Personally I can’t wait for Apple to come in and reinvent the television. I envisage they’ll raise the bar like they did with the iPhone and make the market several times more competitive.
Televisions were invented in the late 1920s and colour came in 1940s. Since then we’ve been subject to a business model pioneered by the television networks. They serve us content, they serve us advertising and we have the ability to pay for premium subscription services (such as Foxtel or Cable) and connect peripheral devices.
At the moment the price point for TV’s is amazing. You can purchase a 40-inch Full-HD LED LCD for around $600 (AUD). Compare that to 4 years ago when I paid over $5000 (AUD) for 43-inch Semi-HD Plasma screen. Both the industrial design and the hardware is great, but this is not the issue. The issue with TVs is the experience.
The experience with TV’s is appalling. Every user interface varies between brand and model. There is no consistency in terms of design and frankly it’s pathetic. Let’s talk about a common task such as changing the channel. You pick up a remote and try to hit the impossible bulls-eye. Occasionally you do and then the television takes it’s merry time trying to fulfill your request.
With the UI aside have you forgotten about the plethora of boxes sitting within your cabinet? Let’s go back to 1993 when TV’s only supported one external device; now we have boxes for just about everything - cable networks, gaming consoles, network media devices, premium subscription services, convertors, boxes to connect more boxes and DVD & Blu-Ray players. It’s ridiculous!
The Apple TV was important for Apple, because it was their entry into the market. Steve Jobs always claimed it was a ‘hobby’ and they ‘weren’t very serious about it’, but it was a lot more than that. The Apple TV was a market tester. Are consumer’s prepared to pay for content? Do people actually listen to music on their TV’s? Or how about viewing photos? Finally how long do people spend watching TV? The latter question is very relevant. I think we all know the answer and the potential market size.
Now for the big unknowns. Has Apple thought extremely big? Does what their trying to do require commitment from networks all around the world? It’s quite possible. For example a feature such as trying to replay a TV program straight after it’s broadcast would require permission from the copyright holder.
Will the Apple Television disrupt the model where content is restricted by markets? At the moment networks purchase programs from content providers after they’ve had widespread success in their local markets. But lets not forget the internet exists today and consumers aren’t prepared to wait 12 months to see what the trending topics on Twitter are all about. They want it now and technologies such as BitTorrent enable this. Could we see a global change to this model across the spectrum? One day they might even go as far as allowing you to determine your own programming. Talk about a total change. All of a sudden you will be dictating your own programming instead of the networks. Going out for dinner later tonight? Then watch the news now instead of at 7:00pm. Video on demand already exists, but not in this capacity.
Last but not least I’m sure there is another billion dollar App market just waiting to be untapped in the living room. The problem Apple has here though is people aren’t going to get off the couch to touch their TV screens, they’ll have to use an iPad or a new category of device (remote on steroids). TheVerge (http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/18/2645399/apple-working-on-tv-new-interfaces-content-partnerships-wsj) claims people will use their voice which makes sense given the successful launch of Siri. I would love to check the weather, watch those videos I’d saved for later, play a few games or catchup on the news. There is definitely room for an App market here.
For Apple, reinventing the television makes sense. It extends their walled garden into your living room. They already control your phone, tablet and computer and now they want the 10-foot experience. I hope they have solved all of the problems including creating a universal product that works around the world. I look forward to a product debut in 2012.
