Apple assessed Apple TV 'dongle' to goose adoption of new streaming service, report says

Apple has reportedly conducted internal discussions about an Apple TV streaming stick similar to devices offered by Amazon and Google, a low-cost hardware option that would be well positioned to proliferate a video streaming service rumored to debut next year.

A sparsely detailed report from The Information claims Apple employees considered the creation of an Apple TV dongle, hardware that would compete against Amazon's Fire Stick and Google's Chromecast, in a bid to increase adoption of an as-yet-unannounced streaming product.

The hardware would presumably plug in to USB or HDMI ports on modern televisions, allowing quick and easy access to the tvOS platform. More importantly, streaming sticks are much less expensive than set-top boxes, meaning Apple is, or was, mulling a downmarket grab.

Whether the company moved to develop the product, or has plans to do so, is unknown. Also unknown is how far up the ladder these discussions went. Apple engineers often toss around ideas about side projects that never make it beyond their team, let alone to the C-suite. However, there are a select few — rarities like the HomePod — that do become shipping products.

However, that some Apple workers considered a low-cost Apple TV option is telling of the company's desire to push its upcoming video streaming service. For a consumer electronics firm that stakes its claim on high-end products, recently doubling down on the strategy with 2018 iPhone and iPad model pricing, marketing a relatively inexpensive dongle would be a break in form.

Apple's fourth-generation Apple TV is priced at $149, while the Apple TV 4K comes in at $179, figures well above competing offerings from market leader Roku. Pricing is considered a major factor in Apple's dwindling share of the streaming device market.

Still, reports indicate Apple is investing at least $1 billion on a new streaming service expected to debut next year. From TV series to movies, the tech giant has contracted with some of the biggest names in Hollywood to seed content for the unannounced video product.

How the service will be marketed is unclear, though rumors suggest everything from a standalone product to a bundle with Apple Music and News, the latter folding in assets from Apple's recent purchase of digital magazine subscription service Texture.

A report last month claimed original shows will initially be made available for free through the TV app, software currently accessible on iOS and tvOS.

81 Comments

lorin schultz 2744 comments · 10 Years

About 5 years ago

Given how poorly the existing models work, it's hard to get excited about a new version. I'd be much, much happier to read that Apple has committed to bringing tvOS up to the standards we enjoy with its other products.

The list of weirdness got a little longer yesterday. In addition to the long-standing issues, such as...

1. Locally-stored content and cloud based content are listed in separate sections, so finding a title requires looking in two different places.
2. "Looking" is the only option for rips and downloaded content, because tvOS doesn't search local content.
3. Some services appear in the TV app, others don't.
4. The OS routinely fails to notice that we've already watched something, so when we go to watch a new episode we're presented with the last one we watched instead.
5. It does not allow purchases of individual songs. The only music acquisition option is a subscription to Apple Music.

...we can now add:

6. Despite being signed in to my iTunes account, it now occasionally reports that I have no purchases to view. I have to restart it to get it to "see" my purchases.

This is the kind of thing I might expect and tolerate in a $50 off-brand device, but it's really disappointing in an Apple product that costs two hundred bucks.

avon b7 8008 comments · 20 Years

About 5 years ago

Apple TV was without a doubt the worst Apple product I ever bought. It lacked all the flexibility and control I needed. It seemed more like a series of Apple hoops to jump through with nasty remote and now it just collects dust.

I currently have a cheap Android TV box (vorke) and an expensive Android TV box (Shield), plus some WD Live players.

rossb2 89 comments · 9 Years

About 5 years ago

the dongle seems like a good idea. I always felt the Apple TV 4th gen was "over-engineered" and too expensive. Most people want a TV streaming device. The fancy controller for gaming, and gaming oriented hardware is redundant for most people. The biggest issue facing Apple movie streaming at the moment, is the fact that one movie rental on Itunes costs almost as much as a month on Netflix. Hopefully Apples future streaming services will be more competitive.

c.m.95@utexas.edu 1 comment · 6 Years

About 5 years ago

lorin schultz said:

Given how poorly the existing models work, it's hard to get excited about a new version. I'd be much, much happier to read that Apple has committed to bringing tvOS up to the standards we enjoy with its other products.

The list of weirdness got a little longer yesterday. In addition to the long-standing issues, such as...

1. Locally-stored content and cloud based content are listed in separate sections, so finding a title requires looking in two different places.
2. "Looking" is the only option for rips and downloaded content, because tvOS doesn't search local content.
3. Some services appear in the TV app, others don't.
4. The OS routinely fails to notice that we've already watched something, so when we go to watch a new episode we're presented with the last one we watched instead.
5. It does not allow purchases of individual songs. The only music acquisition option is a subscription to Apple Music.

...we can now add:

6. Despite being signed in to my iTunes account, it now occasionally reports that I have no purchases to view. I have to restart it to get it to "see" my purchases.

This is the kind of thing I might expect and tolerate in a $50 off-brand device, but it's really disappointing in an Apple products that costs two hundred bucks.

I own 3 ATVs, two 4K models and one 4th gen for my 3 TVs at home. I have completely nuked cable and gone all in with Directv Now, along with Prime Video and Netflix, so these 3 are my only “boxes” in my home.

1) what “locally stored” content are you referring to? ATV is a streaming device. The only “local” content are the apps you install.

2) Rips as in “pirated” or “copy protected content” that’s been removed of copy protection? Don’t ever expect Apple to support anything like that. They are 100% behind content creators/owners. You need to re-adjust your expectations as that will never occur. Your best work around is to setup a NAS and use a streaming app like Infuse or Plex.

3) It’s up to those services, not Apple, to become searchable and show up in the TV app. You are laying blame to the wrong party.

4) I’ve run into this from time to time. It is a minor annoyance. It usually happens because you didn’t “skip” on to the next episode, or didn’t finish the credits, so the app thinks there’s more to watch. I now make certain that I start 2-3 seconds of the next episode to avoid this problem.

5) there isn’t a full Music app on ATV. It’s basically a companion app for your phone/iPad. Personally I like it that way. I would find it cumbersome to buy Music on the TV, however, that is a personal preference.

6)It sounds like you need to do a hard reset for “restore as new.” I have never experienced this issue on any of my 3 ATVs, and I have both my and my spouse’s accounts loaded on all 3 ATVs.