Apple should make a TV OS

[colonel179]

I have a TV with Android TV (now Google TV). My favorite brand is Sony and they partnered with Google many years ago to provide the OS of their TVs. Since then, many manufacturers have opted for a Google TV experience (mainly due to reducing costs of producing own TV OS).

The TV is great, but it has the exact same issues the phones have: inconsistencies and lack of support!

Apple make great OS’s since forever. Yes, there are some quircks and weird decisions, and even lately incomplete features and whatnot, but they are still way beyond what Google does with their OS.

I feel like a TV OS and partnering with the leading brands will help Apple establish themselves even more on the entertainment industry and let people get deeper into Apple ecosystem. Imagine a seamless integration of your media from your iPhone, Max or IPad to the TV; Seamless connection of speakers, etc. but most importantly: An OS that works great and gets FULL support for many years just like iOS, iPadOS and MacOS.

Of course, it would have Apple TV+ integrated with every TV and they could even integrate iPhone and Mac features for it (like sidecar or stuff like that).

Google TV needs real competition in the TV front because they just don’t care about Google TV! I have a 2019 TV that got support just to 2021! And the 2018 TVs didn’t even get full support of the OS by 2019! That’s outrageous! (Sony TVs at least).

They entered the car industry with CarPlay, which I believe they are dominating! And I remember they are working with brands to practically integrate CarPlay fully into cars and control many or all aspects of the car!

But TVs are just logical! They are even more logical that having CarPlay! If CarPlay exists, there is no reason whatsoever why a TV OS shouldn’t! It just make sense and it would bring a whole new life to smart TVs! I know Apple would even find a way to blow our minds with some clever and innovating features!

Yeah, dream over

What do you think?

 

[russell_314]

At least in the short term I don't think so as in I don't think they will do it. Apple makes software to go along with their hardware. Apple has a tvOS. It comes with the Apple TV. I don't see them making a tvOS for another brand. They have done this even with macOS (It was called something different back then) a long time ago. I don't think they would today though

 

[Basic75]

A large monitor paired with an Apple TV works for me.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Imagine a seamless integration of your media from your iPhone, Max or IPad to the TV; Seamless connection of speakers, etc. but most importantly: An OS that works great and gets FULL support for many years just like iOS, iPadOS and MacOS.

Sort of like tvOS?

tvOS - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The Apple TV A-series SOCs provide a better experience then what is typically provided by hardware available in a TV, so I doubt Apple will license tvOS to television manufacturers.

Just buy an Apple TV.

 

[theluggage]

But TVs are just logical! They are even more logical that having CarPlay! If CarPlay exists, there is no reason whatsoever why a TV OS shouldn’t!

That's quite a good counter to the "Apple doesn't make OSs for other people" argument (e.g. @russell_314) so the question is how is CarPlay different from Apple TV OS?

...as I understand it, CarPlay is more like a souped-up version of AirPlay than a complete car operating system.

The main point of CarPlay is that it lets you control your iPhone - including running selected apps - from a large screen on your car dash/car audio system - with a far richer UI than you'd get via regular BlueTooth "hands free". That's largely a "thing" because you have to be homicidally insane to try and operate an iPhone while driving, so Apple gets some virtue signalling about safety, but (probably more importantly) if your Volvo supports CarPlay that's a pretty big incentive to buy an iPhone. iPhone support is a pretty good incentive for car makers to work with Apple, too! Apple also got a year or two's headstart on Android Auto for car integration, too.

Also - it's probably not a particularly price-sensitive market - the pricing of car options like entertainment systems (which you discover after you've chosen the car) is, after all, where Apple got their business model for Mac Pro wheels and cleaning cloths

I don't know how many people would want to control their iPhone from their TV CarPlay style - it's more the other way around - the main thing you'd want to do is cast video and audio from your iDevice to your TV (and most TV OS's already do AirPlay & the Android equivalents) - or use the iPhone as a TV remote (most TVs already have an App for that). Also, Apple would be late to the party, with Google/Android TV, WebOS and several other proprietary systems already well established.

TVs are pretty price sensitive, too - I guess Google TV is cheap to license (because "the customer is the product") and having Apple TV-box level performance for games etc. would probably mean using expensive processors.

All an Apple TV OS would offer is a UI that you may or may not prefer - and mostly you end up using the godawful UIs of Prime/Netflix/Dismal+ etc. anyway. Anyway, I'm not sure the Apple TV UI is anything to write home about - even Apple don't seem to have committed to using the AppleTV app as the primary UI (seriously - on an ATV box why is the ATV app an app rather than the default UI with an 'Apps' section added?).

Not saying it's a bad idea - just that it's not clear that it would be a winner.

A large monitor paired with an Apple TV works for me.

I'd love a large-screen dumb TV with just a bunch of HDMI inputs for whatever streaming boxes, BD players, sound systems, computers etc. I chose rather than having the same functionality duplicated in every box. Not gonna happen - or, rather, would probably cost more than a "smart" TV "because economics", I know. (Yes, I know it's called a "monitor" but they get pricey once you go much above 40", don't have enough HDMIs and its still just useful to have a tuner - although those days are rapidly coming to an end).

 

[Arctic Moose]

I'd love a large-screen dumb TV with just a bunch of HDMI inputs for whatever streaming boxes, BD players, sound systems, computers etc. I chose rather than having the same functionality duplicated in every box. Not gonna happen - or, rather, would probably cost more than a "smart" TV "because economics", I know. (Yes, I know it's called a "monitor" but they get pricey once you go much above 40", don't have enough HDMIs and its still just useful to have a tuner - although those days are rapidly coming to an end).

Same here!

I haven't had a tuner connected in years, and do not even know if the speakers in my LG OLED actually work.

I would pay double (although I would prefer to pay less) to get the same screen but with less. (No speakers, no tuners, no USB ports, no remote, no smart OS, no Ethernet, no wifi and no Bluetooth, just a really good panel and 3-4 HDMI ports with eARC.)

 

[theluggage]

I would pay double (although I would prefer to pay less) to get the same screen but with less.

What you want is a Sony Profeel don't get too excited - it's a CRT TV from the 1980s - back when a TV without a tuner made far less sense...

I wasn't in that sort of financial league at the time but a UK TV rental place tried (and failed) a sort of component system and I got hold of a second-hand tuner that I used to use with my trusty Philips 8533 monitor... Ah, nostalgia...

I haven't had a tuner connected in years, and do not even know if the speakers in my LG OLED actually work.

I have a LG OLED and the internal speakers are... about as good as you'd expect from a 5mm thick TV with no front-facing speaker grilles and almost as good as a really cheap and nasty soundbar. What are they for? I get that some people will want a smaller, self-contained TV - but who is going to buy a 55" or larger 4k OLED screen and not get some sort of "home cinema" sound system?

ISTR my long departed grandfather made a TV sound receiver (probably a Heathkit) back in the 60s or 70s because (at least in the UK) TVs had cruddy amps and speakers that didn't even do justice to the regular mono sound... and in the 90s I had a Maplin NICAM stereo TV sound receiver plugged into my stereo...

Kids, get off my lawn!

 

[bruinsrme]

I'd love a large-screen dumb TV with just a bunch of HDMI inputs for whatever streaming boxes, BD players, sound systems, computers etc. I chose rather than having the same functionality duplicated in every box. Not gonna happen - or, rather, would probably cost more than a "smart" TV "because economics", I know. (Yes, I know it's called a "monitor" but they get pricey once you go much above 40", don't have enough HDMIs and its still just useful to have a tuner - although those days are rapidly coming to an end).

I miss those days. I would settle for 6 HDMIs and the ability to switch the interface between smart and dumb.

 

[russell_314]

Same here!

I haven't had a tuner connected in years, and do not even know if the speakers in my LG OLED actually work.

I would pay double (although I would prefer to pay less) to get the same screen but with less. (No speakers, no tuners, no USB ports, no remote, no smart OS, no Ethernet, no wifi and no Bluetooth, just a really good panel and 3-4 HDMI ports with eARC.)

Why? Just don't connect the smart TV to the internet. Turn it to HDMI 1 and it becomes a monitor.

That's quite a good counter to the "Apple doesn't make OSs for other people" argument (e.g. @russell_314) so the question is how is CarPlay different from Apple TV OS?

...as I understand it, CarPlay is more like a souped-up version of AirPlay than a complete car operating system.

Exactly. CarPlay requires an iPhone. It's just a way to display that information on the car's screen. tvOS requires... Wait for it... an Apple TV. tvPlay isn't needed as the Apple TV interfaces directly with your TV.

 

[bruinsrme]

Why? Just don't connect the smart TV to the internet. Turn it to HDMI 1 and it becomes a monitor.


Exactly. CarPlay requires an iPhone. It's just a way to display that information on the car's screen. tvOS requires... Wait for it... an Apple TV. tvPlay isn't needed as the Apple TV interfaces directly with your TV.

I simply don't like the TVOS taking over, I really have no use a TVOS

 

[russell_314]

I simply don't like the TVOS taking over, I really have no use a TVOS

What do you mean? Do you mean you want an old school TV with knobs or maybe just push button channel changing?

I don't think we're ever going to see that again. If you're using a cable box it's pretty much like old-school channel changing anyway. I don't have cable but when I'm at my friend's house it's set to HDMI and the channel changing is done with a remote that changes the channel on the cable box. The only time you see the OS is when you turn on the TV. It might not be like that everywhere though.

If you're trying to do cord cutting by using apps like Netflix or Hulu then you have to deal with some type of OS because you're running an app.

I think there is antenna TV still but I've never really messed with it.

Modern televisions are just low powered computers. TV manufacturers are realizing that not everyone wants to pay $200+ a month for cable TV so they want to be able to watch shows from apps like Netflix or Hulu

 

[bruinsrme]

What do you mean? Do you mean you want an old school TV with knobs or maybe just push button channel changing?

I don't think we're ever going to see that again. If you're using a cable box it's pretty much like old-school channel changing anyway. I don't have cable but when I'm at my friend's house it's set to HDMI and the channel changing is done with a remote that changes the channel on the cable box. The only time you see the OS is when you turn on the TV. It might not be like that everywhere though.

If you're trying to do cord cutting by using apps like Netflix or Hulu then you have to deal with some type of OS because you're running an app.

I think there is antenna TV still but I've never really messed with it.

Modern televisions are just low powered computers. TV manufacturers are realizing that not everyone wants to pay $200+ a month for cable TV so they want to be able to watch shows from apps like Netflix or Hulu

Just a big ole monitor. Very simple device

 

[russell_314]

Just a big ole monitor. Very simple device

I'm really surprised there's not someone selling large monitors with HDMI and DVI inputs. The closest thing I could find was this but it's not ideal. I guess there's not much demand for it.

Sceptre 65" 4K Ultra HD 2160p LED 4X HDMI 2.0 HDTV 3840x2160, Metal Black 2018

4K UHD delivers 8 million pixels that immerse you in an unrivaled landscape of lifelike images. Sceptre 4K Ultra High-Definition displays have 4 times the number of pixels as a Full HD display, turning your shows into an epic UHD viewing experience on 65” screen. HDMI 2.0: Explore all the 4k cont...

www.amazon.com

 

[macsound1]

Smart tvs, even those that are never connected to the internet, are sometimes annoying.
I have a 32” in the bedroom with Android tv that I don’t use. Just the Apple TV.
I turn the tv on and off with just the Apple TV remote but sometimes the “smartness” takes over and I see a google tv logo, full screen, full brightness, even though I have the TVs backlight turned all the way down, because, sleep. I have to madly mash buttons on the Apple TV remote so a movie starts and the right CEC kicks the input over.

I personally don’t get the whole appeal of smart tvs. If you didn’t have one before, you must’ve used an external box, either cable or streaming.
And next time you upgrade your tv, it will surely act different in its “smarts”.
So why not just buy an Apple TV or Roku and keep enjoying what you like no matter what manufacturer the tv is?

Don’t people buy TVs based on image quality and price anyway… Not which smart whatever is built in…

 

[martens]

I use a (not internet connected) Fire TV with our Apple TV and it works just fine via its HDMI CEC port. And when switching to BluRay or game input, the audio plays back through Apple TV's audio connection (HomePods in our case). Perfect.

Imagine what Apple would charge if they included the display.

My hope is an Apple sound bar with built in Apple TV. Though I'm pretty happy with 2 of the big HomePods serving for audio.

 

[Juicy Box]

The obvious problem with Apple having a OS built into Smart TVs is that Smart TVs do not use HW anywhere close to the performance of an ATV.

Apple would either have to force manufactures to use better, but much more expensive HW, or the performance of the Apple TV experience would suffer.

This is the same for the cheap streaming devices, the power of the HW doesn't come close to the HW in ATVs.

I guess there could be a dumbed-down version of tvOS for cheap Smart TVs, but that isn't really Apple's way of doing things.

 

[Gator5000e]

The obvious problem with Apple having a OS built into Smart TVs is that Smart TVs do not use HW anywhere close to the performance of an ATV.

Apple would either have to force manufactures to use better, but much more expensive HW, or the performance of the Apple TV experience would suffer.

This is the same for the cheap streaming devices, the power of the HW doesn't come close to the HW in ATVs.

I guess there could be a dumbed-down version of tvOS for cheap Smart TVs, but that isn't really Apple's way of doing things.

You're right but it would be nice. Lots of licensing fees for Apple, for one. And it would be a competent OS for a TV. Google TV is just awful. I have it on my Sony OLED and I hate it. I will only use it to watch something that won't come thru in Dolby Vision on the ATV, like Amazon shows. But outside of that, I will take the ATV every time.

 

[bruinsrme]

I'm really surprised there's not someone selling large monitors with HDMI and DVI inputs. The closest thing I could find was this but it's not ideal. I guess there's not much demand for it.

Sceptre 65" 4K Ultra HD 2160p LED 4X HDMI 2.0 HDTV 3840x2160, Metal Black 2018

4K UHD delivers 8 million pixels that immerse you in an unrivaled landscape of lifelike images. Sceptre 4K Ultra High-Definition displays have 4 times the number of pixels as a Full HD display, turning your shows into an epic UHD viewing experience on 65” screen. HDMI 2.0: Explore all the 4k cont...

www.amazon.com

There probably not a demand because it’s a think about how boring the box would be.
It probably wouldn’t wouldn’t be that much cheaper to produce.
Then again I wonder if tv manufacturers are compensated to put apps on their tv.

 

[JBGoode]

Go buy a 2021 Apple TV 4K for $89 A and you'll have exactly what you want with no new TV required. This thread is a bit silly. Even if Apple was to come out with an OS for 3rd party TVs, the manufacturers wouldn't put a good enough chip in the thing to run it anywhere near the level of the dedicated Apple hardware. Compared to even the 2017 Apple TV 4K, today's smart TV OSs range from near unusable to just 'ok' and that's because of the crap chips they use. Nothing compares.

 

[satcomer]

To me TV apps are dying in my opinion! Think about it, how do you update a TV App? Traditionally they NEVER do that! that's why you only buy TV every 5-10 years! A dedicated TV box can be every two years! Which one would you spend your money on?

 

[russell_314]

Then again I wonder if tv manufacturers are compensated to put apps on their tv.

They are. Those cool Netflix and Hulu buttons on the remote.. Paid. Also smart TV's send back information on what you're watching and of course they get paid for it.

 

[macsound1]

smart TV's send back information on what you're watching and of course they get paid for it.

Which is why you should never ever use the built in apps on your TV.
They’re smart, they’re making money off you not being smart.
This is exactly why Best Buy sells its house brand TV for about 30% cheaper than the lowest cost competition. It’s probably the same tv, BB is just making money off watching you

 

[Arctic Moose]

Why?

Because all the extra components make it heavier, bulkier, thicker, more complex and more likely to fail compared to a dumb panel.

I would like to say more expensive as well, but considering the business model for tv sales now relies on stealing and selling user data I’m not so sure that would be the case, since a dumb panel would not be very good at pilfering information.

 

[flynz4]

Personal preference. My “smart TVs“ are not even connected to the internet. I use one HDMI connection for my Apple TV And one for the sound bar. That’s it. One TV also has a BluRay player attached that goes completely unused.

 

[ThrowerGB]

LG Smart TV's have an Apple TV app. Works just fine on 2 of their TVs I have.

For details, see https://www.lg.com/us/support/help-...nch-on-lg-smart-tvs-CT10000018-20151455238100
It even says: for support contact support.apple.com/tv/lg