Apple’s Going to Change TV

The Apple TV, a small $99 box that hooks into your TV and pulls content from iTunes and has apps… kinda like a, well, a stationary iPhone… has been a “hobby” for Apple since 2007. Even though just a hobby, Apple’s sold 2.7 million so far in 2012. Rumors have been circulating that Apple would be getting into the TV hardware business, a business that currently has tiny margins (even losses) for manufacturers.

Apple would only get involved if there’s money.

Apple TV

Which means, if Apple does start making a TV, they’d have a game-changing revenue plan up their sleeve. They always have a plan. I remember when they cut the price of the iPhone to $200. When Steve Jobs announced that, the crowd at the Apple event groaned assuming Apple revenue and the stock price would crash. He smirked and said, essentially, “Trust us. We know what we’re doing.”

Is Apple getting into the hardware business? Well, five years ago when Steve Jobs announced the iPhone he said, “No one likes their phone. We want to build a phone people like.” (paraphrased)

Tim Cook, Apple’s current CEO, was interviewed by All Things D this week. He said, “Can we make a [TV] product that we all want? … Those are all the things we would ask about any new product category.” If that’s a yes, which I think it is given how they could use iTunes, apps and the 300 million+ iOS devices in market to expand/augment the TV experience, you’ll be seeing Apple TV’s on apple.com by next year. They’ll fly off shelves, change TV as we know it and other OEM’s will take years to catch up.