We’re a couple hours from WWDC keynote, and it’ no secret that Apple will be announcing a new version of the Apple TV – one that includes the Television. Which means that Apple is going after your home entertainment center. But will you pay 3 times the price for an Apple TV, or will it be affordable for anyone to own?
What an Apple TV can offer?
Apple has been hard at work with the Retina display. They can literally offer a better than 1080p resolution (2048 x 1536 to be exact). Imagine if that same technology is in your TV. You can also throw video from your iPad, iPhone or Macbook to TV. The app store can offer you movies, music and games at the touch of a button. If they can make it as thin as an iPad, you will have a great TV for your home!
What Apple Needs to Work on for an Apple TV?
There are two things that could keep Apple from hitting this out of the park. First, we’ll talk about pricing. Apple has been known to have over-priced products. A Macbook Pro can cost 2-3 times more than a PC. The iPad is twice as much as Android competitors. The only real affordable Apple device was the Apple TV. For $99, you had many Over the Top Television options.
Will we continue to see those prices if the device enters into a TV? While the retina display would be nice, the only thing that could utilize it would be a Blu-Ray disc. All other content – from cable, internet, and other OTT will have compression to it. A YouTube video on a high resolution monitor would be like looking at a picture taken from a digital camera in 2002. It still looks pixelated.
The other issue is sound. The Apple speaker systems on Macbook, iPad and iPhone have not been the best. How will it fair to the theater crowd? I already have an LED TV that sounds like crap without an external speaker system. Can Apple offer a better sound experience?
We’ll have answers in only a few hours. If the price is right, then taking over the TV will be the best thing Apple can do. Of course, we will also learn about other advancements, like new Macbooks and iOS6. Maybe even a Holographic Steve Jobs?
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