Apple’s missed opportunities
Apple has owned the market for digital media ecosystems. The majority of people use iTunes for managing their music and many use it for their video content as well. But the likes of Samsung make very good, some say better, smartphones at lower prices than Apple, and the cheaper Chinese manufacturers are growing significantly. There is the possibility that Apple competitors will see the importance of the “glue” that ecosystems give them, and use the same one in their smartphones, smart TV, tablets and even IoT devices. Google has already started down that path with Android.
Apple used to be known for its early introductions of new technologies, which is why it is truly amazing that as mid-2016 approaches, Apple has still not addressed two major opportunities that should have been naturals for it: 4K and HDR – both its iTunes store and Apple TV net top lack 4K.
Every other major pay-to-view OTT service offers 4K including Google’s YouTube, Vudu (owned by Walmart), which is not exactly known for being a technology leader, Comcast’s Fandango, and the start-up NanoTech’s UltraFlix.
Most people found it hard to believe that Apple recently introduced a new Apple TV that didn’t support 4K, much less HDR, which in its younger days Apple would have jumped on before it became widespread – a me-too. Apple has had other digital media technology shortfalls. It was one of the first with a net top box but it did not use the Apple TV as the hub for a whole-home entertainment system. Roku and Google’s Cast (née Chromecast) has reportedly passed the Apple TV in unit sales. Google has been extending the reach of its Cast technology. It supports audio systems as well as TVs and is in Android phones and Android TVs, aswell as a core part of the Chrome browser.
Apple also could have built a Netflix-like company, what with the contacts it has in the media world and its deep pockets. What would Apple’s loyal fans have signed up for if Apple had offered a subscription OTT service when Netflix was only renting DVDs? Its reluctance to buy an established company may have cost Apple dearly. And now the subscription OTT service Hulu is about to offer a pay TV service that is streamed over the internet. It could have been Apple and its TV sets – if it “owned” the subscription OTT market.
Whatever happened to the Apple TV set? Steve Jobs once famously told his book’s author Walter Isaacson, “I finally cracked it.” Jobs said, “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine.”
It has never been seen, maybe because of the recent major changes in TV technology and the pay TV industry’s reluctance to license their content at reasonable rates. Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had killed the Apple TV project in 2014. Apple may be thinking more about watches and cars and payment services but it missed a big opportunity in the digital entertainment market – and there are lots of homes worldwide that would have bought more Apple products and its highly profitable services.
This first ran in Rider Research’s Online Reporter.
http://www.rethinkresearch.biz/articles/apple...rtunities/
Apple has owned the market for digital media ecosystems. The majority of people use iTunes for managing their music and many use it for their video content as well. But the likes of Samsung make very good, some say better, smartphones at lower prices than Apple, and the cheaper Chinese manufacturers are growing significantly. There is the possibility that Apple competitors will see the importance of the “glue” that ecosystems give them, and use the same one in their smartphones, smart TV, tablets and even IoT devices. Google has already started down that path with Android.
Apple used to be known for its early introductions of new technologies, which is why it is truly amazing that as mid-2016 approaches, Apple has still not addressed two major opportunities that should have been naturals for it: 4K and HDR – both its iTunes store and Apple TV net top lack 4K.
Every other major pay-to-view OTT service offers 4K including Google’s YouTube, Vudu (owned by Walmart), which is not exactly known for being a technology leader, Comcast’s Fandango, and the start-up NanoTech’s UltraFlix.
Most people found it hard to believe that Apple recently introduced a new Apple TV that didn’t support 4K, much less HDR, which in its younger days Apple would have jumped on before it became widespread – a me-too. Apple has had other digital media technology shortfalls. It was one of the first with a net top box but it did not use the Apple TV as the hub for a whole-home entertainment system. Roku and Google’s Cast (née Chromecast) has reportedly passed the Apple TV in unit sales. Google has been extending the reach of its Cast technology. It supports audio systems as well as TVs and is in Android phones and Android TVs, aswell as a core part of the Chrome browser.
Apple also could have built a Netflix-like company, what with the contacts it has in the media world and its deep pockets. What would Apple’s loyal fans have signed up for if Apple had offered a subscription OTT service when Netflix was only renting DVDs? Its reluctance to buy an established company may have cost Apple dearly. And now the subscription OTT service Hulu is about to offer a pay TV service that is streamed over the internet. It could have been Apple and its TV sets – if it “owned” the subscription OTT market.
Whatever happened to the Apple TV set? Steve Jobs once famously told his book’s author Walter Isaacson, “I finally cracked it.” Jobs said, “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine.”
It has never been seen, maybe because of the recent major changes in TV technology and the pay TV industry’s reluctance to license their content at reasonable rates. Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had killed the Apple TV project in 2014. Apple may be thinking more about watches and cars and payment services but it missed a big opportunity in the digital entertainment market – and there are lots of homes worldwide that would have bought more Apple products and its highly profitable services.
This first ran in Rider Research’s Online Reporter.
http://www.rethinkresearch.biz/articles/apple...rtunities/
