Where's the TV Going?

I’ll start by saying what an TV fan I am. Well, there’s a revelation, right? OK, OK, I get it. I’m an admitted (and unapologetic) fanboy, so what the hell else would I say? Well, this may be hard to believe, but I do try to evaluate Apple hardware, software and services with an objective eye. To that point I’d like to start with what I don’t like about the TV…

First, I see the little “wait” spinner way too much. Now, I’m the first to admit I don’t have the speediest Internet connection in the world, but even when streaming video from my home network the TV makes me wait a lot more than other devices like ROKU or Amazon’s Fire Stick. I know what you’re thinking, “MacTexan, your home wi-fi is messed up.”  Wrong! I’m not using wi-fi. My TVs are both connected to a wired Ethernet gigabit LAN. I can hook my MacBook Pro to the same connection and transfer files at over 100 MB/sec. (that’s a big B, as in Byte, not bit) When we built our house I wired the whole place with Cat 5e cable and it’s all connected using Cisco gigabit switches. So, if the network ain’t the problem, what is? Gotta be the TV, right?

Second, the TV’s GUI is getting dated. This is a little harder to put my finger on and may just be a matter of personal preference. The channel “tiles” or icons, or whatever they’re called just pile up on the home screen. There’s no way to logically organize them save moving them around one at a time (which is clumsy and time consuming) or hiding them altogether. Some kind of folders or categories or separate pages would be helpful.

Third, the remote is 1) too tiny and 2) virtually featureless. I have been an Apple fan long enough to understand the minimalism infused into every Apple design, but c’mon. A person could lose an TV remote in their own pocket, much less a coin and Cheerio hungry sofa. I’ve seen people tape TV remotes to the back of their TV remote and various kitchen utensils to give the thing enough heft to keep it from disappearing. Also, the addition of just two or three more buttons would make a huge difference without destroying the minimalist vibe. The one that immediately comes to mind is a “Home” button to take me back to the main screen when I’m  seven or eight layers deep in some channel’s menu. Next, I’d like a “Sleep” button to turn the TV off. Now, I know there are existing button combinations to do these things, but do you remember what they are? Well, neither do I. Besides, Apple’s users shouldn’t be required to climb such a steep learning curve to use the TV.

Now the positive.

The Apple/iTunes ecosystem is far superior to any competitor’s. iTunes Home Sharing, AirPlay and AirDrop on the TV are light years ahead of DLNA and Chromecast. Without thinking or doing anything extra I can stream any video, share any photo or play any song, album or playlist from any Mac or iOS device to any other on my home network, including any of my TVs. Setup is as simple as turning the services on and signing in using my AppleID. Done. Just like in the original iMac commercial, “There is no step three!” I’ve setup a “whole home” entertainment system using a combination of Macs, TVs and AirPort Express wireless devices. I have six zones that can all be controlled individually using Apple’s Remote app on my iPhone. For example, I can stream music from my iTunes library on my Mac to any or all zones with individual volume control for each. AirPlay keeps each zone perfectly synchronized and the Remote app gives me full control with my iPhone and even limited control with my  Watch. What makes this even better is you don’t need any special sound system. Even though there are tons of AirPlay capable music systems available, any stereo or device with an aux input can be connected using an AirPort Express and a $5 cable. I bought used AirPort Expresses on EBay for less than $40 and refurbished ones from Apple for $65. I now have six zones (4 music & 2 TVs) using existing stereo equipment and my home wi-fi network for around $400. Conversly, a single-speaker Sonos system starts at $200 and goes up from there. Just reproducing my 4 music zones with stereo Sonos would set me back over $1600 and the Sonos only does audio. AirPlay adds the ability to instantly view any pictures or video’s I’ve taken right on my big TV. I can also mirror my iPad or iPhone screen. My MacBook Pro can use the TV as a mirrored or second display. All this stuff just works. Now, there’s no more crowding around an iPhone or iPad screen when I want to share something with others.

Picture and sound quality of the TV couldn’t be better. The current version supports 1080p and Dolby 5.1. It runs a modified version of iOS on a single core Apple A5 chip, 256 MB RAM and 4 gigs of flash storage. Yes, it is a bit dated. In fact, I’d call it stale. I would be very surprised if Apple doesn’t update it in the very near future. Some say it will happen at WWDC next week, but nobody (outside of Apple) knows for sure.

This brings me to the point of this whole post. We can be certain Apple will continue to negotiate new deals with content providers, so expect the channel line-up to grow, but what does Apple have up their sleeve for the next (gen 4) TV? Well, I’ve just happened to put a list together. It’s in order of most to least likely…

1. Faster Processor.  The current flagship is the A8X triple-core SOC in the iPad Air 2. Don’t know if Apple will go there, but it’s dead certain the CPU will be upgraded from the current, single core A5 (circa 2012) to one of their multi-core 64 bit chips.
2. More RAM. If you believe a faster processor is in the works, then it’s a given the RAM will get upgraded to at least 1 gig.
3. Upgraded Networking. All other Apple hardware now supports 802.11 a/c. I think the TV will be upgraded to the same. The question in my mind is what Apple will do with Ethernet. Given current trends in Cupertino, they may decide to get rid of the Ethernet port altogether. If they decide to keep it, I suspect it will be upgraded to gigabit.
4. HomeKit comes to the fore. HomeKit was announced nearly a year ago at last year’s WWDC. This week (just days before this year’s WWDC) we have announcements from major home automation companies like Nest and Ecobee that their HomeKit compatible products are now on store shelves. Coincidence? The TV may become the “Smart Hub” for a wide variety of do-it-yourself home automation solutions, finally putting a stop to the never-ending battle between competing platforms. 
5. More Flash Storage. The paltry 4 gigs in the current TV serves as little more than a buffer for video. The current “apps” on the device can’t consume more than a fourth of that given their relative simplicity. To keep the TV’s price in the $100 range and still allow for a reasonable number of future apps, I look for Apple to quadruple the storage to 16 gigs.
6. TV App Store. There seems to be no way around this, especially if the TV becomes the “always-on” device needed to monitor and control HomeKit capable devices. The question becomes, how far will Apple go? Will their curation rules restrict TV apps to a few HomeKit-enabled apps or will we soon be able to play Call of Duty? I think maybe somewhere in between.
7. Improved Remote. There’s a reason this is last on my list. While it is near the top of my personal wish list, I just don’t know if Apple has it within themselves to make this happen.

So that’s it for the MacTexan’s crystal ball. Well, at least concerning the TV anyway. If Apple announces any hardware upgrades at this year’s WWDC, the TV is a prime candidate. It’s been 3 years and three months since its last refresh. That’s long-in-the-tooth, even for Apple hobbies.