1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,160 In 2011, Walter Isaacson published in his Steve Jobs biography that the late CEO had 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,200 finally cracked it. Jobs said, and I quote, 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,680 I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,960 It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:25,320 No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. 6 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,520 It would have the simplest user interface you could imagine. 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,320 Yes. Let's imagine, but not the user interface. 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:40,600 We have one of those with the current Apple TV. And that issue of complex DVD player and cable box remotes is slowly being negated with the transition to online streaming. 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,160 Rather, let's imagine what an Apple television set itself could look like were Apple to make one today. 10 00:00:46,160 --> 00:01:00,320 This is for you, Gene Munster. TV design today is extremely derivative. 11 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,960 They become commodities, cheap, large, black mirrors people place in front of their walls. 12 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:09,840 Though they might perform differently when they're switched on, when they're off, I 13 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:14,880 don't know, we're left with an ominous black void in the middle of our living room, especially 14 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,560 as bezels keep getting smaller and smaller in panels, bigger and bigger. 15 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:23,400 I've been thinking recently about the concept of the television as furniture. 16 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,040 Superb cabinetry, mastercrafted of the finest woods. 17 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:33,680 It used to be this way before the 70s. Yes, I know there were some garish wood cabinets that ended up in grandmother's basement, 18 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,480 but at least those designs are something more interesting than the generic black appliances 19 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:43,760 we're living with today. With Apple's storied history and passion around hardware design, I think many of us 20 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,000 are interested in what their take on the television as furniture would look like. 21 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,160 There's room to play with modality, with presence, with different materials beyond 22 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:59,840 brushed silver metal and black plastics. What about wood or fabric or matte paint finished in bold colors? 23 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,640 Oh, okay, hear me out. Clear colored plastics all over again. 24 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:10,040 I jest, but also I want. I want to attempt to sketch out what a potential Apple TV could look like, and to draw some 25 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:19,240 inspiration of where they could take this, let's take a look at the Samsung Frame TV. 26 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,920 I'd argue that this is one of the best designed televisions on the market right now. 27 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:28,560 This is such a refreshing take on what a TV can do and look like. 28 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,680 The frame that surrounds the panel is interchangeable with four different options, two of which 29 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:37,200 are wood, and it comes with a special mount in the box that places the TV flush on the 30 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:43,080 wall, like a picture. But perhaps the best thing about the Samsung Frame is that when it's not being used as 31 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,480 a TV, it's not a TV. 32 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,840 Instead of being a black void dominating the wall, it's a backlit painting or a photo 33 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:57,600 set in a mat. It recedes into the background looking like any other picture on the wall. 34 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,320 For a wall-mounted Apple TV, all I want to see is intention in how the TV is mounted 35 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:07,880 in the wall. It could be flushed like the frame or incorporate a curved back like the iMac, which allows light 36 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:11,080 to spill behind, reducing the panel's shadow cast. 37 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:17,760 There's room to experiment here. More interesting to me though is how Apple would build a TV that stands on its own. 38 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,320 Looking at all the TVs in the stores, it seems that making an interesting stand is quite 39 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:28,000 difficult. Samsung's Serif TV sits quite well on a base that's part of the design. 40 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,800 Better still, if you don't have a unit for it to rest on, it does come with attachable 41 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:37,160 legs too. Apple could sell these separately for $1,000 or $250 each. 42 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,200 I jest. But what about technology? 43 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:47,600 After all, Apple isn't just a design company. Firstly, everything should be able to be controlled with one remote. 44 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,480 Whether you use an AV receiver with a bunch of devices plugged in or simply a lone soundbar, 45 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:58,120 the fewer the remotes, the better. For this to work better than CEC already does, Apple would probably have the Biologitex 46 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,400 Harmony Division or make all these devices themselves, if only. 47 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaking of remotes, I'm pleased to report that Apple did what I was hoping they would 48 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,440 do and updated the Siri remote with a D-pad. 49 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:13,560 Better still, they added a click-wheel-like jogging capability by making the D-pad touch-sensitive, 50 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:20,840 so it really is the best of both worlds. And speaking of Siri, adding a microphone array and Siri, their voice assistant integration 51 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:24,760 to the television set would be a known brainer, offering the same sort of functionality as 52 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:31,320 Siri on the HomePod. But more interesting in this age of the pandemic would be the addition of an eyesight camera. 53 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,120 Rumors speculated it being part of an updated Apple TV sep top box, which we didn't see 54 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,640 at the spring-loaded event, but it's a neat idea nonetheless because there's something 55 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,800 charming about the idea of inviting friends and family into your living room through a 56 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:48,880 FaceTime call. I do, however, understand the discomfort of having a camera and microphone just staring 57 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,040 at you in your most comfortable of spaces, so my thinking would be that it's better 58 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,880 sold as an optional accessory that clips on with magnets, sends signal through a smart 59 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,680 connector, and has a physical cover. Now, panels. 60 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,440 I bring this up because Apple's displays have always been of high quality, so we would 61 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:08,920 expect much the same here. While many would think OLED is the obvious choice, I'm not entirely sure Apple would 62 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,400 go that way because it wouldn't leave them much room to differentiate themselves since 63 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:19,280 they'd have to buy commodity panels from LG. Instead, I'd expect them to use high-quality LCD displays like they use on the Pro display 64 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:25,760 XDR. Or rumors of incoming mini-LED displays persist, and last year the company invested significantly 65 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,840 in the design and manufacture of micro-LED. 66 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:33,960 It's still a long, long way off, but offers a tantalizing hope of what could be, and though 67 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:38,800 Apple has refrained from any sort of variable refresh rates on its devices, it's becoming 68 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:43,840 important technology, especially considering where gaming consoles are going and support 69 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:49,800 through HDMI 2.1. To me, though, it's what's on the screen that's more interesting, especially when 70 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:57,280 the TV isn't being used to watch content. The dream of ambient computing is to have a display that shows you exactly what you 71 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:03,160 want to see when you want to see it. In the morning, it could show you widgets to prepare you for your day, in the afternoon 72 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:10,520 an aerial screensaver, and at night, during a dinner party, your favorite painting. 73 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:18,080 Dinner parties aren't a thing, like jest. Lastly, there's sound, which I want to emphasize is equally important to the visuals, video 74 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:24,880 production proverb there for you. Firstly, on this Apple TV set, I want spatial audio support for AirPods. 75 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,040 The feature simulates surround sound on AirPods and has proved to work well with Apple's 76 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:34,120 mobile devices. But the idea of popping on a pair of AirPods and getting a cinematic experience without 77 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,640 disturbing others at home is an obvious solution. 78 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,920 Secondly, built-in TV speakers are by and large terrible. 79 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:46,240 They're so bad, in fact, that I wish manufacturers wouldn't bother installing them. 80 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:53,440 Apple could go two ways here. Simply lay in to built-in TV speaker technology, using what they've learned with HomePod. 81 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,760 Maybe adding HomePod minis as rear satellite speakers. 82 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,840 Or more likely, Apple could just not include speakers at all and get you to buy an accompanying 83 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:02,280 stellar sound bar. 84 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,640 There really are a lot of opportunities for new design in the television space, if you 85 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:18,120 think about it. And with Apple having spent a reported $6 billion on television content by the summer 86 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:25,480 of 2019, it seems kind of strange. Here we have a very rich company known for making great hardware, spending rich sums 87 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,680 of money on content, and then not making the hardware to show it on. 88 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,200 They could master their Apple originals for this TV, giving you the exact experience the 89 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:38,320 creators intended. It's the perfect time. 90 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,320 I know this topic has been a source of much excitement and disappointment in the Apple 91 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,720 community for a while now, so comment below if you think there's still a place for an 92 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,760 Apple TV set in this world, or whether we should just let bygones be bygones. 93 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,520 And don't forget to like and subscribe for more MAC addresses in the future.