The cult of Apple is eager to examine any and all rumors surrounding the multi-billion dollar company. But what’s really next for the company? Their cable TV strategy seems to be their next big move and the world is watching.
However, a recent announcement by Jeremy Allaire, CEO of video cloud company Brightcove, said Apple’s strategy for cable television may not involve HDTV, avoiding a traditional TV monitor product. Instead, Allaire hints at a situation for beaming content from iOS devices through dedicated cable TV apps using a device called AirPlay. All this is following scattered reports late May that claimed Apple is prepared to birth a new Apple TV OS at WWDC later this June.
Allaire explained, “I believe Apple will seek partnerships with the top cable companies for them to open up their APIs for their EPG, VOD libraries and Network DVR infrastructure so that Apple can offer a superior user experience on top of those services.”
He continued, “In such a model, you’d purchase and use an Apple TV device (more on what the devices will actually be below) and use it in concert with an existing subscription from a TV operator, and access the TV functionality as an App. Yes, cable TV will just be an app among what will be tens and then hundreds of thousands of apps on your Apple TV.”
Some analysts pinpoint a late 2012 launch, but as for new devices and software, Allaire claimed the late Steve Job’s former glory would emphasize retooling its current TV platform and integration with iOS devices. There’s even a possibility of entering the TV monitor business.
Allaire further shed some light on what the upcoming Apple TV set-top box would look like – a “thin black bar” and a “TV monitor” device that includes the same features as the current set-top box, but with updates to iOS APIs and AirPlay, which would include a new camera and mic, motion detection and speech recognition.
These last few gimmicks could even have Apple dominating the motion sensor video game market, currently run by Nintendo and Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect.
