“t looks like the Cupertino company has chosen San Francisco’s 7,000-seat Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to demonstrate its first real smart TV platform with the sort of groundbreaking interface users have come to expect from Apple,” Steve Tobak writes for FOXBusiness. “On Wednesday, Apple TV will officially cease to be a ‘hobby,’ as Steve Jobs used to refer to it.”
“It may not be a cable cutter on day one, but the new Apple TV promises to revolutionize how we interact with big screens in a way that gives our smart mobile devices a run for their money,” Tobak writes. “Remember how TiVo and Netflix changed our lives? It’ll be like that, times ten. It may even turn Generation Z on to a new experience: the living room.”
“If the interface is as robust as I suspect it will be, then third party developers will flock to the platform, as will the Apple faithful. And that will give Tim Cook and company more leverage in negotiating with media companies and expanding their streaming service offering,” Tobak writes. “In time, Apple TV will become the platform for TV content providers and app developers. And that will give Apple’s already pervasive ecosystem a critical new beachhead in the center of our homes.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s already ceased to be a “hobby.”
Apple TV… has far exceeded the “hobby” label that we placed on it. – Tim Cook, September 12, 2014
SEE ALSO:
Apple dominates pay TV streaming with 61.9% viewership on Apple devices – September 4, 2015
Why Apple TV is critical; investors shouldn’t underestimate its importance – September 4, 2015
Why Apple needs so much space for their September 9th event: A series of living rooms? – September 4, 2015
Did Apple pick the right or wrong time to unveil reimagined Apple TV? – September 4, 2015
Apple finally gets serious about pushing into our living rooms with new Apple TV – September 4, 2015
Analyst: New Apple TV platform is bad news for Netflix – September 3, 2015
The new Apple TV’s potential beyond gaming – September 3, 2015
New Apple TV to offer A8 chip, 8/16GB storage, same ports, no 4K, and new black remote – September 2, 2015
New Apple TV will feature universal search, start at $149 – September 2, 2015
Apple TV 4 to focus on extensive Siri control, deep support for gaming – August 31, 2015
Apple TV 4 coming in October for under $200, Apple TV 3 becomes entry level; both get new streaming service – August 30, 2015
Apple TV said to have motion-sensitive Siri-capable remote with touchpad – August 28, 2015
The next-gen Apple TV’s marquee feature – August 18, 2015
Just want we need. More couch potatoes.
Or will this open up a whole new era of living room entertaining that actually brings families and friends closer to together? Will it merge the activity movement (no pun intended) that the Apple Watch and the like are encouraging with a big screen? Will it make our TVs true two-way communication portals?
No, no and no.
In short, it’ll be a revenue stream for Apple and little else. A portal for mindless pap for the mindless masses (much like the current rap-infested cess pool known as the music industry).
Lower your expectations.
Looking forward 🙂
I got rid of cable tv 2 years ago and have been getting all my video from AppleTV and a blu-ray player. Saved a ton of money and never going back.
MDN, the quote from TC does not say what you think it says. In fact, it says just the opposite: The “hobby” label is still on the ATV, but its importance has exceeded the label that we STILL have on it.
I expect the actual “official” time when it leaves the “hobby” realm will be when the Sept 9 announcements are made. That’s when I expect them to remove the “label.”
As I said before, I am hoping it will address the massive bandwidth use and can better compete with the competitive streaming devices.