Apple TV: Three Reasons That May Prevent Apple From Taking Over Living Rooms

A new beefed up Apple TV has been the subject of speculation for some time now. The current model has been pretty much unchanged since its release in 2007. Sure, there have been a number of new apps added. It has been updated to help strengthen Apple’s hold on their consumers, but there has not been much of a change outside of those few modifications.

This is all about to change this October. In Apple’s press event on September 9, Apple spent a great deal of time showing off the new version of the set-top box. Phil Schiller even stated that the company believes Apple TV is the “future of television.”

It’s hard not to admit that the technology giant is releasing a product that is worthy competition to Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast, but to say that this is the future of television may be going a little too far. As a matter of fact, there are a few limitations to the new Apple TV that could prevent this new version from reaching it full potential.

Macworld breaks down Apple TV and tries to answer any question a potential future owner might have about the new service. There are three really big things that may prevent a consumer from purchasing Apple TV.

200 MB Limit on Stored Apps

According to the report, Apple is limiting the app developers to 200 MB storage for the sourcing code. While Apple paints this as a good thing for developers, they do admit that there will be a challenge working around it. This could prevent some developers from wanting to do the extra work to get their title published.

More work requires extra man hours. Extra man hours requires more money. More money requires higher prices for the games. When most Apple users are used to paying very little to nothing for a game, higher prices may be a change they are not willing to make.

Remote/Game Controller

The new remote control for the Apple TV looks somewhat similar to the original with the exception of its size. The major changes to the remote consist of a small area on the top of the control for what seems to be a typical touch pad that my be on a laptop computer as well as motion control capabilities. Both of these features have been done better by other companies, mainly Nintendo.

The motion controls are really a last generation nuance that most gamers seem not to care about at all. Harmonix showed how the motion controls would work with their launch title Beat Sports. This certainly was not a must have game by any stretch. Think of it as Wii Sports meets Rock Band diluted, and you pretty much have an idea of what Beat Sports is.

The touch pad on the top of the remote tells us that Apple still isn’t serious about this being a gaming console much to the chagrin of some people who had this competing with Microsoft and Sony prior to Wednesday. There are going to be third party controllers available at launch including one by SteelSeries that IGN reported on. It has the look of a traditional gaming controller. There will be a list of compatible games, but this might go further to confuse someone that is not in the know.

Apple TV Decides What Is Stored On the Device

Apple is looking to adopt the same philosophy it has with their other devices. Macworld explains this best.

“Apple spools the file over the Internet and builds a buffer so you can start before it’s fully downloaded. With the new Apple TV, it might download the rest of a film as you start watching it and cache it if storage is available.”

This could be a problem considering the size of media files and the limit some connections might have to the internet. There is a possibility you may not be able to watch the rest of the show if something happens to the connection. It should be noted that Apple has not yet mentioned if something will be able to be marked as saved on the device.

Even with the limitations mentioned, Apple TV is sure to do well on the initial sell through. Do any of these issues make you second guess purchasing one? Do you think it was a smart move for Apple to try to enter the gaming market with a product like Apple TV?

[Photo by Macworld]