Apple TV is a categorization failure
by Horace Dediu
19 years of failure
Apple TV completes 19 years since its launch, as reports suggest a new model may arrive soon. Apple introduced the original Apple TV in January 2007, and released it in March the same year. The device marked Apple’s early step into home entertainment.
From simple streaming box to smart hub
Source: The Mac Observer
NB: The product was always misunderstood. Judged as a product, Apple TV was always without traction. Never seen as a hit, often ignored. The problem has always been with the assumption that Apple was a "product company" or a "design/marketing company" or the "Mac | iPod | iPhone company". The hint is in the observation of the name Apple TV being both a product and a service. From a hardware point of view, the Apple TV is almost a Mac Mini, but with an A-series chipset and a funny input device. It was also priced so low that it probably had minimal margins. But that was never the point. Apple TV hardware ended up being the "brains" of the TV itself and the "set-top box" and the gateway to all content on the screen. Quite an achievement for a flop.
3 comments
deemery ·
Using the Apple TV box as an 'isolation chamber' for other streaming services is a significantly unerappreciated feature, I think.
Sacto Joe ·
I agree, D. It's "one stop shopping" in Apple TV
It's always fun to see the services that let Apple link in, because they always show up in the Home choice so you just click and you pick up where you left off (PBS, HBO, etcetera). But others like Netflix don't show up there. Even so, if we want to watch a Netflix video, no problem.
Sacto Joe ·
"The product was always misunderstood."
You could say the Apple products that comment wouldn't apply to are very few and far between....