People Might Actually Buy the New Apple TV

Apple is preparing a new incarnation of Apple TV, its old internet-connected television set-top box. So says a report, at least, from those internet mavens at Buzzfeed, citing unnamed sources familiar with the company’s plans.

According these sources, Apple will include an iPhone-like App Store, let you control the thing via a Siri-like speech-recognizing digital assistant, offer a way of remotely controlling other gear in your home, beef up its storage, and toss in your very own, er, A8 system-on-a-chip.

All this is a bit underwhelming, especially when you consider that Apple TV has never really taken off—at least not in the way the iPhone and the iPad and the Mac have. In many respects, it’s just redundant (any smart TV lets you download shows from the internet) or too much like other internet set-tops (from Roku to the Xbox). Even with all that new stuff, you still have to wonder if this represents much of a change.

You could actually do what you most want to do with a TV device: watch TV.

But there’s another item to consider. It popped up a few days before the Buzzfeed report, and it’s the one thing that can really change the equation for Apple TV: live television streaming.

Apparently, Apple is negotiating with broadcasters to stream many of the big television networks straight to Apple TV, including ABC, CBS, and Fox. That’s what can finally make the set-top an attractive thing. It then becomes a true hub for the home.

You can not only download shows and movies and music from iTunes, remotely control everything from your lights to your toaster, and think great thoughts about your A8 system-on-a-chip, but actually do what you most want to do with a TV device: watch TV. If Apple offers enough channels—including, most notably, enough live sports—you can even ditch your cable box. That is real value. Suddenly, home automation and Siri-ness become a lot more attractive.

Apple TV for Everything?

What can really set a set-top box apart is the ability to do, well, everything. If you throw streaming TV into the mix, that’s what Apple TV can give you. “Apple is on the offensive,” says Stephen Beck, the founder of cg42, a consulting firm that has carefully tracked to internet television over the last few years. “Their hobby is no longer a hobby.”

The rub is that, according to The Wall Street Journal, talks have broken down with NBC. NBC is owned by Comcast, the country’s largest cable operator, and it has reason to keep this hole in Apple’s service. “At the end of the day,” Beck says. “Comcast wants to preserve its existing model.” Apple TV may not quite give you everything.

But even Comcast sees where TV is moving. NBC, after all, is available on a similar service that streams internet TV to Sony Playstation consoles. And it will come to other set-tops too. Step by step, we’re moving towards a world where an Apple TV is as attractive as an iPhone.