And we shouldn’t expect things to change any time soon either

Mar 11, 2013 10:09 GMT  ·  By

The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been quoted numerous times as saying that Apple can’t deliver a compelling TV experience because there’s no go-to market strategy. What he also said was that the remote needs to change drastically.

Apple took care of the latter via an intuitive interface and a very cool-looking remote.

The former aspect, however, is a harder nut to crack. Mainly because the cable companies have insane profit margins, and they’d be crazy to try and change that simply because Apple wants to offer a more elegant experience.

Which is why products like the TiVo mini keep rolling out.

Pictured below is the god-awful product boasting a remote control that sets us back 20 years. And it probably looks a lot worse in reality, mind you.

Above (click to enlarge), you have the original Apple TV which the Cupertino company shipped in 2007.

Review image

The images speak for themselves but, just in case anyone needs an explanation regarding this comparison, here goes.

When the first iPhone came out, physical keyboards were rendered obsolete in the smartphone space.

The virtual keyboard became the standard, and the reason for that was that you could do it all in the software, leaving a lot more space for screen real estate.

Apple applied the same thing to the television experience, and it works like a charm. Six years later, the TiVo Mini goes against all this innovation as if it was trying.

Moreover, the DVR extender costs $99.99 (€77), and the customer gets charged monthly or annually for a service that costs a total $249.99 (€190). By comparison, the Apple TV only costs $99/€99.

The TiVo supports Ethernet or MoCA setup only (wireless setup not supported), and requires the use of a dedicated tuner on your 4-tuner DVR to stream live programs. The Mini also doesn’t work with TiVo Premiere or Premiere XL.

Why these products keep rolling out and why people still buy them is really not a mystery. The TV business, much like the oil companies, will only let smarter / cleaner products get a foot through the door over their dead bodies.

Still dreaming about that HDTV from Apple in 2013? Well, the product itself would cost in the thousands, and CEO Tim Cook is already feeling a lot of pressure from investors to churn out something that’s guaranteed to spell insane profits.

When people today buy the same horrid remote they bought two decades ago, you know the TV industry isn't barging.

Between the iTV and the iWatch, I think it goes without saying what market makes more sense for Apple to try and disrupt next.