Will the Apple TV Ever Run Apps?

Yesterday, iFixit tore open the new Apple TV and revealed its specs – and amongst other things, it has 8GB of onboard flash storage.

Some people have speculated that this storage is a sign that Apple wants to open an Apple TV App Store in the future. Why else would it be there?

I think these people are forgetting something: that space is needed to store rented content (movies and TV shows) until you watch them. Yes, the new Apple TV is focused solely on streaming; you can’t purchase any content on it – you can only rent. But when you rent a movie or a TV show you don’t have to watch it immediately – you have 30 days to begin watching. Until you finish, rented content is stored on the 8GB flash chip.