The Apple TV box has lost its purpose as content moves to more devices and Apple engineers lack optimism for Apple TV hardware, Mark Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News’ Power On:
Apple Inc. started selling an Apple TV with a faster processor and a great new remote control in April. But neither upgrade, nor the set-top box’s previous features, justify spending $199 on such a device in 2021… In recent years, the Apple TV has become a less obvious purchase for many Apple fans and content junkies. The app ecosystem is a flop, aside from big names like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube and the occasional casual game. The box costs, in some cases, more than double what rivals sell for.
Most importantly, buying an Apple TV no longer gives users a content advantage. We are in the age of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, and business models have shifted so that every service is available on every device—phones, tablets, TV sets, streaming sticks and game consoles… That made the Apple TV a mostly pointless accessory, and consumers seem to agree: 2020 data from Strategy Analytics found that the Apple TV holds 2% of the streaming device market…
If Apple wants to truly be effective, it could just cut the price of its box, make a cheap “stick” version with 4K or add features that actually make it worthwhile. But as of now, it’s hard to believe that will happen soon, especially with Apple engineers telling me that the company doesn’t have a strong living room hardware strategy and that there isn’t much internal optimism.
MacDailyNews Take: What do you expect from a “hobby?” 😉
There should have been a $79 Apple TV stick (with a quality remote that didn’t suck) at least five years ago, but, as with smart speakers, Apple is very late to the party.
Perhaps, the rumored Apple TV + HomePod + FaceTime device will be the ticket? However, with Apple now eschewing user privacy, a camera-laden listening device for the home will likely be a tougher sell, at least to those in the know.
True, smart TVs have the apps built in, but IME those apps are pretty bad. They generally suck. At least compared to my old 3G Apple TV. HBOMax frequently freezes and crashes, and is constantly refreshing its menu screen. AMC also hangs and even worse, the sound keeps going in and out of sync. Amazon has problems with showing the wrong aspect ratio for my TV, along with audio sync problems. Netflix is the only built-in app that works reliably. I initially thought when I got a smart TV, I’d have no need for external devices. I’m rethinking that decision.
That must be a pretty dated ‘smart’ tv. As far as I know smart TVs sold now have mechanisms to update the initially loaded App to allow fixing problems that may crop up. Maybe it’s time to purchase a new one. They’re much more affordable these days even in 4K.
When I first got a Roku box (back when it was still a box), I said that that was so much better than the Apple TV, given just how little Apple TV had to offer back then. Now that that old Roku is obsolete, I’ve moved on to Apple TV (especially with Apple Arcade) and mostly Amazon Fire TV instead. But given that Amazon can run both Fire TV and Luna on just a Fire Stick, yeah, Apple can certainly afford to do the same, just with its unique tvOS instead.
I love Apple TV! I just bought a 4K version last week after owning two of the HD ones for years. We plan to get a 4K television in the fairly near future, but I also wanted spatial audio for my AirPods. We have a Fire TV stick, but it’s pretty painful to navigate and hideously cluttered.
Sounds like you have one of the first generation Fire TV sticks. I agree they’re pretty bad compared to what is out now including the newer Fire TV devices and sets. I’m not sure if a problem that I come across periodically on Apple TV is fixed in the newer versions. Unlike FireTV or Chromecast there is not option to ‘kill’ any errant single App which then requires me to restart the AppleTV to get that errant App to work again. Anyone have an alternative solution or did I miss something in the settings menus?
Double click the TV button and then swipe up on the errant app.
Thanks, I’ll give that a try the next time any App gets ‘stuck’.
I have the latest version of their Fire TV stick. Their UI is a mess. I hate the inconsistent arrangement of the rows of content and the ad banner at the top. And now there’s a micro-row of app shortcuts, that reflects Amazon’s refusal to make Fire TV app-centric. I understand what they are driving with their UI, but I don’t like it.
I was actually hoping Apple was going to turn Apple TV into an actual Apple TV display. Not a true TV, not a gigantic iPad, but somewhere in the middle, a 43-55 in display, as thin as the new iMac, that just played Apple TV apps.
I’m finding it harder to justify another box when more and more smart TV’s, have the apple app installed.
Assuming they did produce a TV set (probably at least 4K) with AppleTV built in, how much do you think they would charge or what would be the price point at which you would not consider it and purchase an AppleTV box and TV instead.
Why in the World this realization remained buried for years? Being a non-technical, creative mind, the functionality and price point compared to other devices always brought pause.
Presumption, blindness, extremely slow feature additions to match price_Apple?
What has happened to this company under Tim Cook is pretty soul destroying. I find it ironic that for so long millennials whined about needing purpose in their jobs, and we’ve ended up with such half-assery. With Apple’s about face on privacy, I can’t think of a reason to recommend Apple TV to anyone over the alternatives these days. Modern Silicon Valley is a dumpster fire.
Optimism is lacking for the entire company. Apple’s mask has come off, Tim Cook is the destroyer of whatever positive legacy was left. There’s probably all sorts of “intelligence community” pressure, CSAM blackmail and backstabbing going on behind the scenes, but as far as shareholders should be concerned, Pipeline Timmy is the problem, he needs to go along with most of the executive creatures.
Steve was the visionary, the product guy, while Tim is the bean counter. His focus is more on how to make as much money as possible, which is turning Apple into just like every other tech company.
Would someone please send Mr. Eric’s synopsis to the Director of the next AAPL Board Meeting?
The Story, the once heralded Story, is nearing the last pages. Though very important, it’s not just about making money, nor is it about injecting oneself into the culture as a policeman, or a self-prescribed model of justice.
The focus on amazing (the) customers is on their lips, but feigned and the DNA of TRUE Differentiation is mostly an artifact.
Sarcastic mockery aside, there is something to that last statement. Under Steve, there really was some zero to one innovation going on, plus he had the charisma to get powerful people on board (who else could have gotten the CEO of Pepsi to leave his position and come promote the nascent Mac?).
Nowadays, all that has gone bye-bye and then some. Remember when you were willing to pay extra for an Apple product because it worked so much better than Windows or Android? Now these days we’re questioning if even that’s a priority, or if it’s just about positioning Apple as a luxury brand. It’s like knowing why you want a Tesla while being expected to give a damn about a BMW or a Mercedes.
If Steve was the visionary, what makes you think the Apple Board thinks any different than Tim Cook?
That’s the second problem as bean counter Cook is the first problem. As long as the billions pour in, NO ONE in Apple leadership or the board gives a rat’s arse. Steve is not around to kick their butts and focus them ALL on what it really important. Something Cook and the Board never learned and its NOT PROFITS…
The more cynical view is that Apple is way too powerful of a company to be allowed to operate even semi-independently of the permanent bureaucracy. The sudden privacy flip (unless it’s just the public admission of what was going on secretly for years) is a hint of the major arm twisting and threats from intel agencies to bring about this change. The obvious thing that no one has commented on yet is why telegraph this move if you really cared about getting rid of CSAM? My impression is that people who do these evil things don’t store the evidence of their criminality in the cloud. If anyone was that stupid then they know to remove it from there now. It’s clearly just a pretext for spying on everything the CIA/FBI/NSA/DEA etc. wants to. Those agencies have the tech to break into every device imaginable and can serve warrants for anything else, this just makes it much easier for the Eye of Sauron to keep watch everywhere, all the time.
Add to the cynicism and to the orgs listed, the largest networks linking people all over the World are; GOOG, FB AMZN, MS, TWTR and AAPL. Besides being THE public networks, they comprise the overwhelming amount of wealth per public companies.
Whether or not there’s collusion, what a perfect set-up for the govt letters (CIA, ect) to have an inside link with the vast, one-stop public networks of these large public companies. Because some of the public co’s have already shown their cards in this way–esp information curation–it’s hardly a fringe construction to think we are seeing a powerful Govt-Tech collaboration, that won’t be good for anyone…unless authoritarianism is your thing.
Apple already had the equivalent of an “tv stick” in the 3rd gen tv. It’s the really small one with A5 chip and simple remote. I got one as certified refurb in 2015 for $59. I still use it, and it has become more and more useful over time with continuing software updates. It’s now like a plug-in box for accessing the tv+ service, much better than when it was new when I mostly just watched movie rentals from iTunes Store. And the separate “tiles” (outside tv+) like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu still work (with relevant subscription), although some like Disney do not. I can also play other content that supports AirPlay from my iPad (or iPhone) through it to my HDTV screen.
That’s the functionality Apple should provide in a simple inexpensive plug-in device, with 4K support. Access to everything on tv+ and AirPlay. Or, if you’re like me with an HDTV, get 3rd gen tv for $30-40 on eBay, or the follow-up “HD” model (with fancy remote and third-party apps) for $80-90 used.
With 4K tvs all the rage now, at most people’s budget levels, and that Japan already has (though still a bit limited) 8K broadcasting pushing to bring 8K tech to the forefront in the near future why would anyone settle for an HD setup?
As I said above, it should be a simple inexpensive plug-in device “with 4K support.” However, I and many others “settle” for HD just fine, if that’s what we already own. It’s not like I sit 2 feet away from my TV screen, like with a computer screen. That’s why my old tv still works great for me as “portal” to the tv service that Apple turned it into. Apple still sells the older A8 tv “HD” model as new, now with new remote, because there are many like me who are fine with plain old HDTV.
The lack of good games is killing the AppleTV
Even I said they should have launched a video based Home Speaker 5 years back exploiting technology that for the most part already existed in their eco-system. Cook truly at times isn’t even aware of the damn obvious let alone a visionary like his predecessor. Equally it’s painful to see Google and Amazon entrenched in the Home and tv hardware while Apple is still barely noticeable if you want a HomeKit based device or if you see one have to pay well over the odds. Would have been a sackable offence if it had not been such a relatively small part (thanks to the incompetence ironically) of this massive company.
Considering Apple led the way with AirPlay, yes it’s sad.
The ATV is still useful to me as I stream my own local content, but I’m in the minority.
Wish they integrated messages and FaceTime, and expand the Home app shortcuts.
I dig the latest Apple TV 4K. I use the Fubo TV app for must my viewing. That with that slick new Aluminum remote makes TV viewing easy now that I have figured out how to rewind and fast forward all the TV apps.
Then find a different use for it.
Innovate.
So innovation is a one star concept these days? The AppleTV hardware is practically a Mac. And developers said that the A12 development kits were perfectly capable of running the full MacOS. So it could be good for:
An iOS “desktop” machine.
A videogame player.
A Super Raspberry Pi offering wildly more performance then that machine.
A home device base station to allow various internet devices to work together. (Print pics from your security camera, for example. or order groceries when your refrigerator detects you are low on something.)
All of these will require work from Apple, and some would need hardware upgrades. But I don’t see what Apple can bring to a Car if they can’t find a use for AppleTV.
What do you expect from a company run by a sissy SJW who is NOT a product person?
More evidence that Tim Cook is experiencing frequent Biden moments. Lost the living room, onto the garage. How’s that sapphire plant doing?
The Biden reference aside, what ever happened to the miracle sapphire glass products? The damned company couldn’t produce them large enough or perfect enough to be useful in an Apple product; so, $500,000 gone down the drain. Similarly with LQMY (Liquid Metal) which I still own a lot of. The only products to date are the crown and winding stem for the AppleWatch and the little paper clip looking thingy for opening the tray to access the SIM cards. Meanwhile, LQMT is languishing with tiny orders for finely crafted cast parts with no crystalline molecular structures to weaken them when stressed. A grand idea but so far, barely hanging on to life.
Under Steve products and innovation were key, under Cook its only about making money. Lach of vision and lack of leadership is why ATV is stalling.