{"id":18496,"date":"2017-07-31T15:33:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T19:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=18496"},"modified":"2017-08-01T09:07:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T13:07:07","slug":"why-apple-should-make-a-cheaper-streamlined-apple-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/31\/why-apple-should-make-a-cheaper-streamlined-apple-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Apple Should Make a Cheaper, Streamlined Apple TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dan Moren<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Meanwhile, even some of the major improvements promised by Apple during last<\/em> year’s September event have yet to come to fruition: single sign-on, for example, continues to lack support from the major cable companies.<\/p>\n

As the fourth-generation Apple TV approaches the two-year mark, perhaps it’s time for Apple to take another look at its set-top box.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

But that assumption that apps would be a big thing on Apple TV also led Apple to make some other miscalculations. For example, the company continues to offer the Apple TV<\/a> in two models: a 32GB model for $149 and a 64GB model for $199.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

So, where to go from here? I’m skeptical we’ll see any major changes to the Apple TV line this fall, but what I’m hoping<\/em> for is this: a return to a lower cost Apple TV, somewhere in the $70-$99 range, with a modicum of storage, and perhaps a traditional remote with buttons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I wonder what Apple thinks the purpose of Apple TV is. The 4th incarnation raised the bar, but not enough to really compete in gaming<\/a>. It seems like a cheaper version would be better for both their content and iOS businesses. Don’t they want playing their content to be as easy as possible? Don’t they want AirPlay-equipped TVs to be ubiquitous<\/a>, making every iOS device (and Mac) more useful?<\/p>\n

If Amazon can sell a Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote<\/a> for $40, why can’t Apple sell an Apple TV for $50 instead of $150?<\/p>\n

Given that I don’t see any compelling tvOS apps, and have been having problems with my Apple TV 3<\/a>, I’m tempted to simply exit Apple’s video ecosystem. The main draw at this point, aside from the content I’ve already purchased, is probably the built-in Flickr app.<\/p>\n

Previously: The Businesses Apple Has Left Behind<\/a>, What Happened With the Apple TV 4<\/a>, Amazon Fire TV Stick 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update (2017-07-31): Michael Rockwell<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I think Apple will offer a lower priced Apple TV soon. There’s already historical precedent for reducing the price of the previous model when a new model is introduced — the third-generation Apple TV was available for $69 for a period of time after the current Apple TV was released. I think they’ll do the same when a more powerful, 4K-capable Apple TV goes on sale this fall.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Oluseyi Sonaiya<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Android TV is under development, but I’m not a believer in the streaming [puck] model. I find Chromecast provides a vastly better UX.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think I would like that better<\/a>, too.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dan Moren: Meanwhile, even some of the major improvements promised by Apple during last year’s September event have yet to come to fruition: single sign-on, for example, continues to lack support from the major cable companies. As the fourth-generation Apple TV approaches the two-year mark, perhaps it’s time for Apple to take another look at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[222,615,1446,116,31,1380,30,1381],"class_list":["post-18496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-airplay","tag-apple-tv","tag-fire-tv","tag-flickr","tag-ios","tag-ios-10","tag-mac","tag-macos-10-12"],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18496"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18513,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18496\/revisions\/18513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}