Anything Eddy Cue touches stagnates or turns to sh*t. He was given Siri and it lost ground for years. He was given iCloud and it was underutilized. Apple Music hasn't evolved in meaningful ways. Clearly TV+ is the next one on his long list of accomplishments. It's just amazing for how long he keeps underperforming amidst a group of the world's most qualified and competent executives. When will the Apple board finally say enough is enough?
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Apple TV+ Reportedly Heading Toward 'Breaking Point' Amid Staffing Problems and Frustrated Content Partners
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There may be growing pains (or there may not be and this piece from BI is just sensationalist crap), but just judging by the results - i.e. the content - Apple TV+ has the best signal-to-noise quality ratio of all streaming services, by far.
Gotta say; does an article like this get published if Apple doesn't win the Oscar for Best Picture? I say no.
This story was held onto as long as possible.
This story was held onto as long as possible.
Meh, who cares about all that SJW nonsense anyway. I liked Ted Lasso's first season, but the second one was trying so hard to be so lovely and wholesome that it was unwatchable. I'm only a subscriber because it's part of Apple One, otherwise I wouldn't waste my euros on it.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
I think most companies create divisions, like Microsoft has its XBOX division, whereas Apple tends to work as a singular unit that occasionally shifts focus entirely to neglect other projects.
A classic example is how when the original iPhone was coming out, Apple put all their engineers on it and delayed Leopard.
Now with their core hardware/software products, it's pretty evident they're all on the same team. It's what I call Taco Bell style hardware/software. Lots of offerings, all the same ingredients. They don't really neglect anything per se now, but it's extremely homogenous.
But how that works with something that is entirely different, like a streaming service, I don't know. That should be its own business within a business essentially. It doesn't need Apple's taco bell ingredients (the chips, the recycled software between platforms, etc.). But knowing Apple, I could see them putting their crack App Store Review Team onto the Apple TV Plus service.
I don't want to say they still run like a start up because that makes it sound better than it is. They're too big to be run the way they are. It does seem like everything is still very centralized despite the fact that they have a credit card service for God's sake. I mean that's an entirely different thing than everything else that they do. And then a streaming television service. And yet I imagine it's still run with e-mails between Tim Cook and . . . well I was going to say Phil Schiller but I guess he's mostly gone, but yeah, the same top few people.
I think they see tech as changing too much to make real commitments to permanent divisions, and I think they buy their own BS about everything working better together by making each form factor (Mac, iPad, iPhone) a mimic of the others rather than making individuated products that each have their own merits. And that philosophy that one team can do the work of another team that's in a different sphere *may* be what gets them in trouble with Apple TV Plus. Just a guess.
A classic example is how when the original iPhone was coming out, Apple put all their engineers on it and delayed Leopard.
Now with their core hardware/software products, it's pretty evident they're all on the same team. It's what I call Taco Bell style hardware/software. Lots of offerings, all the same ingredients. They don't really neglect anything per se now, but it's extremely homogenous.
But how that works with something that is entirely different, like a streaming service, I don't know. That should be its own business within a business essentially. It doesn't need Apple's taco bell ingredients (the chips, the recycled software between platforms, etc.). But knowing Apple, I could see them putting their crack App Store Review Team onto the Apple TV Plus service.
I don't want to say they still run like a start up because that makes it sound better than it is. They're too big to be run the way they are. It does seem like everything is still very centralized despite the fact that they have a credit card service for God's sake. I mean that's an entirely different thing than everything else that they do. And then a streaming television service. And yet I imagine it's still run with e-mails between Tim Cook and . . . well I was going to say Phil Schiller but I guess he's mostly gone, but yeah, the same top few people.
I think they see tech as changing too much to make real commitments to permanent divisions, and I think they buy their own BS about everything working better together by making each form factor (Mac, iPad, iPhone) a mimic of the others rather than making individuated products that each have their own merits. And that philosophy that one team can do the work of another team that's in a different sphere *may* be what gets them in trouble with Apple TV Plus. Just a guess.
such a coincidence that this report comes out the same week Apple gets good PR for winning an Oscar...
I'm going way out on a limb here... How about when Apple ceases to bring in record breaking revenues year after year after year. Which is the result of millions of happy repeat customers opening their wallets to purchase outstanding products and services at premium prices...year after year after year.
The headline made me think the service was at its breaking point, but that is not at all what the article suggest.
You're not the only one. I have gigabit fiber as well. Apple TV+ is the only major streaming provider that I have issues with. (Well, also Apple Fitness+.) Often it will just give me a stream that looks like it is 480p and not bump up to high-res.
The article seems to be referring more to the personnel infrastructure that works with production partners to create and/or acquire content.
I took the "infrastructure" piece to mean more of a human resource perspective.
Come on, nobody is avoiding buying the next iPhone just because tv+ sucks. Apple performs well despite of Eddy Cue, not because of Eddy Cue.
I have a new Apple TV 4K I got for Christmas, regularly when I go to start a programme even Apples one, it flashes the screen for a split second then goes to a black screen and pauses itself? With Netflix sometimes it just refuses to play the programme or film at all with the black screen only being shown. Other times in the Prime app I’ve fast forwarded or rewind films or programmes and when I play it again the sounds gone.
Now I like the Apple TV but these beta level bugs are beginning to grind, none of my other streaming devices I have or have ever owned had these bugs, my 4K Fire TV stick doesn’t neither does my smart TV. Nor the Nvidia Shield TV devices I had before.
It seems a product and service Apple really really need to get a grip on and sort out, before content providers and production studios leave it as theirs plenty of competition out there.
Welcome to any large company getting into a new, established industry.
Meanwhile, Apple requires an itunes account to stream its content which hinders adoption since people do not want to coordinate family accounts for every single user with all of their personal data (but admittedly brings the people that do it into the ecosystem). Also, streaming from your phone to a tv usually presents the error "An error occurred loading this content” at least once an episode...
I had a free ONE year trial after getting iPhone 12 Pro Max. I swear, I think I only checked out the streaming service no more than 2 times. I let the trial expire in Nov 2021.
I just don’t get Apple’s insistence on Eddie Cue running anything. Anything this idiot touches turn into ruins. ITunes, Apple Music, now Apple TV? Wasn’t he at the forefront of Beats acquisition, which Apple grossly overpaid?
He is more interested in hanging out with celebrities than running a company. CUE MUST GO!
He is more interested in hanging out with celebrities than running a company. CUE MUST GO!
it also takes FOREVER to download anything for offline playback. However, this article seems to be talking about the office structures
This is perhaps not entirely unexpected. Apple for its music and apps has always relied on a relationship with external providers. It has, beyond a chess game never bothered with 1st party games development, for example.
What beggars belief is that they have no yet pulled out their chequebook and just brought up an existing service or studio to both shore up its collection and bring in people who are veterans within the video industry.
Whilst Tim Cook has enough loose change in his office sofa to buy Netflix, Apple would probably go after a studio rather than a service. At this point Lionsgate would be a good choice as they are one of the few studios not owned by a larger entity.
What beggars belief is that they have no yet pulled out their chequebook and just brought up an existing service or studio to both shore up its collection and bring in people who are veterans within the video industry.
Whilst Tim Cook has enough loose change in his office sofa to buy Netflix, Apple would probably go after a studio rather than a service. At this point Lionsgate would be a good choice as they are one of the few studios not owned by a larger entity.
That's interesting - what you describe is exactly the experience I have with Netflix, but AppleTV+ has worked flawless for me so far (on the original Apple TV 4K, living in Austria).
It is probably time for Apple to not consider this as a small side project anymore. Even so, for the consumer there has been an increasing number of shows worth our scarce free time. Severance and Pachinko are streaming now and they are among the most impressive shows currently showing.
For example you could have tried Mythic Quest, Trying, Foundation, Tehran, Invasion, Defending Jacob, The morning Show etc, just to name a few that are NOT Ted Lasso.
Well, that was really your loss. Much good stuff. There is less quantity than on netflix but I would currently rather cancel netflix than Apple. More shows are worth watching.
For example you could have tried Mythic Quest, Trying, Foundation, Tehran, Invasion, Defending Jacob, The morning Show etc, just to name a few that are NOT Ted Lasso.
I still believe they should have focused more on HomeKit over Apple TV+, but that’s just me.