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Apple is putting iTunes on Samsung TVs
- lambada 8y agoIs this a sign that Apple might be preparing to kill the Apple TV box? Perhaps they see the future as being native smart apps inbuilt into the TV.
- dawnerd 8y agoMore like what google has done with chrome cast. Sell a device but also license out the tech to be deeply integrated with other devices.
- heavymark 8y agoCan't see how that would work. As that would be like Apple putting Apple Music on Android and killing the iPhone. The samsung method will be a degraded experience but one they are willing to allow to increase growth. Like when they allowed iTunes on PC finally even though they knew it wouldn't be as good of an experience but was there only way to continue to grow. I think it's a great move on their part if they have a chance with competing with Netflix.
- lambada 8y agoApple Music is already on Android, and has been for a while https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.android.music&hl=en_GB https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.andr...
- e1ven 8y agoI think that was his point- Apple Music on Android doesn't mean Apple is discontinuing the iPhone, and similarly, putting Apple Movies on the Samsung TV doesn't mean they are discontinuing the AppleTV
- tareqak 8y agoI see it is as a sign of them giving up on making their own TV (I thought it might have been a rumour, but I might be wrong). What I find more interesting though is the timing: a deal like this would probably have been in the works for months in advance of the Tim Cook investor update earlier in the week. Apple would have also had to make the software for this version of iTunes too. What chipsets do these Samsung TVs have? Is it similar to one for an Android phone? Could iTunes/Apple Music show up on Android next?
- microtherion 8y agoI'm not privy to Apple's product strategies, but the Motorola ROKR was not really a sign of Apple giving up on making their own phone…
- benologist 8y agoThey just want rent for movies and tv. Lifetime revenue of decades and thousands per person. Licensing deals with Samsung and probably many more is easier than making another Apple TV that people want a lot.
- lambada 8y agoApple Music is already available on Android FYI. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.android.music&hl=en_GB https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.andr... :)
- lemoncucumber 8y agoIt also recently became available on Amazon Echo devices, so I wouldn't read anything special into it becoming available on Samsung TVs (given that Apple's Homepod directly competes with Echo): https://www.wired.com/story/apple-music-on-amazon-echo/ https://www.wired.com/story/apple-music-on-amazon-echo/
- bpye 8y agoIf I'm not mistaken Samsung TVs run Tizen - so quite different to Android.
- sithadmin 8y agoI really hope not. The Apple TV far outpaces 'smart TVs' and other set-top boxes in terms of UI and stability.
- Despegar 8y agoThere's no need to kill good and successful products. https://media.thinknum.com/articles/google-chromecast-sales-have-suddenly-dropped-off/ https://media.thinknum.com/articles/google-chromecast-sales-...
- sgt101 8y agoAnd yet some call this the innovator's dilemma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma
- konschubert 8y agoHow does this relate? Having a product that requires little attention and brings in cash doesn’t diatract from innovation, it enables it.
- WWLink 8y agoSadly, Apple seems more like the company to cut products that "don't produce enough growth". Look at how they killed off the ipod, airport, and time capsule devices. At the moment it seems if something isn't selling like crazy, they either ignore it or discontinue it.
- scarface74 8y agoWhen they last reported iPod numbers they were selling about 1.5 million devices a quarter and most of those were probably the (still available) iPod Touch.
- Redoubts 8y agoI suppose one could say the same about the AirPort, but those met their demise anyways.
- superseeplus 8y agoOr maybe they are just trying to separate their content selling business from their hardware businesses? They could get additional revenue from users using iTunes to rent movies or TV shows even if they don’t buy their hardware.
- clintonb 8y agoBingo! I bought a Roku to avoid the Apple-Amazon war (back when Amazon did not have video apps for iOS and tvOS). iTunes isn’t on Roku, so I don’t use iTunes when I purchase videos. Know what is on Roku? Amazon!
- scarface74 8y agoI have 3 Roku TVs and a Roku stick attached to a fourth and I also recommend Roku products to almost everyone. I also have two 4K AppleTVs (free with DirecTVNow.) But Roku is everything I hate about non Apple consumer electronics. It’s not a hardware product where the business model is I give them money and they give me stuff. Half the home screen is an advertisement and the shortcuts on the remote go to the highest bidder. I have one remote with a shortcut to Rdio (defunct) and one with CBSnews.
- ozmbie 8y agoI really hope they won’t kill the AppleTV. Yes the device is expensive (it’s an Apple product after all...) but it’s so refreshing to use a TV OS that is performant, responsive, and doesn’t have ads in it. And I personally love the trackpad remote. Apple’s stance (and track record) on privacy also gives me peace of mind that it’s not sending back unwanted data.
- i386 8y agoI love the remote too but the bluetooth seems more sensitive to RF interference on the 4k Apple TV than it did on the previous model.
- garyclarke27 8y agoWhy kill it, Apple TV is one of their best products, amazing video and sound quality and the best remote, if you have a home cinema like theatre and spend a few hours a day watching TV, the additional cost of $125 is irrelevant. Apple should use their chip making expertise to develop a native 4k Laser Projector at affordable prices, Sony at $5000 still too expensive, Texas Instruments have been slow to innovate and get to 4k. A true native 4k apple tv with laser projector at say $2000 is quite doable and would be a very attractive product, to get 150 inch viewing screen plus options to link to several smart speakers for surround sound.
- rcarmo 8y agoThe Apple TV is also their only HomeKit hub (you can have a; iPad as a hub, but that’s hardly reliable).
- plolio 8y agoAre people still using iTunes?
- huhtenberg 8y agoAre there people who allow their TVs connect to the Internet?
- paulcole 8y agoI do! It’s easy to do, the features are nice, and it’s convenient.
- godzillabrennus 8y agoIt is a really easy decision for most consumers these days since many TV's have built in media players. Why buy a TV and a media player when you can just connect the TV to the internet and have a media player integrated?
- scarface74 8y agoAnother example of “I haven’t owned a TV IN 10 years. Do people still watch tv?”
- kureikain 8y agoYes, it's nice feature on these samsung smart tv. You can login to youtube, netflix hulu...to watch content from these over internet. My mom loves it
- heavymark 8y agoBy iTunes I believe they are referring to the ability to watch movies from the Apple iTunes Store which is available on Mac, iPhones, iPods, and AppleTvs. Not referring to the iTunes Mac/Windows software, though yes, still very popular.
- tareqak 8y agoI am. I bought a bunch of music on it before Spotify was around, and I still have an “ownership” mindset with respect to content that I think I really like. I still have buyer’s remorse on certain albums and tracks, but that’s just the nature of things for me.
- cityzen 8y agoConsidering I can hardly run iTunes on a new iMac, I can't wait to watch my Samsung "smart" tv burst into flames trying to open it.
- joncrane 8y agoFunny, the headline I read earlier said "Samsung Smart TVs will add iTunes...." Simply switching the subject of the sentence makes a huge difference in how the story is interpreted.
- 0x0 8y agoHopefully this means there's a chance airplay2 support can make it into shairplay/shairport or Kodi as well sometime soon then.
- mephitix 8y agoI hope they allow playback of 4K content... right now they only do that for Apple TV. I purchased a bunch of movies from iTunes and was excited when they announced they’d upgrade it all to 4K for free (until they said it could only be played on Apple TV)
- intopieces 8y agoHm. What device were you looking to play back 4K content, if not a TV? Wouldn’t the viewing distance for a computer monitor need to be quite close to make it discernible?
- mephitix 8y agoI want to be able to play back the iTunes movies I bought on my 4K TV without having to buy an Apple TV device. We just recently got a 4K OLED and the difference between that and my old HD plasma (especially with HDR features) is huge.
- petepete 8y agoSamsung also add advertising to their Smart TV UI. I'd recommend avoiding at all costs. I wrote a guide on blocking them via DNS here, these days it's probably easier just to get a Pi-Hole. https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4bcef1e52 https://gist.github.com/peteryates/b44b70d19ccd52f62d66cdd4b...
- kuhhk 8y agoI just never connected my TV to the internet. There’s plenty of other ways to make your tv “smart”... but you’re right, a PiHole would be useful to block the ads on those streaming devices too
- petepete 8y agoThe Prime, YouTube and iPlayer apps work just as well on the TV as the Chromecast (the TV just appears in the cast to list) and overall does a very good job. I just dislike the ads from Samsung. They weren't there for the first six months after I bought the TV and were released in a firmware 'upgrade' without warning. Shitty behaviour at best. I'm no longer going to buy anything Samsung and ever time a Samsung TV related post is made here or on Reddit, I'll post my link.
- innagadadavida 8y agoThis is very much related to Netflix pulling out of the iTunes store pay option. Looks like there is a war brewing between Netflix, Apple, YouTube, Amazon to become King of media. I predict when Netflix announces syndication of their content, they are admitting to have lost to the giants.
- wkearney99 8y agoWait, shitty software from apple instead of the shitty software that's already on the Samsung TVs? No thanks.
- kingosticks 8y agoWasn't it Samsung that removed the 3.5mm headphone port from their latest TVs? That's spooky.
- headShrinker 8y agoSamsung software is really bad. Their screens are really good. This move will deplete Apple's cachet further. We've seen this Apple before, in the 90s. The problem with Apple isn't the removal of the 50 year old 1/8 inch headphone jack, of which the cords have ripped the buds off my ears more than 100 times. The future is cordless and there are cordless headphones that work great for 20 or more hours per charge. Removing the headphone jack was a strong product decision, likely made by some of the leaders in product design and technology, the world around. The problem lies in a company that can't make a strong big corporate direction decision. Apple clearly attempting to shift to services because they can't come up with a new killer device. Services are safe, and safety kills good hardware companies. Their most important software, iTunes and iPhone iPod app has become nearly unusable due to the strong sales funnel aimed at Apple Music. Which I don't use but is trogan-horse-adware that causes popups everyday on my iPhone. Apple Presents confusing product lines highlighting numerous similar items weakens the entire line. Selling high-quality products and at the same time filling those devices with popup sales for services is indicative of a company that can't commit. These are clear signs of an Apple devolving to a state similar to where Steve Jobs found Apple Inc in 1997, which is scary.
- scarface74 8y agoEveryone acts as if it’s possible to come up with an electronic product in a category that’s more massive than the mobile phone. 5 years before the iPhone was introduced, it was clear that the world was getting to a point that almost everyone would have a phone. Since the iPhone was introduced, no one has come up with a product larger than the smart phone.
- headShrinker 8y agoHopefully it isn't just about cellphones, though that was a big one. There are tons of sectors waiting to be disrupted and markets yet to be created. No one knew they wanted an iMac, iPod, or an iPad. Apple created those markets. meanwhile after Jobs, the Apple Watch isn't doing that well. iPod sold more units in one year than the entire history of Apple Watch. The home pod is a wash. Beyond that, there are no Apple hardware success stories. I think that's because Jobs took huge risks, had huge vision and put huge pressure on staff and the tech and media industries. No one is doing that anymore. except Elon Musk
- 256TiB 8y agoSo, then I would have to enter my Apple ID into an app on a platform Apple does not control? While Smart TV's are far from hardened devices? While that Apple ID is central and crucial to the security of my Apple devices and services? I think not.
- ninedays 8y agoYou know something is wrong when Apple gives up control of their experience to Samsung even if it is only a part of it.