Why AppleTV is more important than the iPhone
Tuesday, all anyone could talk about (including myself) was the iPhone. But the iPhone wasn’t the only piece of news; Steve Jobs also announced the availability of AppleTV. Clearly it wasn’t on people’s minds and Apple’s stock dipped during the announcement of Apple TV before skyrocketing when Jobs was talking about the iPhone.
But I believe we are being blinded by the bling of a sexy new gadget and overlooking the facts on these new devices, because Apple TV is the real gem of this Macworld. Here’s why.
The iPhone: I’ve been here before
Let’s take a look at the iPhone. Clearly it’s a stellar device: Mp3 player, web surfing, email, photos, video, and hey, it even makes phone calls. It’s UI is going to change the landscape of cell phones as well as Mp3 players. But take a closer look at that feature set and you’ll realize there only real new thing here is ease-of-use, which is extremely important, but outside of that there’s nothing going on with the iPhone that you can’t do with other top of the line devices.
I’ve looked at those other communication devices before and seriously considered them, but it was not the UI that stopped me from getting one. It was the price … of the device itself, but mostly the service. It’s just too expensive. So apple has improved the user experience, which is always a good thing in my book, but as far as I know they haven’t actually fixed the one thing keeping me from getting one of these fancypants devices, which is the price. (and on a side note, the iPhone’s virtual keyboard is already getting poor reviews and the word is that heavy texters will want to stick with the Blackberry-style devices.)
The iPhone will no doubt be a huge success and I do think it’s going to shake up the cell phone market, but where it’s innovating really is mostly in the UI. Now, let’s look at AppleTV.
Apple TV: truly the breakthrough
On the flipside, Apple TV (and the Xbox 360 as of just a few months ago) are doing things that no other mass-market devices have done: connecting your broadband to your TV set. Think about it: Video is hot. YouTube whizzed by Myspace to become the darling of 2006. Movie companies and TV studios are wading into the waters of digital distribution at a pace that makes the RIAA look like a freshly salted slug. Digital video is red hot, and it’s everywhere …. except for where it should be: on your television.
And that’s what Apple TV does. It connects your broadband connection to your TV. With the speed at which the Internet evolves, it is almost guaranteed that Apple TV is going to outpace satellite, cableTV, and terrestrial in both the services offered and the quality of the experience, and end up being the way that the masses get alltheir television, much in the same way that many households are getting rid of land lines and opting for cellphones only.
I know there’s been other niche players in this space before but Apple is so persuasive right now that they can legitimize a market just by entering it. Apple TV is focusing on delivering on-demand movies and TV shows to your TV. To some, it seems like Apple TV isn’t competing with CableTV/Satellite as much as it is with a DVD player. But as more people hook Apple TV and devices like it to their TV sets, and more studios sign up to have their material be digitally delivered, it will become advantageous for Apple to price their programming to compete with Satellite and CableTV -- in other words, offer subscription based content (rent) in addition to pay-per-download (buy), but with a breath and depth of the iTunes store. And once that happens, cableTV and satellite won’t be able to match the selection that a pure broadband solution has.
Imagine being able to assemble your own truly custom channel lineup rather than having to pick packages, as well as get on-demand access to any movie or TV show, as well as not-on-TV video podcasts, homegrown specialty content on basically any subject, and of course videos of puppies falling asleep. And you’ll watch it not by using a mouse and a computer, but by popping on your TV and using a remote control. Not to mention how it will change the publishing model for show and movie creators.
Apple won’t necessarily own the market because I think there’s potential for the consoles to make a lot of headway here. But Apple has really shined a light on something that up till now has been largely ignored by the CE industry, and I’m fairly confident that CableTV and Satellite won’t be able to innovate quickly enough in the contend and user experience departments.
In conclusion
Both the iPhone and Apple TV are game-changing products and are going to be huge hits. But in five years, I predict Apple TV will have changed television more than the iPhone will have changed communication. Apple TV really has the potential to change the landscape of television -- it’s still just a Model T so to speak.
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January 11th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Unless I’ve read everything wrong. AppleTV is connected not to the internet, but to your laptop or desktop. You can’t purchase a movie or TV show directly from iTunes (AppleTVs only source of content, none of which at the moment is HD), via AppleTV, but rather have to fire up your MacBook, buy the content, then transfer the content to AppleTV.
Indeed with only a 40gb HDD, it wouldn’t hold much content on it’s own anyways.
I agree the device is promising, but from what I’ve read about it, it seems that the only market it’s going to attract will be those who maybe don’t have cable or satellite and only buy content from iTunes to begin with, and can now watch that content on a TV screen.
January 11th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
In the keynote Steve Jobs talked about how it can play trailers directly from the iTunes store. I don’t know if that means your Mac has to be on, but I can’t think of a reason why that would need to be the case.
It is definitely going to take Apple TV some time and some new features to build up momentum, but that was also the case with the iPod. I’ll be watching ….
January 11th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I think the AppleTV looks very nice, however, my only and biggest gripe is that you are limited to the MP4 codec. If there was a way to make sure it could play DivX, AVI, etc, and future codecs, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Buying a Mac Mini would make more sense to me at this point.
January 11th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Let’s face it, the iPhone is just another phone. Yep, it’s got an awesome new interface, no denying it. Everything else about the iPhone is being done (with some minor exceptions that will be imitated shortly).
I think people also forget about Windows Media Center. It will be built into most versions of Windows with the Vista release. It’s a great system with a very intuitive interface (not as nicely designed as Apple’s stuff but that’s to be expected). Apple’s AppleTV interface is actually very reminiscent of WMC.
So, overall I don’t find any of this stuff that new or exciting. I certainly think it’s being way over hyped. And it just shows me that after all the talk people make about MS “stealing” ideas, Apple’s really not that far behind. Were Apple excels, without a doubt, is the design department, but the technology really isn’t anything new or different.
I’m hoping the iPhone syncs with Exchange, then it will be a very worthwhile investment for me.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
You make a good case for this viewpoint, thanks.
I’d like to see a social layer of interactivity above all such video displays, where you can get others’ viewpoints on what you’re currently watching, without having to ask your buddy list to all buy the same hardware, or all use the same service provider.
jd/adobe
January 12th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
You make great points. I love both devices, though I’m not sure I’ll ever own either one in the near future. Being a 360 owner already, I’ll probably stick to that system. It’s already by my plasma, and it’s already hooked up to the net.
As for the phone, being a cingular 8125 user I’m really interested in the iPhone has to offer. I’m not going to buy one in June, but when I break, or get sick of my current phone, I’ll consider the iPhone. Here are my reasons:
—I thought I’d use the 8125 for some web stuff. I don’t. If it’s not in WAP form it’s useless and takes forever. The iPhone looks to function much much better with the web, without the need for WAP pages. Having the internet with me all the time is pure geek love. I don’t even bother with my current phone.—Google Maps, I would have a mapping system with me all the time. That’s super cool.
The bad:—Price—Can you protect that thing? I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of cases for it. At least it doesn’t have sliding parts.—Closed system. I hear you can’t develop apps for it. Bummer. But maybe that’s a good thing, how many little dodads do you need to install on your phone anyway?—Keypad. I wish it was bigger, but I’ll have to play with it to see if it feels right.
As long as I can sink with all my email and read the internet that’s pretty cool.
TJ:
I saw Exchange Servers in the compatibility list in the Keynote. But I heard that it doesn’t sync with Outlook. Not sure about the last, that would be a negative for me, since I use Outlook at work and at home.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:39 pm
AppleTV and the IPhone go hand-in-hand. The keyword is: communcation! Once all the Apple-Devices communicate, Apple is ready to conquer your household!
Check out my blog-entries concerning this topic:
http://www.newsofthefuture.net/index.php?/archives/15-December-2,-2008-Smooth-music-transition-with-IPod-and-AppleTV.html
http://www.newsofthefuture.net/index.php?/archives/14-September-3,-2008-IPhone-is-a-remote-control.html