Why Apple shouldn't build a TV ... because it's already in the TV business!
Many pundits are suggesting that Apple should start making TV. I say Apple shouldn't build TVs because the company is already in the TV business.
Exhibit A: Patrick Moorhead, corporate VP at AMD, offers up his reasons why Apple should start building TVs. His reasoning goes as follows:
- The TV and STB (set-top boxes) business has big issues to deal with because their products aren't easy to use
- Big problems need a fearless company like Apple to come in and fix things
- People will pay for a superior TV experience
- Apple could master controlling the TV, maybe via voice or gestures
- 'If Apple developed a TV, they could conceivably guarantee that the iPhone, iPad, Time Capsule and Macs could seamlessly share content between each other.'
Exhibit B: This by Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop:
The iPod, iPhone and iPad are perfect examples of how Apple has entered existing markets with fresh ideas and dominated. With iTunes selling movies, videos and TV shows, and iCloud on the way, I wouldn't count Apple out of this market just yet.
Good points ... but ...
Why does Apple need to start building TVs? TVs are primarily defined based on two criteria:
- Screen size
- Price
Nothing else really matters that much ... not even important stuff like how many inputs it has or whether the remote control is usable. People look at the space in their room where the TV is to go, decide on a size based on that then make a decision on which TV to buy based on how much it will cost to fill that space.
What's worse than that, the profit margins on TVs are appallingly bad ... why does Apple 'have' to enter into such a poor market just because TVs have a screen and some computer-y looking stuff inside?
But the main reason that Apple shouldn't start building TVs is that Apple is already in the TV business. It sells a little black box called the AppleTV that will connect to any TV with an HDMI port ever made!
Not only that but it costs only $99 and can be controlled with the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch (and if you don't have one, it comes with its own remote control) and offers access to everything on iTunes plus Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo and much more. You can stream music, photos, video and even video from web apps to it from you iPhone/iPad/iPod touch ...
Given that Apple has a devices that connects to any HDMI-ready TV, and that gives owners access to a huge amount of content, and that this devices only costs $99 (and you can be sure that Apple is making a good return on this), why does Apple need to start making TVs?
I think that this is just a fanboy fantasy.
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