Apple is Solving its Entertainment Business Problems on Multiple Fronts

[Note: this edition of Particle Debris was delayed from Friday, Oct 20th.]

The Apple TV 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos will be a new launching point. Image credit: Apple

Dan Moren at Macworld ponders: “How Apple can build a better video streaming service.” This is a well written article. Check it out.

Author Moren’s article got me thinking about the contrast between Apple’s music efforts in the past and its TV/movie efforts of the present.

Apple’s iTunes rocked (and saved) the music industry from self-destruction. Before iTunes, piracy and and studio obsession with plastic CDs was debilitating the industry, one that didn’t have the coherence and technical expertise to bring music to customers the way iTunes did.

In contrast, Apple has always seemed to be odd-man-out in the TV and movies business. And that’s for good reason, as we know. But much of the blame still rests on Apple’s shoulders. That’s because, I believe, Apple never really worked to become part of the video entertainment industry. That led to Apple’s failure to deliver its own subscription service. “3 Reasons Apple’s TV Subscription Service Failed.”

Apple has always had its own unique vision combined with a concentration of leadership and power at the top without much expertise or connections to the studios. Lately, Apple has been working to fix part of that by making some major hires in terms of content creation and production. If the Apple executive teams plays this right, it will lead to better relations with the studios these people came from.

Another factor is that the Apple TV lost its competitive edge against Roku. I’ve written about this before. “Roku Beats Up on Apple TV 4K and Loves it. Here’s How.”

Because Apple didn’t dive into the 4K industry early, roll up it’s sleeves and compete aggressively against Roku (and Amazon), didn’t have expertise in video entertainment, didn’t become a trusted partner in the industry and didn’t celebrate that status, TV and movies always seemed like an afterthought, slightly incoherent, slightly incomplete and less than wholly integrated into the video entertainment industry as a whole.

It’s my sense that customers who weren’t brand loyal (and some who are) sensed this, and that led to the slow decline in market share of the Apple TV. The imminent arrival of Amazon Prime Video for Apple TV is huge. An Apple TV with 4K and HDR is going to help quite a bit if Apple gets out there with the product, celebrates it and develops new marketing strategies.

I believe that Apple is finally working to fix those legacy problems in terms of its hardware and corporate management. But it’s going to take some time.

Next Page: The News Debris For The Week Of October 16th. OLED 4K TVs now affordable.

Page 2 – News Debris For The Week Of October 16th

Some OLED 4K TVs to Consider

There’s no question that OLED TVs have superior display characteristics compared to LCDs. Sophisticated LCDs with terrific LED matrix/array backlighting and advanced technologies such as Quantum Dots have come a long way, but they’re still no equal to Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays. Years of testing by CNET has shown this to be true.

It’s no accident, as well, that Apple’s new iPhone X will feature an OLED display, and the Apple Watch has had a small OLED display for years.

And so, if you’re thinking about a 4K/UHD/HDR TV for the holidays and have been casting a loving eye on the OLED models, the prices of some are suddenly within the realm of a well-equipped MacBook Pro. At least in the 55-inch class.

Here’s a nice round up at engadget. “Which 4K OLED sets are worth buying?”

Sony’s OLED XBR-A1E 4K/UHD/HDR TV. Image credit: Sony.

More Debris

• The headline at Mac Rumors says it all. “Apple’s Craig Federighi Confirms There’s No October Event in the Works.” Another event seemed unlikely all along because the HomePod and the iMac Pro aren’t sufficient justification to bring everyone back to the Steve Jobs Theater so soon. Plus, the iMac Pro, starting at near $5,000 is geared towards a small part of the marke. (It’s still important, however.)

• It’s looks like the Mac mini isn’t dead yet. “Tim Cook: Mac mini still an ‘important part’ of Apple’s lineup.” It sure would be nice if Apple made these announcements in a press release for all to see rather than private emails to customers.

The Mac mini is an important part of the Apple lineup. It’s a great server, and it allows budget-minded Apple customers to select their own display(s) without resorting to an OMG pricey Mac Pro. I hope Apple surprises us for the holidays with a new, gorgeous Mac mini that takes our breath away in terms of design and processing power.

Beloved Mac mini desperately needs upgraded. Image credit: Apple

• When a very capable computer writes original music, who owns it? That’s what the creators of IBM’s Watson Beat are working on. “IBM’s Watson Beat: who owns music made by a machine?”

This is important because if there’s an effort to establish rights for AIs for one purpose, then thee will be unintended consequences, especially as AIs trained in the law start to represent other AIs. Assuming they have the right to do so.

• Philip Elmer-DeWitt cites a research note from “an Apple Bear.” Andy Hargreaves, who now is much mure positive about the average gross profit of the iPhones in 2018. “Apple: Andy Hargreaves smells the coffee.”

Offsetting that is the prospect that Apple’s total combined sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, in the near term, could be less than a typical Holiday quarter for Apple. That’s typically 74 to 78 million. See, for example, “The iPhone 8 Could Be a Dud as Customers Wait for iPhone X.”

• Jonathan Geller at BGR, who has a lot of experience with Android, has some sharp comments to make about the Google Pixel 2 XL. “Google can’t make a good phone and it’s embarrassing.”

I figured Google had to be getting better at this, Android had to be more cohesive and polished, and anyone can make good hardware nowadays, right?

Jesus was I wrong.

Once again, we are reminded that comparison charts mean very little, especially when you go up against Apple. Polish, sophistication, ease of use, app consistency, intuitive iOS design and integrated hardware and software security don’t appear on pages of specs.

---

Particle Debris is a generally a mix of John Martellaro’s observations and opinions about a standout event or article of the week (preamble on page one) followed on page two by a discussion of articles that didn’t make the TMO headlines, the technical news debris. The column is published most every Friday except for holiday weekends.

Share this post