3 Apple Products For The Future Without Steve Jobs

[ericburnby]

An Apple TV is such an obvious choice. It's funny there's an article talking about future products but no mention of the numerous other articles on the 'net where Jobs has discussed this in his biography.

- You take the iTunes model where you purchase individual shows/episodes you like instead of being forced to buy "packs" of channels from your cable company. There are no longer "stations" or "channels", just content to browse based on the "type" of show.
- You incorporate the existing Apple TV box, but give it more power and have it run iOS. This allows your TV to have Apps installed on it just like your other iOS devices. Instead of being limited to the small numbers of Apps you can get with certain TV brands (or even cable boxes) you now have access to a huge selection of third party Apps, which would grow tremendously as existing iOS developers would have another market to enter. You can also now play games without needing a console as the requirements for gaming are part of the TV.
- Your iPhones, iPods and iPads now become your all-in-one controller for your TV. You can browse your TV guide on your iDevice, set recordings, order shows and control your TV. For playing games you can use the iDevice as the controller (think Wii U). You can also stream straight to your TV.

Apple doesn't need multiple devices - they can do almost everything they need with a single one - an Apple TV.

 

[watcha]

[citation][nom]Phishy714[/nom]^ Unfortunately, apple will sell its products like it always has: To kids who don't know any better and will buy an underpowered and overpriced product "just because its apple!.[/citation]

1 - How can you describe the the iPhone 4S as 'underpowered'? It has the FASTEST CPU/GPU combination of ANY phone you can get. Full stop. How can the fastest be underpowered? And the fact that it's the fastest also addresses your 'overpriced' argument.
2 - iOS users tend to be older, better educated and more wealthy, according to numerous surveys.
3 - Maybe they are not buying because it's 'Apple' - maybe they are buying because the products tend to be best in class. But even if they WERE buying because it's Apple, you're just as bad because you're NOT buying because it's Apple. What's more, buying because it's Apple actually makes logical sense because you know your products will receive new updates for at least 2 years (unlike poor Nexus One customers), and they have a very good reputation for high quality, high performance products. Manufacturer quality and customer satisfaction is a very important consideration to any smart purchaser.

 

[MarioJP]

Don't think this is going to go well for Apple in this area. Consoles already have streaming services and a online store to buy games and download directly to your console. Sorry apple you won't be able to compete in the gaming because of what consoles can do already. I highly doubt that the iTV would be as powerful as the xbox 360 or PS3 or even the next gen consoles whenever that might be.

 

[feeddagoat]

Apple TV won't be phased out, It will be "reimagined" until the market accepts or is ready for it. Due to them beating their head against a wall and still doing it, I believe they have big plans for Apple TV. From there I can see them developing it a game center or console with other i-devices acting as controller. TBH I cant see apple TV taking off until someone like sky, virgin or BT adopt it as their main PVR, It needs that sort of mainstream push.

If Apple acquired steam I actually would give up gaming or go to consoles. I simply don't want them in charge since I love valve so much and don't want to be watching the terms constantly before getting screwed over. They don't need it anyway, itunes can be adapted for game delivery easy enough when the time comes.

 

[Usersname]

Why would anyone give up PC gaming or "abandon" Steam if Apple were to purchase their operation? DirectX is a buggy load of c**p festooned with virtually imperceptible updates which shepherd vacuous consumers into upgrading OS's and hardware simply so they can keep buying overpriced broken games with no decent plots, but that doesn't seem to upset any of you.

 

[vaughn2k]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]it did it was called the pippin and was produced by bandaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_PippinIn May 2006, the Pippin placed 22nd in PC World Magazine's list of the "25 Worst Tech Products of all Time"[/citation]
Wow! I did'nt know that... Apple was sneaky on this and let Bandai build their products, made them as guinea pigs, and if it fails? their off the hook...

 

[MarioJP]

[citation][nom]usersname[/nom]Why would anyone give up PC gaming or "abandon" Steam if Apple were to purchase their operation? DirectX is a buggy load of c**p festooned with virtually imperceptible updates which shepherd vacuous consumers into upgrading OS's and hardware simply so they can keep buying overpriced broken games with no decent plots, but that doesn't seem to upset any of you.[/citation]

its not a directx issue, Its a development, time issue, not to mention they are going where the $$$. This is where consoles have the upper hand. When done right you get good results like BF3.

 

[ano]

Yaaaaay! Wolfgang is the new Marcus Yam! what happened to Marcus?!

And this one is the joke of the week: "what if Apple were to acquire Steam to support its App Store service for iOS and MacOS X"... yeah right )

 

[ano]

[citation][nom]usersname[/nom]Why would anyone give up PC gaming or "abandon" Steam if Apple were to purchase their operation? DirectX is a buggy load of c**p festooned with virtually imperceptible updates which shepherd vacuous consumers into upgrading OS's and hardware simply so they can keep buying overpriced broken games with no decent plots, but that doesn't seem to upset any of you.[/citation]

Hey there Einstein! I was wondering, what the hell do you know about DirectX?!!! Really! I challenge you right here, right now! Let's start talking about DirectX...!! I'm waiting! I'm not kidding!
What do you mean by "IMPERCEPTIBLE UPDATES"?! First of all, what you mean is "RELEASE" not "UPDATE"!! oh dear lord! you have NO IDEA what you are talking about.....!!
Answer this, so I can understand why new releases (not UPDATES, genius!!) DirectX are IMPERCEPTIBLE?!! WTF?! Do you even know what is the difference between DX 10 and 9, or 11?! If you want to go back more, the jump from DX 8 to 9 was also huge!
Oh god I hate it when people talk about things that they have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE about, and they pretend to be experts in that field! What do you know about DX?! You should talk about you overpriced MacBook! or your precious iPhone...!!

 

[ano]

[citation][nom]watcha[/nom]1 - How can you describe the the iPhone 4S as 'underpowered'? It has the FASTEST CPU/GPU combination of ANY phone you can get. Full stop. How can the fastest be underpowered? And the fact that it's the fastest also addresses your 'overpriced' argument. 2 - iOS users tend to be older, better educated and more wealthy, according to numerous surveys.3 - Maybe they are not buying because it's 'Apple' - maybe they are buying because the products tend to be best in class. But even if they WERE buying because it's Apple, you're just as bad because you're NOT buying because it's Apple. What's more, buying because it's Apple actually makes logical sense because you know your products will receive new updates for at least 2 years (unlike poor Nexus One customers), and they have a very good reputation for high quality, high performance products. Manufacturer quality and customer satisfaction is a very important consideration to any smart purchaser.[/citation]

He didn't specifically said "iPhone 4S"! I wonder why you, yourself, didn't mention ANY other Apple products?!! isn't because they are really "underpowered and overpriced" products?!! just answer that to yourself!

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]ano[/nom]Hey there Einstein! I was wondering, what the hell do you know about DirectX?!!! Really! I challenge you right here, right now! Let's start talking about DirectX...!! I'm waiting! I'm not kidding!What do you mean by "IMPERCEPTIBLE UPDATES"?! First of all, what you mean is "RELEASE" not "UPDATE"!! oh dear lord! you have NO IDEA what you are talking about.....!!Answer this, so I can understand why new releases (not UPDATES, genius!!) DirectX are IMPERCEPTIBLE?!! WTF?! Do you even know what is the difference between DX 10 and 9, or 11?! If you want to go back more, the jump from DX 8 to 9 was also huge!Oh god I hate it when people talk about things that they have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE about, and they pretend to be experts in that field! What do you know about DX?! You should talk about you overpriced MacBook! or your precious iPhone...!![/citation]

Are you always this adverserial on public forums? I've read that too many first-person-shooters can do that to ya.

 

[ano]

[citation][nom]halcyon[/nom]Are you always this adverserial on public forums? I've read that too many first-person-shooters can do that to ya.[/citation]
Are you always this irrelevant on public forums?! I know that you don't have a clue about the topic, and just wanted to say something... so you said what you just said congrats! now say something relevant, if you can !

 

[Guest]

"Apple products don't let you watch porn"

@masterasia: fire up your iPad, Mac or iPhone and head on over to xvideos.com. That should keep you busy for a while.

 

[MarioJP]

See the problem is Apple Users are intimidated. So the their justification has to come from somewhere after paying for a iproduct that is twice as its competitors if not more. Apple does not need steam for their application. iTV will probably not be a real gaming contender to rival the 360, and the PS3. There is a reason why these consoles exists. It already has established itself as a real gaming system and then some. Every year new functionally keeps being added to consoles. Like hulu,netflix,arcade games,online store,trophies etc. Consoles these days is not what it used to be.

How long would it be before consoles will have their own facebook app. And fact I believe the PS3 has FB integrated and now PS3 owners can access steam.

What can Apple possibly do that is "better" than what we have now "a snug ios" with fart apps and angry bird and call that gaming?? Furthermore using your iphone or ipad as a remote control or as your gaming controller haha yeah ok i am sold...right

 

[halcyon]

I doubt gaming that most would consider "hardcore" would come to iOS or any iTV. That's not a market Apple seems interested in.

 

[tychot]

If you know anything about valve, you'll realize there is no way in hell valve would sell steam to anyone for any price. Valve and their people are all about making games first, not money.

 

[MarioJP]

[citation][nom]halcyon[/nom]I doubt gaming that most would consider "hardcore" would come to iOS or any iTV. That's not a market Apple seems interested in.[/citation]

Even if Apple was interested, it is already too late. Sure it will sell like any other electronic device and just maybe compete against Nintendo since they don't seem to be doing anything right to stay ahead of the game lately. I hope Nintendo does not become irrelevant to the gaming industry. Best case scenario. iTV might replace Nintendo. Worst case scenario. iTV could end up as an extension to mobile on your TV and probably flop by its own idevices such as the ipad since you can take it on the go.

So far consoles has kept gamers glued to their big screen tv's because lets face it. its pretty impressive yet all that horsepower packed into a box, yet very affordable to buy a console that has the gaming industry on its knees, not to mention able to watch movies and stream shows even on demand games ready to download. Just recently Comcast announced that xfinity is coming to consoles. So yep console gamers are pretty well "entertained"

And then you have the PS3 that you can use the controller to tilt and rotate the controller, yet feels more natural. The ipad is too big to be a gaming controller although I can see being used to select shows and music to play. As for the ipod/iphone just can't grip it right to even tilt.

What I mean is, an iphone/ipod are not meant to be held like a game controller. Game pads or game controllers are designed with the best possible grip for "better control" on your character. I make an exception for racing games (maybe still does not feel natural lol) only because driving games does not require complex controls to control your car, but its not a realistic experience though. Probably prefer to use an ipad since its bigger but still does not come close to a steering wheel as a steering wheel actually has force feedback. Even the analog sticks feels more natural than the ipad. If you want to go this route. At least consoles has peripherals such a steering wheel and pedal which truly immerse you into driving a car if that is the case.

 

[ChromeTusk]

The video game section reminds me of Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console.
Tom's Guide did have an article regarding a proof of concept 3D input system. I'll link the article if I find it.

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]usersname[/nom]The acquisition of Steam by Apple would be a fantastic opportunity to grab a chunk of the gaming market. Though enthusiast overclockers are a minute (and increasingly irrelevant) fringe on the edge of gaming, Cook/Ives may need to usher in GPU upgradable iMacs (if not a console). WebKit drives the Steam GUI as it is; a project closely associated with Apple. A unison would also be a slap in the face to MS for purloining and dumbing-down Bungie.[/citation]
+1

 

[MarioJP]

Meantime PC market continues to grow

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/03/pc-market-still-growing-lenovo-more-than-others/#comments

Plus GTA 5 has been announced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZ5tgjPVfU

After watching the trailer I can't wait for this game to come out on PC

See further validates my point why consoles and PC's are real gaming systems.