“Aimless. Backwards. Confused.,” Yoni Heisler writes for BGR. “These are just a few adjectives which, to a frustrating extent, seem to perfectly encapsulate Apple’s glaring lack of vision in the TV space. Apple certainly understands that TV (and by extension, the living room) is important, but the more I see what Apple is doing with the Apple TV, and the more I hear Apple executives excitedly drone on about their comically boring TV strategy, the more I become convinced that the company has absolutely no idea what it’s doing.”
“Broadly speaking, I don’t believe that the higher-ups at Apple grasp, on an even basic level, what makes for a compelling TV viewing experience,” Heisler writes. “Power and leverage within the TV space is quickly being usurped by players like Netflix while Apple remains embarrassingly stuck on the sidelines.”
“What did we witness last week at Apple’s special media event? A whole lot of nothing. Just an app called TV that lets users browse through third-party apps from the likes of HBO, FX and others. Yawn. This is not the future of TV,” Heisler writes. “For a while, it seemed that Apple was aiming to release a lightweight TV subscription service but those plans have reportedly been put on hold due to disputes over pricing and disagreements over what channels would be included in the bundle. Meanwhile, AT&T beat Apple to the punch, recently announcing an internet-only TV service that boasts more than 100 channels for just $35. Not to be outdone, Hulu earlier this week announced that its impending TV streaming service will include channels such as ABC, ESPN, the Disney Channel, Fox Sports, Fox News, National Geographic, FX, TNT, TBC, CNN the Cartoon Network and more.
“In today’s world, content is king while interfaces, truth be told, simply need to be good enough,” Heisler writes. “Content aside, the shamelessly horrible design of the Apple TV 4 remote is even more proof that the higher-ups at Apple simply don’t get TV. Are we really supposed to believe that Apple understands the TV viewing experience when its remote is nothing short of a case study in backwards non-functional design?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: One more time: Which Apple VP is in charge of Apple TV among other chronically glitch-prone services that are uniformly saddled with Microsoftian UIs?
Therein Apple’s problem lies.
A jovial, fun-loving nature wrapped in unbuttoned shirts is no substitute for execution, quality, taste, and signed contracts, Tim.
Beloved by all, yet failing the company. It’s a conundrum that needs to be solved.
It’s quite possible that without Steve Jobs’ help, Eddy Cue couldn’t get ink in a stationery store. — MacDailyNews, November 5, 2015
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s new ‘TV’ app won’t include Netflix or Amazon Video – October 28, 2016
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Hulu inks deals with Fox and Disney, adding ESPN, Fox News and more to forthcoming live service – November 1, 2016
Google signs up CBS for planned web TV service to debut in early 2017; close to deal with 21st Century Fox – October 20, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue alienated cable providers and networks with an assertive negotiating style – report – July 28, 2016
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jason” for the heads up.]
