An inside look at why Apple has failed to revolutionize TV as it tests fifth-generation Apple TV, which sources say can stream ultra-high-definition 4K video
now what? Jeff Gamet / The Mac Observer : New Apple TV Getting 4K Video, But Not Much Else Mike Flaminio / Insanely Great Mac : Next Apple TV thought to offer 4K Don Reisinger / Tom's Guide : Apple's WWDC 2017 Kicks Off June 5: What to Expect Caitlin McGarry / TechConnect : Up next for Apple TV: 4K streaming reportedly in the works Kris Wouk / Digital Trends : Apple reportedly testing a new Apple TV, but it may not be a huge step forward Kif Leswing / Business Insider : Apple made a huge mistake when it decided not to take on Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation Brittany A. Roston / SlashGear : Apple TV Ultra HD 4K model tipped with codename J105 Rich Woods / Neowin : The next Apple TV will support 4K, in case you weren't expecting it Denisse Moreno / International Business Times : Apple WWDC 2017 In San Jose: iOS, macOS And Apple TV Updates Expected, Info on Conference Tickets Don Reisinger / Fortune : Apple Could Be Testing New Hardware for In-Home Entertainment David Katzmaier / CNET : Apple TV may get 4K video this year, according to report Adnan Farooqui / Ubergizmo : 4K Apple TV Launch Expected This Year Jesse Hollington / iLounge : Report: Apple working on 4K for next-generation Apple TV Oliver Haslam / Redmond Pie : Apple TV 5 With 4K Support Releasing Later This Year [Report] Jake Swearingen / New York Magazine : What's Stopping Apple From Making the Apple TV Great Christopher Baugh / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Getting Ready to Roll Out 4K-Capable Apple TV: Bloomberg Luke Dormehl / Cult of Mac : New Apple TV to bring super-sharp 4K video this year MacDailyNews : Apple vowed to revolutionize television; currently prepping an unremarkable 4K Apple TV instead Bryan M. Wolfe / AppAdvice.com Latest : Ultra High-Definition 4K Apple TV Launching This Year - Report Tim Hardwick / MacRumors : Apple Testing 4K Capable Fifth-Generation Apple TV For Possible Release This Year Steve Dent / Engadget : Bloomberg: The next Apple TV will be 4K Tweets: Danny Sullivan / @dannysullivan : Honestly, about the only reason to use an Apple TV over Amazon or Roku is for some HomeKit functionality. And even then... http://twitter.com/... Arik Hesseldahl / @ahess247 : I thought Steve Jobs told Walt Isaacson Apple had “figured out” TV? Maybe not so much. http://www.techmeme.com/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Other details from Apple TV story: tested “Intentions” interface, gaming controller plans, content ambitions, more https://www.bloomberg.com/... Alistair Barr / @alistairmbarr : “I signed up for revolutionary. We got evolutionary.” Inside Apple's struggle to revolutionize TV https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @markgurman Shira Ovide / @shiraovide : Quietly devastating @markgurman tale about why Apple couldn't fulfill its promise to reinvent TV. https://www.bloomberg.com/... pic.twitter.com/ujg1bteSVx See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV shipped in 2015 without 4K support — a decision reported at the time as deliberately skipping the format — and by late 2016 critics had tagged it as the only streaming device above $90 without HDR, with an app lacking Netflix and cable integration and calling for a total strategy revamp (the HDR gap analysis).
The new Bloomberg reporting says Apple is now testing a fifth-generation model capable of 4K streaming, but frames it around a bigger question: why the company has failed to revolutionize TV despite its ambitions. Subsequent reporting pointed to a September introduction alongside a revamped TV app highlighting live TV (the planned fall launch) and argued Apple's TV push only succeeds once its original shows reach the market amid an ongoing fight with media partners (Recode on the originals imperative).
First-order effects
- Apple closes the specification gap its own 2015 no-4K decision created, giving current Apple TV owners a concrete reason to upgrade after two years of falling behind rivals' boxes on picture quality.
- Content partners gain a 4K-capable Apple endpoint, but the simultaneous fight with those same media partners means the hardware fix does nothing yet about the licensing stalemate limiting the TV app.
Second-order effects
- With 4K hardware parity reached, differentiation shifts from specs to software and services — the updated TV app's live-TV aggregation and Apple's original programming become the actual battleground against Roku-style competitors.
- Rivals that already shipped 4K and HDR lose their easiest marketing wedge against Apple, forcing the comparison onto price, app breadth, and content libraries instead.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — hardware catching up years late while content deals lag — the set-top box itself commoditizes, and Apple's living-room position depends on whether originals can break the media-partner impasse rather than on any chip or display advantage.
- A recurring cycle of underpowered refreshes followed by catch-up updates risks training buyers to treat Apple TV as a follower product, ceding the default spot in the living room to cheaper competitors unless the service layer changes the calculus.
The trend: Streaming-device competition is migrating from hardware specifications, where Apple has repeatedly trailed, toward aggregated apps and exclusive originals as the basis of differentiation in the living room.