Do appleTV’s sell well?

[Racineur]

This amazes me. Don’t people have better things to do with their time besides game? What about reading books? I have a 2003 Gameboy advance and barley use it but it’s my gaming machine when I do decide to game which is rare. Batteries last forever.

No. This is 2022 ans the world is gaming his health out. Gaming is the solution to all the problems of humanity. From gaz shortage to trips to Mars. Gaming, gaming, gaming and gaming again. Not a new phenomenon. In the 1920's, the word was dancing the night away. Dance, dance. Remember. They shoot horses, don't they. Gaming is the new fad for kiddos and adults that can't let go of their 20's and sometimes 30's. As dancing would make you look doing the "it" thing in 1920, gaming is making you look like the smart people with a smart phone and a smart TV and a smart home in a no so smart world. Watch a TV review, 3/4 of the video is dedicated to gaming, frame rates, adaptable this and that. Watch a phone review, same thing but this time this long period of time is dedicated to photography. Some years ago, it was dedicated to Facebook. Gone now. Photography in. Next decade, it will be something totally different and maybe not so new. As sung Shirley Bassey "It's just history repeating".

 

[elbert]

AppleTV does not run on a battery.

Lower power consumption is pro environment.

 

[jenelemond]

Yes, for sure it does sell well. But I don't have any yet!

 

[kingtj1971]

This amazes me. Don’t people have better things to do with their time besides game? What about reading books? I have a 2003 Gameboy advance and barley use it but it’s my gaming machine when I do decide to game which is rare. Batteries last forever.

If your only "gaming system" is a 2003 GameBoy Advance? I'd have to say you really have little experience with what "gaming" involves in 2022.

There's nothing wrong with reading books.... but much of today's gaming is interactive. You play against other humans. So in that respect, it has some of the same draw as competitive sports. You've got everything from simulated battlefields with 128 players at a time fighting in squads and communicating with each other about their strategies to people playing the digital version of classic board and card games like Scrabble or Uno. You've even got people playing virtual reality games in 3D with headsets.

Especially since the COVID pandemic eliminated a lot of options for entertainment like concerts or stand-up comedy tours, and people tried to stay indoors and out of crowds more -- gaming has become a more needed social link than ever before.

But really, even with the COVID thing completely aside, I think the power of today's CPUs and GPUs have made computer gaming more compelling than ever before. I have friends in their 50's and 60's who play the car racing sims or flight simulator games regularly, and have elaborate setups with purpose-designed controllers for them. It's as close you can come to doing those real activities without all the expense and requirements they'd otherwise have.

 

[ahurst]

Not sure if this helps the discussion at all, but I got a hand-me-down 3rd gen Apple TV about a year ago and I think it’s great. 1080p Netflix and Prime playback work wonderfully, the UI is simple and responsive, and (after some hefty wrestling with macOS wake-on-LAN settings) it plays back TV shows and movies from our old Mac Mini server to fill any streaming service content gaps.

If you’re a tech nerd, you might remember that the 3rd Gen Apple TV runs an A5 CPU, originally used in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 (it’s actually worse, since the aTV’s A5 is only single-core). Given that a 3rd gen model with a 10-year-old chip is still extremely usable for non-4K/non-HDR use (and still receives software updates) it’s probably a device people don’t upgrade all that often. As such, I’m guessing it doesn’t move a huge amount of yearly units, but I certainly hope it sells enough for Apple to keep making it. I’ll have to upgrade eventually!

 

[jwolf6589]

Not sure if this helps the discussion at all, but I got a hand-me-down 3rd gen Apple TV about a year ago and I think it’s great. 1080p Netflix and Prime playback work wonderfully, the UI is simple and responsive, and (after some hefty wrestling with macOS wake-on-LAN settings) it plays back TV shows and movies from our old Mac Mini server to fill any streaming service content gaps.

If you’re a tech nerd, you might remember that the 3rd Gen Apple TV runs an A5 CPU, originally used in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 (it’s actually worse, since the aTV’s A5 is only single-core). Given that a 3rd gen model with a 10-year-old chip is still extremely usable for non-4K/non-HDR use (and still receives software updates) it’s probably a device people don’t upgrade all that often. As such, I’m guessing it doesn’t move a huge amount of yearly units, but I certainly hope it sells enough for Apple to keep making it. I’ll have to upgrade eventually!

I moved to 4th generation from the appleTV 3 some time ago and never looked back.

 

[TheRevenantFromDoom2]

This amazes me. Don’t people have better things to do with their time besides game? What about reading books?

It might surprise you to learn that some people do both ?

 

[an-other]

It's worth nothing for many years Apple classified the Apple TV as a "hobby" versus a "product." My speculation is the original vision was to disrupt the visual media business the way iTunes did the music one. This was something Jobs claimed to have ideas on, however he ran out of time. I don't want to imply he could've been successful to the same level (although he had a great track record with some things!) The destruction of the music label model eventually made other similar companies weary of integrating new technology which they didn't wholly control. That's not solely an Apple thing (e.g. Napster changed music media to file consumption versus physical product. Apple stepped in to help monetise things), but it is in the background of the initial challenges to really explode the Apple TV as was likely intended. I noted this is my speculation when I wrote this paragraph. You're welcome to disagree or offer alternate views.

The iTunes movie/tv sales/rental keeps people in the walled garden. It makes business sense to cover all other competitors in regards to this. The last thing in the world you'd want to do is create a reason for an "Apple household" to purchase a Roku as they have no Apple options on offer.

As for the box itself is a capable piece of kit. Streaming content is likely the most used. There's, AirPlay (for music/video), Arcade and Fitness, too. Another, not so obvious benefit, is I can hook up any cable TV in my house with an Apple TV versus running coaxial lines using the cable company's app.

Apple covers content on some levels with AppleTV+ to keep themselves in the game.

I wouldn't say I need an AppleTV as other products from TiVo, Playstation, Smart TVs, iPads. Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire do a lot of the same stuff. I have a few, and it's my go to choice for streaming content. I also have more faith in Apple's privacy/tracking than other vendors. That may be self delusion.

 

[boss.king]

This amazes me. Don’t people have better things to do with their time besides game? What about reading books? I have a 2003 Gameboy advance and barley use it but it’s my gaming machine when I do decide to game which is rare. Batteries last forever.

You know you can do both, right?