On the last two Fridays, Apple has quietly retired both the iMac Pro and original HomePod. Soon after, Oliver Haslam rightfully wondered whether the Apple TV was next on the chopping block. I'm more confident than not that the iPhone maker won't be killing off the Apple TV set-top box anytime soon. And yet, if it does, there's one scenario where this might be easier to swallow — if the company would introduce an Apple TV stick in its place.
A bizarre history
The Apple TV home media receiver has been updated a total of four times since the first box arrived in 2007. Since then, the machine has gone from being a media storage device to a streaming, and even gaming box. The current model, the Apple TV 4K, arrived in September 2017, along with plenty of great Apple TV accessories to go along with it. With its fourth-anniversary approaching, this model should soon get replaced by an update or, worse, get retired altogether.
For now, I'm convinced the former is going to happen before the end of the year. I hope Apple finally comes into the second decade of the 21st century and releases an Apple TV stick like Amazon and Roku did long ago. Sticks are much easier to use than stand-alone boxes that collect dust near a television. And yet, this isn't the main reason an Apple TV stick should arrive. Instead, it's all about the price and making Apple TV again a larger audience.
The Apple TV 4K is $179 for the 32GB version and $199 for the 64GB model. Apple is rarely aggressive when it comes to pricing products as it embraced the premium market long ago. And yet, when it comes to Apple TV, the company has always seemed much more out-of-sync than normal when looking at competitors.
The most expensive stand-alone Roku box, the Roku Ultra, is $100, for example, while Amazon charges $120 for its top-of-the-line Amazon Fire Cube. Both are on sale often, bringing the prices down even further. By contrast, it's hard to score even a modest discount on the Apple TV.
What is an Apple TV?
Over the years, I've always been confused about what type of product Cupertino wanted Apple TV to be. With the introduction of apps and later the Apple TV app, I've become convinced that entertainment was its long-term focus. Then Apple Arcade arrived, and my opinion quickly changed. The arrival of Apple TV+ made me think once again that entertainment was still Apple's primary focus. But, since you can now find Apple TV apps on smart TVs and other boxes, including Fire TV and Roku, I'm not so sure.
Two new products?
Assuming once again that Apple has no plans of killing its entertainment box, I think the time has come to draw a line for the product lineup. For three years now, we had the opportunity to choose from two Apple TV boxes. The two main differences between the (even) older fourth-generation Apple TV and the Apple TV 4K is the latter offering 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos sound and a better chip, which is the A10X Fusion with 64-bit architecture.
Looking ahead, I still believe Cupertino should continue to offer two Apple TV products. On one side, I envision an Apple TV stick that focuses exclusively on entertainment. On the other, an all-new Apple TV set-top box featuring entertainment, gaming, and Apple Fitness+, with a better chip and more storage.
Under this scenario, Apple could keep the new stand-alone Apple TV price in the three digits yet bring it closer to its competitors. With the Apple TV stick, the company should charge well below $100. With these two products, Apple could continue to cater to the all-or-nothing crowd while also targeting those who are only interested in streaming entertainment.
Will the Apple TV get its pink slip?
The end of the iMac Pro didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone in the industry. And yet, Apple's decision to discontinue the HomePod and apparently not replace it was entirely unexpected. It's so strange, that if someone had said at the beginning of the year that Apple would remove either the HomePod or the Apple TV from the market, I would have picked the Apple TV as the one most likely to end production.
I have long suspected a fresh Apple TV set-top box would arrive before the end of 2021. However, the HomePod surprise shows that anything can and will happen in the coming months. If Apple does make a change here, here's hoping there are two new Apple TVs in our future — and not a retirement party.
What do you think?
What should the iPhone maker do with Apple TV, the box or otherwise? Let us know in the comments below.
