Apple missed the chance to make its TV boxes popular
Bloomberg has published a short article by Mark Gurman on the Apple TV set-top boxes. Now is the season of Christmas shopping amid a pandemic that has caused a sharp increase in the number of viewers and users of streaming services. The Apple TV family should have benefited from this, but it didn’t work out. Why then?
The current version of Apple’s set-top boxes has its roots in the mid-2010s when Apple’s first priority in the post-Steve Jobs era was to strengthen its presence in living rooms. This gave users a redesigned Apple TV in 2015, which included the App Store, touchscreen remote, gaming features, and deep integration with the Apple ecosystem.
Now, half a decade later, the product is facing intense competition. Rivals have introduced a range of new systems, while Apple has made only minor changes to the Apple TV since 2015. These changes include the addition of 4K output and gradual annual software updates.
The issue of price is also important. The latest Apple TV 4K costs the US $ 180. By comparison, an Amazon TV dongle (a device that plugs directly into the HDMI port) costs only $ 50. And Amazon sells a full $ 120 set-top box that understands voice commands from anywhere in the room. Meanwhile, the most expensive Roku turntable is $ 80, and Google recently released a well-received new $ 50 Chromecast dongle.
One of the hallmarks of Apple TV may have been exclusive access to content, but in recent years the industry has moved towards a model where all content is available everywhere. Apple TV + service is also available on Google, Amazon and Roku devices. In addition, the company’s TV service is now available on new Xbox, PlayStation 5 and TVs from Sony to Samsung. It doesn’t help Apple hardware sales, but it does increase Apple’s service revenue.
Yes, the set-top box has some advantages. Apple TV buyers get access to exclusive services like Fitness +, Apple Arcade gaming, Apple Music and Apple Podcasts, and the iCloud Photo Library. But unresolved problems remain. These include a remote that’s easy to lose and a little outdated software compared to the competition.
Next year, Apple plans to release a redesigned box with a stronger emphasis on gaming, an updated remote control and a new processor. These changes will fix some of the Apple TV issues, but to remain competitive in the long term, the product will need to make a bigger leap similar to the 2015 changes. Or you will have to sell the console much cheaper.
