First, you went with the most expensive AppleTV 4. They make a $149 4th gen model, so that is the actual starting point for that model.
I actually think they know that if you cancel their ecosystem advantage, it is harder to justify paying more for it. However, they also know that there are a
billion devices in their ecosystem (not to mention the numerous people using iTunes and Apple Music that don't own their hardware). As a result, they know that people that value the ecosystem will be willing to pay more for it. It pushes their margins up.
If you aren't in their ecosystem and don't want to be, the disadvantages are the current lack of third party apps compared to Roku. Even lowering the price won't solve that problem, so why not keep the prices where they are and capitalize on the millions that see the advantage to having Apple Music/ITunes/etc.?
If Apple ever gets the Apple television service that has been rumored for years, they might make up more of that money in services, but I think they would prefer a bird in the hand (money up front) to two in the bush (the possibility of money later). Just to extend the analogy, if they can move from 2 birds in the bush to 5 birds in the bush, putting out a cheap model might make more sense. Right now, I am not surprised by the focus on a streaming box rather than a cheap stick because it will take too long to make up the money in services.
