Could Apple Make a TV?

One of the bigger questions about Apple right now is "could Apple make a TV?"

My answer: Yes and no.

"Huh?"

Allow me to explain.

Yes because what they could make would be called a TV, because it would have that kind of functionality built in, much in the same way that an iPhone is called a phone because it has phone functionality built in.

No because, just like the iPhone, a TV made by Apple wouldn't be a TV as we know it so much as it would be a computer that happens to have specialized functionality.

Apple being Apple, any new integrated device they introduce, such as a TV, would run some version of iOS. Not the iOS of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, but the iOS of the current AppleTV with some modifications for use as a full television instead of an addition to a television.

"How would that work?"

It would be similar to how Apple put the phone functionality of the iPhone in an app, the TV functionality of an Apple-branded TV would be delegated to an app.

How do you fit an app like that into the current AppleTV interface? As I see it, you can just add another column in the main interface, labelled "Apps", with "TV" being one of the built-in apps. I'll get back to the app's function later in the post.

However, people don't want to pay for ever single show they watch. Especially not couch potatoes.

Therefore it would probably be in Apple's best interest to set up some content deals with Hollywood to get access to all of the best networks' TV shows and movies. They already have deals to sell and rent video content but not to stream it all at a fixed monthly cost, à-la Netflix. Not yet, so far that we know, anyway.

For sports, Apple's already shown the direction it's planning to go in with its latest MLB and NBA deals.

As for TV show, if Season Passes were made to be cheaper, since customers would only be renting or streaming the shows instead of buying them, customers would be more than willing to pay by the TV show for new content. $9.99 for a season of House, being able to watch the episode as it airs, or any time after? Sold.

As for older content, Apple could work out the same kind of deal as Netflix and get cheap access to the older content. Either that or they can simply continue to give access to Netflix's ever-expanding library. Anything that's not available on Netflix, or an Apple version of a Netflix-like service, Apple could just offer as a $0.99 rental on the iTunes side of things.

News, weather, and other types of live broadcasts? You have iOS devices for that. If you really need them on your TV, though, there will likely be apps for that.

That takes care of most of the software and content.

"What about hardware?"

In the consumer world, choice is bad. Choice leads to bad decisions, and frustrated customers. That means that, much like with its current lineup, Apple's going to be making most of the decisions for its customers, starting with screen size.

Apple's handheld devices currently have 2 sizes: 3.5" and 10". Portables come in at 11", 13", 15", and 17". Desktops at 21" and 27".

TVs currently exist at just about every size between 10" and 100", which means Apple will have to choose a handful from the over-abundance of current options.

I won't try to guess which sizes Apple will choose but I'll go so far as to say that if/when they come out with their handful of screen sizes, those sizes will be what Apple considers to be the best sizes.

If I did have to guess, however, I'd say that Apple would chose 40", 50", and 60". 3 sizes, each 10" apart. Simple enough.

In terms of looks, I have a strong feeling it would look like a giant Apple LED display: a big, glass-covered screen and a 1" black border on the glass around the screen. No matte option.

"What about ports?"

Simple.

Look at the AppleTV: HDMI, ethernet, optical audio out, and power. There's also WiFi, to help save from having another cable. I'd be willing to bet there'd be something similar on an Apple-branded TV: A single HDMI input, an audio out port, and power. HDMI can do ethernet now, so I think Apple might try to push that capability to be able to have less ports on its TV.

Except there won't be ports on the TV.

"What?"

Well, at least not anything other than the single port for power. Just like with Apple's displays, there will only be only one port, one cable that you can hook up to a small set of ports and plugs at the other end of the cable.

"How do you get multiple inputs?"

You don't.

Not physical inputs, anyway. If you want to load external content on to the TV, use AirPlay. Using external speakers? AirPlay.

"What about all my old home videos? and my DVD collection? and my game console? and X, Y, Z?"

Well, there's two options: Convert them into a format that can play on Apple's TV, or use the single HDMI input.

Most people wouldn't be ready to make a complete switch to an Apple-branded TV right away, similar to how people weren't ready to ditch SCSI, or the floppy disk, or optical media. But that's the direction Apple's headed, and it won't stop just so you can feel nostalgic.

Want to use that old VCR to play you bootleg copy of that Van Halen concert your friend went to while the audio plays through your kick-ass speaker system? You can still do that. With adapters. Most HiFi receivers include at least one RCA audio/video in/out and at least 1 HDMI in/out, so almost any recent HiFi system could serve as your temporary adapter until you digitize your collection for use on Apple's TV.

Apple doesn't do legacy support. It doesn't support computers more than a few years old. It doesn't support handhelds more than a couple of years old. It definitely won't support your legacy TV appliances.

"But the market's already saturated, the margins are razor slim, blah blah blah."

That's nice. That's the old TV market, before Apple entered the game. There was a computer market before Apple, but then Apple defined the personal computer market. There was a music player market long before the iPod, but Apple redefined that market, too. There was a phone market for decades before the iPhone, but then Apple reinvented the phone. There were tablets long before the iPad came along, but then Apple created something magical.

Apple could do the same thing with TV.

They can make the hardware, they've already got the software, and they've more than likely already got the deals with content providers. They've got an end-to-end solution, just like every other market they're in. It's just a matter of putting on the final touches and shipping the finished product, which I would guess isn't too far away.

Some time in September, along with updated versions of other iOS devices, sounds like as good a time as any to bring an Apple-style revolution to the living room.