“Talk of an Apple TV has stirred again lately with financial analyst Gene Munster predicting Apple will release in the 2012-2013 timeframe. Many arguing against an Apple TV point to the significant margins they have commanded in the industries they traditionally operate, and that these margins would not be attainable without Apple charging a significant premium over cheaper sets. The TV industry has been in a race to the bottom on price, or so the argument goes,” Nathan Safran writes for ReadWriteWeb.
“I agree,” Safran writes. “Specifically, I agree that Apple will be challenged to persuade consumers to pay a premium for an Apple TV. Apple knows that and knows it’s no simple task. That’s why if they do come out with a TV they’ll look to persuade consumers across multiple fronts.”
9 ways Apple could persuade you to buy their TV (and change TV as we know it)
1. Aesthetics
2. Content
3. Sexy Integration with iOS Devices
4. Video Conferencing
5. Extend the iOS/Mac Screen
6. New Gaming Experiences
7. A (Free) DVR to End All DVRs
8. Social Integration
9. App Ecosystem
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “GetMeOnTop” for the heads up.]
We are waiting, waiting for the coming of this real game changing TV !!!!
I don’t care what Apple does with Apple TV. I won’t buy it unless it gives me the option of viewing movies at 1080p. I don’t know why Apple keeps insisting on crippling it with 720p resolution.
Not picking on your post BLN, I agree your main point, and would no sooner buy a 720p tv today than I would look for an x386 answer to my computing needs. But the difference between real 720 & 1080 is virtually imperceptible to the human eye. It is the equivalent of the Ghz spiel spun for so long by the beige box marketeers.
That being said, what Apple really needs to do is provide real HD content, not the nod and a wink compressed stuff they get away with today. That’s not HD. Not even close.
That’s true for 720p and 1080i, not as true for 720p and 1080p.
Just FYI, half the local stations in DC are broadcasting in 720p, half in 1080i. The maximum available on cable and satellite are 1080i. Only BluRay is providing 1080p.
1 for username.
I’d rather have stuff download quickly, even at 240p. My desire for instant gratification and smooth playback far outweighs and desire I have to avoid a stray artifact, blouse detail, or missing pixel.
I don’t know…I sure do enjoy some of those blouse details.
Free Software updates for your TV? Hmmmmmm……
For some reason I think Apple is trying to sell more ‘Macs’ by calling them TVs.
im waiting to buy a new tv , waiting on Apple!
The link is broken. It points to this article.
I just don’t see it, I love Apple and almost everything that they have done but this is far from pushing a regular consumer to purchse a New TV just because it has a Apple logo on it and it’s produced by LG or someone else.
What can they do that is not done with a Apple TV 2 or another add-on box.
Sure allot of die hard Apple fans would go for it and maybe if I was in the market I would think about it but in reality whose is going to do this in the arena of so many consumer choices for entertainment (aka) TV’s out there.
You can do almost all of those listed right now with a Apple Tv2 and a HDMI hookup, so what’s the point.
If it ever happens I would be delighted to see Apple do good with this but my logic tells me that a small segment of consumers would want this, I would love to have everything Apple in my home, but it just seems a bit far fetched.
It needs to be new fresh and all magical.. And I truly say that with all my Apple Hart.
I never put anything past Apple, they very well might be able to pull it off, if it does happen.
I don’t see it either, but that is the point. Apple has always been able to envision stuff that others can’t (me included). If thay actually go this route, I will be very interested to see what I cannot remotely picture now.
If they get the tightfisted me to go for it, they definitely will have a hit on their hands.
I have been saying the same thing. Why embed the AppleTV when it has already been miniaturized into a small box that could easily be clipped to the back of a TV. The AppleTV has (will have) all of the smarts, especially when it is upgraded to full iOS status. I don’t want all of the bells and whistles in my TV.
Right now I have a Roku and a Blu-ray player that both offer Netflix and other wireless content (the Blu-ray player does so rather poorly). I don’t need a TV that does the same thing. Either integrate it all or make it modular, but don’t put all of the functions on a bunch of different components.
If you combine AppleTV with Roku and DVR functionality and make the resulting product an A6 device with full iOS capabilities, then I will be glad to plug it into an HDMI port on any HDTV. That way I can take it with me on travel, or upgrade my HDTV and transfer the device to it.
it makes little sense to me.
they can do all of that with aTV if they wanted.The features mentioned wouldn’t be game changers, just integration which is already happening. my newest tv does a lot of this already and i still use set top boxes.
Totally agree. The TV is just a display. Apple TV can dictate what goes in. ( someone here said “Touch screen tv.”…. ?? Please give me a break.
Just a late night thought.
en
The PERFECT Apple TV would be a 70″ flat panel display with nothing more than a DisplayPort interface, potentially a wireless interface, and nothing more.
Leave the “TV” functions in the tiny AppleTV box sitting next to the display. The AppleTV can be upgraded by tossing the little $99 box into a landfill and not the whole display.
Yep!
amazing how many people don’t understand your point. exactly right!
Agreed this would be the path Apple takes.
Several display sizes and two or three set top boxes to choose from depending on the features/connections desired.
The set top boxes connect to the displays via a standard display port.
Sexy integration?
The correct link is http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/9_ways_apple_could_persuade_you_to_buy_an_apple_tv.php#more
It won’t happen. As much as Gene Muenster is pretty much an Apple fanboy, it’s wishful thinking. There are no factual rumors to support that Appke is developing a TV. In this case, it’s Muenster starting a rumor in the misguided hope that his dream will come true.
Dream on, Gene. But it ain’t gonna happen.
The reasons supporting what Apple could do asserted by the article author don’t present a compelling case for value that would convince consumers to pay a premium for am Apple branded television. If Apple was to do anything, expectations are so high that the company would fundamentally have to rethink what a TV could be. There’s not enough profit in that.
Instead, I believe that Apple would be exploring the set-top box and blowing that apart. THAT is where Apple can add value, with content, software, apps, games, interconnectivity with a host of Apple-branded devices and services, NOT with a TV screen. Sony, Samsung and others already dominate TV sets. But cable companies and networks are vulnerable because they aren’t forward-thinking enough.
Analysts and pundits are fundamentally stupid and short-sighted. It’s not the box. It’s the ecosystem, stupid. It’s iTunes, it’s the App Store, it’s the OS, and it’s a vast archipelago of third party developers and accessory makers that have combined to make Apple such a success, not just brilliant hardware and industrial design.
No wonder Muenster is always a mile off in his quarterly projections. He is skating to where the puck was, not to where it will be.
I have an EyeTV. It allows me to buffer/record ANY show I like, play/share them anywhere, anytime, on any device I want *without any restrictions* (AKA:”authorization”, which for some reason some idiots don’t believe qualifies as DRM ). It also allows me to export files in any format I like. Apple refuses to do these simple things. Hence, I will never buy an AppleTV.
Most telling:
Three people I know bought AppleTVs but a year later none are using them anymore.
Like them, I do not want to be bothered to buy TV shows per episode. I don’t want YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, iMovies or even iPhoto albums on my big screen. Apple will never be a gaming leader either. AppleTV exists as MS-like vaporware; highly crippled, but hinting that it could be great someday …maybe … the way MicroSoft always does.
We love our ATV! But I don’t see a Tv by Apple, they should get manufactures to add ATV, and yea expand AtV. When they can offer al carte programing independent of the cable/satellite , I think it would take off
5. Extend the iOS/Mac Screen — wireless!
Well, that’s coming in iOS 5 (in conjunction with Apple TV).
The next frontier for Apple is content. Making deals with the likes of Universal and Paramount is fine but it’s clear that Apple has a chance to emulate them (Netflix already has) by creating original content…they become the movie studio…much like Disney (or better yet Pixar) and then distribute their own content. Don’t believe it? They already have this deal with Disney. By eliminating the middle man they avoid all the COSTS associated with that and with the distribution of motion pictures…which is HUGE…and offer shows they finance directly through their own network.
And one more thing………….
Content – let’s see – iTunes on my iPad, iTV and iMac already so no… And that content would be much of the same… Music no specialty channels rental movies – again nothing new here…
Apple upgrades every 6 months making my devices old that much faster. So the ecosystem is great and all but I’m not so sure that will make me want the tv.
For sure it will be cool and look stunning great and function insanely well. But do I need it.
DVR to end all DVRs yeah that would be key – yes now we are talking persuasive yes hurray.
to me a good thing for apple to do would be to make a dock of sorts for the apple tv 2 that adds a hard drive and 2 digital tuners with a cable card slot (why is it that the good technologies never get used)
That way they could have a dvr add on for the apple tv that could automatically record to an iPad compatible format and then let you transfer to your devices through an iCloud-like system or to your computer by home sharing
Quote From Yahoo Message Board
“Everybody thinks that Apple TV is going to be the next big thing. I say not so fast. Apple TV has always been a not so hot product. It’s gained some share recently but by no means is an iPhone. TV habits are hard to change. TV’s have low margins. The road is littered with past TV manufacturers. Lots of competition as well. Also Steve won’t be involved. I say this could be AAPL Waterloo. If iTV is all thats in the pipeline then I am sort of worried” calls_them_as_i_see_them
Not one of these “9 ways” goes beyond what Apple can provide in a set-top box with embedded camera with the arguable “aesthetics” argument excepted, as one would have one less box and perhaps a sleeker flat panel (aluminum frame around almost edge-to-edge glass, etc.). But is there anything in the underlying panel technology that established TV brands can’t provide?
A TV by Apple is going to have to be all of these things and then still take a quantum leap in some unthought of way, and something that cannot be duplicated by other TV makers. Other TV makers could add a video conferencing camera, DVR, etc., but you get into the software/OS realm, you move into areas that TV makers can’t touch.
Don’t forget this has been Munster’s pet rumor for well over a year now, and he seems to be driving it single-handed. He’s also predicting it will be released in 2012-2013. Nothing like a 2 year window to see if you’re right.
better be just as good as Neflix streaming. that Rocks
Just buy Netflix that is the way forward.
I love watching streamed movies late at night on Netflix it just WORKS.
Apple needs to take a lesson from Netflix. How OBVIOUS does this need to be?
bye, the communication seems to be failing. take care, live it UP
men: I am watching all the male feedback with closeness.
russ
For years now I’ve been watching my crummy little, tiny, cheap TV, patiently waiting to spend my hard earned larger sums of cash on an Apple TV.
Just DO IT!