Worthless iTV Conjecture
I figured I’d join in the wildly uninformed conjecture about Apple’s new iTV, specifically its user interface. Speculating about future Apple products is as fun (and inaccurate) as predicting plot outcomes on Lost, and since that show’s off the air, all I have left now is Apple keynotes. I hoped Rubicon might fill that gap, but that show’s turning out to be as boring as watching paint dry.
Anyway. Lots of speculation over the new iTV interface. (If you’re new to the iTV, the successor to Apple’s Apple TV, you can read up about it at Engadget.) With the iTV running iOS, how will the UI adjust to handle the lack of touch? I think a remote-controlled cursor system is WAY too inelegant for an Apple implementation… but what other option do they have?
They’ll simply add a requirement to the device: in addition to buying the $99 iTV, you’ll also need to own an iOS4 capable Apple touch device. This move would be so typical of Apple for a number of reasons:
- They’re lowering the price of one product but requiring the purchase of another product, thus keeping the revenue stream level. Hell, they might even be taking a loss on iTV units (or breaking even)
- Encourages the continued expansion of the iPhone
- Adds a killer app for the iPad
- Will annoy a LOT of people
- Allows Apple to deliver a truly fantastic UX
In this scenario, your mobile device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) has an iTV remote app. The app is simply a mirror of your iTV screen. Interacting with the iTV remote app alters the content on the screen. Changing the content on the remote changes the content of the tv screen. In such a scenario, for your primary interaction with the device (control), you’ll be looking just at the remote. You’ll only start looking at your tv screen once you’ve loaded content (ie selected a show, a movie, a song, whatever).
By requiring an iOS 4 device, the remote app can work in the background, so you can load content via the remote, start watching on the tv, switch to Mail or Safari on your iPhone, then pull the remote app back up from the tray when you want.
There’s also some opportunity for some amazing future expansion here. Imagine “pairing” apps for iTV and iPhone/iPad - for example, an MLB app that streams games to the iTV while showing matching content on your “remote”, ie statistics based on the current batter, pitcher, whatever. Or an IMDB app paired with a movie app. A music lyrics app paired with iTV iTunes. Etc. The ability to pair apps, for a developer, would lead to amazing creative opportunities AND an increased revenue stream.
This move would tick off a lot of people. But it would make for an incredible product.
What’s YOUR worthless iTV conjecture?
