The solution to Apple’s TV problems is still the obvious one

It’s a slow news week in the streaming world, which means it’s a great time to think about what’s wrong with Apple’s TV hardware strategy.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman led the charge, writing this week that Apple should launch a cheap streaming dongle—maybe even one without a remote control—to better-compete with the likes of Roku and Fire TV. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber chimed in next, arguing that the Apple TV hardware is fine as is and just needs a somewhat lower price if anything.

Respectfully, they’re both wrong. While I’m a big Apple TV fan who has one in my living room, neither a slightly cheaper model nor a much cheaper dongle will make Apple’s TV platform relevant. The solution is still the obvious one, which is for Apple to make an actual TV.

Limited reach

Analysts have speculated about an Apple television for about 15 years now, and as Gurman reports, Apple considered making a TV-like device a couple of times over the past decade. Ultimately, the company concluded that the manufacturing challenges were too great and the profit margins too thin.

This helps explain why Amazon started selling Apple TV+ subscriptionsthrough its Prime Video marketplace last month. Those who sign up through Prime get all the same content, but using Amazon’s app and billing system. Apple is so desperate for distribution on rival streaming platforms that it’s now willing to give Amazon a revenue cut and cede total control of the user experience for those who sign up for Apple TV+ via Prime.

Apple might not be in such a weak position if its own platform was more successful. But in 2022, Comscore found that Apple TV made up just 5 percent of connected TV devices in U.S. homes that stream video, versus 28 percent for Roku and 30 percent for Fire TV. Apple is almost entirely dependent on rivals for distribution on televisions, and it’s becoming a liability.