Apple TV is finally here (sort of)

Apple had their big announcement today, but their streaming service won't be here until October. Guess what? We don't know the price.

Apple TV+ appears to be an all original content streaming platform. Netflix has been adding original content and it's goal is to have 50/50 original content and other shows that are purchased, but Apple looks like it will forego syndicated shows.

The expectation is that Apple TV+ will be cheaper than Netflix.

The hardware is expensive, up to $200, but you would expect no less from Apple.

Roku has a variety of products, but the most expensive is $100 more or less equivalent to Apple
Roku Express $29.99
Roku Express+ $35.00
Roku Premiere 4K & HDR streaming made easy. $39.99
Roku Premiere+ 4K & HDR streaming made easy. Plus, enhanced voice remote. $49.99
Roku® Streaming Stick® Powerful & portable. $49.99
Roku® Streaming Stick®+ Exceptional wireless performance. Brilliant picture quality. $49.99
Roku Ultra Our ultimate player. Powerful quad-core & our best wireless performance. $99.99

Apple is expected to spend $2 billion this year on original content that it hopes can stand toe to toe with shows from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and others. But it’s got some catching up to do (Netflix is spending billions more in 2019), and the company didn’t show trailers or clips for many of the projects it went over, as a good number are still in the works. It did show a short video montage featuring several shows, however.



T-Mobile is expected to preview their new service this year as well.

I think if they require Apple hardware to watch it, they are in for a tough road. They need to follow the Amazon model and sell hardware but also allow other devices to stream it.

Quote: DRich

I think if they require Apple hardware to watch it, they are in for a tough road.

The service will be coming to a range of smart TVs and streaming boxes via an updated Apple TV app. These include TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio, and streaming services from Roku and Amazon. The app will be available on Macs, too. This broad launch is notable and follows Apple’s wider pivot to focus on services instead of hardware. The company knows that if its TV subscription service is going to succeed, it needs to be available wherever people are currently watching films and TV. That means partnering with firms that might usually be dismissed as rivals.

Netflix isn’t backing the new TV app, and so it doesn’t offer this integration. But it sounds like even Amazon and Hulu will allow their content to be watched within the Apple TV app, which is a significant achievement for Apple.