People have been talking about an Apple television for the last couple of years, but nobody knows for sure if the company will actually make one or not. I wouldn’t count Apple out of that market.
I’ve long held that Apple will enter markets that it feels it can make a significant impact. Those don’t have to be brand new markets, but areas that Apple feels it can improve on the current products and make a profit. The last decade of Apple product releases illustrates this point.
The iPod music player certainly wasn’t a new product category, but Apple took a poorly designed product that had limited storage space and changed the market forever. The iPod is iconic and it helped turn Apple around, as well as paving the way for the future.
Everyone had to have an iPod. For years it was one of the most sought after products in the consumer space. Apple changed it, innovated it with a variety of technologies and rode the wave.
They did the exact same thing with the iPhone years later. An industry that hadn’t changed in years was ripe for the taking. While pundits and entrenched manufacturers scoffed at Apple’s attempt to change the industry, they did it and haven’t looked back.
Walk into any wireless carrier or look at any manufacturer’s Web site and Apple’s influence can be seen in almost every smartphone on the market today. Copying Apple’s success has almost become a sport for some companies.
Of course, the latest product to achieve market-changing levels is the iPad. The tablet market has been around for a decade or more with little success, but Apple changed all of that. With a new design, new software and a focus on the customer, Apple redefined what can be done with a tablet.
The iPad fits into our lifestyle. It changes with us, but it doesn’t require that we make changes in order to use it.
That’s the type of challenge Apple faces in the television market or any other market it enters. Apple will try to solve the current problems, while advancing what consumers can do. The home entertainment market needs to be shaken up and it will take a company that isn’t afraid to change the status quo to do it.
Some people think Apple will release a television with new menus or Siri integration. I don’t believe they are thinking big enough. If Apple enters that market they will disrupt it and change it forever.