Apple assessed Apple TV 'dongle' to goose adoption of new streaming service, report says
Apple has reportedly conducted internal discussions about an Apple TV streaming stick similar to devices offered by Amazon and Google, a low-cost hardware option that would be well positioned to proliferate a video streaming service rumored to debut next year.
Amazon's Fire Stick
A sparsely detailed report from The Information claims Apple employees considered the creation of an Apple TV dongle, hardware that would compete against Amazon's Fire Stick and Google's Chromecast, in a bid to increase adoption of an as-yet-unannounced streaming product.
The hardware would presumably plug in to USB or HDMI ports on modern televisions, allowing quick and easy access to the tvOS platform. More importantly, streaming sticks are much less expensive than set-top boxes, meaning Apple is, or was, mulling a downmarket grab.
Whether the company moved to develop the product, or has plans to do so, is unknown. Also unknown is how far up the ladder these discussions went. Apple engineers often toss around ideas about side projects that never make it beyond their team, let alone to the C-suite. However, there are a select few -- rarities like the HomePod -- that do become shipping products.
However, that some Apple workers considered a low-cost Apple TV option is telling of the company's desire to push its upcoming video streaming service. For a consumer electronics firm that stakes its claim on high-end products, recently doubling down on the strategy with 2018 iPhone and iPad model pricing, marketing a relatively inexpensive dongle would be a break in form.
Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV is priced at $149, while the Apple TV 4K comes in at $179, figures well above competing offerings from market leader Roku. Pricing is considered a major factor in Apple's dwindling share of the streaming device market.
Still, reports indicate Apple is investing at least $1 billion on a new streaming service expected to debut next year. From TV series to movies, the tech giant has contracted with some of the biggest names in Hollywood to seed content for the unannounced video product.
How the service will be marketed is unclear, though rumors suggest everything from a standalone product to a bundle with Apple Music and News, the latter folding in assets from Apple's recent purchase of digital magazine subscription service Texture.
A report last month claimed original shows will initially be made available for free through the TV app, software currently accessible on iOS and tvOS.
Amazon's Fire Stick
A sparsely detailed report from The Information claims Apple employees considered the creation of an Apple TV dongle, hardware that would compete against Amazon's Fire Stick and Google's Chromecast, in a bid to increase adoption of an as-yet-unannounced streaming product.
The hardware would presumably plug in to USB or HDMI ports on modern televisions, allowing quick and easy access to the tvOS platform. More importantly, streaming sticks are much less expensive than set-top boxes, meaning Apple is, or was, mulling a downmarket grab.
Whether the company moved to develop the product, or has plans to do so, is unknown. Also unknown is how far up the ladder these discussions went. Apple engineers often toss around ideas about side projects that never make it beyond their team, let alone to the C-suite. However, there are a select few -- rarities like the HomePod -- that do become shipping products.
However, that some Apple workers considered a low-cost Apple TV option is telling of the company's desire to push its upcoming video streaming service. For a consumer electronics firm that stakes its claim on high-end products, recently doubling down on the strategy with 2018 iPhone and iPad model pricing, marketing a relatively inexpensive dongle would be a break in form.
Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV is priced at $149, while the Apple TV 4K comes in at $179, figures well above competing offerings from market leader Roku. Pricing is considered a major factor in Apple's dwindling share of the streaming device market.
Still, reports indicate Apple is investing at least $1 billion on a new streaming service expected to debut next year. From TV series to movies, the tech giant has contracted with some of the biggest names in Hollywood to seed content for the unannounced video product.
How the service will be marketed is unclear, though rumors suggest everything from a standalone product to a bundle with Apple Music and News, the latter folding in assets from Apple's recent purchase of digital magazine subscription service Texture.
A report last month claimed original shows will initially be made available for free through the TV app, software currently accessible on iOS and tvOS.
Comments
The list of weirdness got a little longer yesterday. In addition to the long-standing issues, such as...
1. Locally-stored content and cloud based content are listed in separate sections, so finding a title requires looking in two different places.
2. "Looking" is the only option for rips and downloaded content, because tvOS doesn't search local content.
3. Some services appear in the TV app, others don't.
4. The OS routinely fails to notice that we've already watched something, so when we go to watch a new episode we're presented with the last one we watched instead.
5. It does not allow purchases of individual songs. The only music acquisition option is a subscription to Apple Music.
...we can now add:
6. Despite being signed in to my iTunes account, it now occasionally reports that I have no purchases to view. I have to restart it to get it to "see" my purchases.
This is the kind of thing I might expect and tolerate in a $50 off-brand device, but it's really disappointing in an Apple product that costs two hundred bucks.
I currently have a cheap Android TV box (vorke) and an expensive Android TV box (Shield), plus some WD Live players.
I own 3 ATVs, two 4K models and one 4th gen for my 3 TVs at home. I have completely nuked cable and gone all in with Directv Now, along with Prime Video and Netflix, so these 3 are my only “boxes” in my home.
1) what “locally stored” content are you referring to? ATV is a streaming device. The only “local” content are the apps you install.
2) Rips as in “pirated” or “copy protected content” that’s been removed of copy protection? Don’t ever expect Apple to support anything like that. They are 100% behind content creators/owners. You need to re-adjust your expectations as that will never occur. Your best work around is to setup a NAS and use a streaming app like Infuse or Plex.
3) It’s up to those services, not Apple, to become searchable and show up in the TV app. You are laying blame to the wrong party.
4) I’ve run into this from time to time. It is a minor annoyance. It usually happens because you didn’t “skip” on to the next episode, or didn’t finish the credits, so the app thinks there’s more to watch. I now make certain that I start 2-3 seconds of the next episode to avoid this problem.
5) there isn’t a full Music app on ATV. It’s basically a companion app for your phone/iPad. Personally I like it that way. I would find it cumbersome to buy Music on the TV, however, that is a personal preference.
6)It sounds like you need to do a hard reset for “restore as new.” I have never experienced this issue on any of my 3 ATVs, and I have both my and my spouse’s accounts loaded on all 3 ATVs.
Just pay attention to the damn thing. every major release feels like a small point release every year. Stop cheating out and put the best possible processors in it.
????
The controller is an optional purchase. Many people's biggest complaint is its lack of focus on gaming.
I think most rental prices are fair except those that exceed $4.99. The Netflix comparison is ridiculous since you can rent anything on iTunes.
#3 really threw me off. Netflix is really resisting for some reason.
I used to download everything, but the new Apple TV makes that less convenient than just leaving stuff in the "cloud." That doesn't seem to a good idea though, as titles are sometimes dropped and if they aren't downloaded they're gone forever. So far that's happened with two titles I purchased from Apple. A third title no longer shows as "purchased" on the iTunes Store even though I bought it. In all three cases having downloaded the title at the time of purchase prevented changes at Apple's end from being a problem at my end.
I'm vehemently opposed to piracy, but I'm also a strong advocate of reasonable fair use terms. I refuse to accept that ripping a DVD I paid for constitutes piracy. I paid for a license, not a disc, and I'm not depriving the creator of revenue because I don't pass it along to others.
The ripped files present to tvOS the same way as content I've created myself and that from sources other than Apple. It's not something that requires additional support in any area other than "attitude." tvOS simply provides only the absolute minimum possible integration for any material that does not come from an online source. Why it treats its own Home Sharing service as a second-class citizen is beyond me.
First, we now let the credits play out and wait until the show returns us to the OS on its own. We don't "stop" the playback at all. The problem persists despite that.
Second, if we left a movie or show somewhere in the middle, then watch the rest later, the ATV will "remember" the partway start point, not a new position nearer the end.
The Apple TV 2 I have was alright for a while, but I bought a TCL 4K TV with Roku and I'll be sticking to that for any new devices ($35 is it?). From what I read here and elsewhere, it doesn't sound like Apple has thoroughly, properly (or at all?) integrated local content with cloud content (yes, it's legal to rip CDs that you have purchased; and yes, it's reasonable to want to play movies purchased and downloaded to iTunes on your Apple TV). Seems to be the same with HomePod.
I agree that a $200 device shouldn't keep forgetting your login info and require restarts, and I agree that Apple should be more focused on user experience and require third party apps to be properly integrated.
I thought they couldn't force developers to follow such rules?
Otherwise you two make a good point. Could be like the 64-bit thing where they gave developers time and then warned them their apps won't work in the future.
I've got no problem with being put in my place when appropriate, but I don't see how that applies in this case.
Uh, if not Apple, who *IS* responsible for the decisions about how tvOS works? One can argue that integration with the TV app is up to the service providers, but even that is subject to debate. Every single other point is 100% on Apple.
Ok, grandpa!
in related news, Apple says no to thousands of things...
Whats the point of giant storage space and high price if we can’t even download purchased movies onto it ffs. And what’s the point of having a recent-gen A series chip if they’re going to fumble the deployment of gaming?
As an all-in Apple customer, I own 3 of them. But it’s so unnecessary/limited in its current form.
It’s kinda shitty that Apple still leaves huge holes in its ecosystem like this.
My gripe is the touch remote, and the GUI, as nice as it was when launched, could stand the next phase of modernization
Most complaints I see are the same ones the windows/android crowd would give. “(the big one) can’t pirate, Can’t modify, too expensive, want it for $40.
Between the ATV4 and the two HomePods, it’s almost $900 of Apple equipment - and its a pretty crappy experience.
Which is a shame - I love all my other Apple gear. I think Apple is still treating ATV as a hobby - despite what Cook claimed a few years ago.
My two bits.