original reporting proved to be very accurate in 2013, which lends this rumor a bit more credence than it might have coming from more dubious outlets.

Sadly, the report didn't come with many other details, aside from (shakier) speculation about new Kinect-like voice commands and gesture input, as well as a game store that would turn the Apple TV into a mini game console. Rumors about an Apple TV-focused push into console gaming have been flying around since Apple introduced a game controller API in iOS 7, though that API has so far only enabled expensive, lackluster iOS accessories. The report indicates that "new types of content" will be available with the new hardware, but it isn't specific about what that content will be. As of this writing, only content providers who work closely with Apple are able to get their content integrated into the product, as there's no App Store equivalent available on the device.

The report indicates that Apple has "definitely considered" pushing out this software update to current-generation Apple TV boxes. Current boxes already run an iOS-based operating system, but depending on the new capabilities and content introduced, their older, single-core A4 and A5 chips may not be powerful enough to handle them. Apple may decide to upgrade one or both versions of the hardware, but it could restrict certain features to newer models as it currently does with its iPhones and iPads. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the rumors and will update if we receive a response.