Apple’s Next Act?

Posted by On June 03, 2011 0 Comment

Do for cable what they did for mobile.

But let’s step back a minute first.  It’s almost hard to remember what mobile was like before 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone.  It was not just the hardware and software that was cumbersome and poorly designed.  The ecosystem was also screwed up.  If you recall, it was the carriers who controlled the “deck” (in the US at least).  A startup that could get their app onto the Verizon deck and installed on the handset at the time of sale could expect a bump in valuation close to $100 million.  But of course, all the carriers were extracting huge fees for the privilege of letting customers use your software.  So to my mind, the best things Apple did for mobile were (in this order):

  • Create the App Store and a way for developers to get lots and lots of applications on the iOS deck.  Yes, developers still complain about how Apple is a bottle neck for getting apps approved and that they’re “looking for ways to extract more money” but these moves pale in comparison to the olden days.
  • Launch a great handset in the iPhone.  IMHO the iPhone is the best handset before or since it’s launch. Others come close now (Android essentially copied Apple) but I think the iPhone is really great.
  • The iPad. As my good friend Steve Murray at Softbank says, “Every year since 2005 has been the year of enterprise mobile”.  But I think 2011 really is it.  It wasn’t until the iPad was introduced in 2010 that enterprise mobile could begin to deliver upon it’s vision.  The form factor, screen size and battery life all combined with an easy to use iOS interface, make the iPad the perfect mobile solution for enterprises.  And businesses see this.  Apple’s CFO said on a recent call with investors, that 90% of the Fortune 500 were testing or deploying the iPad.

So basically what Apple did for mobile is truly transformational and you ask, what could top that?   I say revolutionize cable.  Anyone with cable at home will tell you that the hardware (the cable box) is a piece of shit.  The remote sucks (all 4 of them!).  The integration with the TV is terrible.  When it comes to content, it’s very limited and prices are high.  The user experience delivered by the software (and hardware) is abysmal.  All of this is because the cable providers (not surprisingly many overlap with the mobile carriers) have a strangle hold on customers and they don’t know how, nor have any incentive to innovate.

I think Apple can, and should, change that.  Apple has dabbled in this area with the Apple TV (now in it’s second version).  The Apple TV is a nice piece of hardware and the user experience works pretty well, but you can tell it’s an incomplete device and ecosystem.  Imagine if Apple were to negotiate with the content providers to get network TV and other channels on Apple TV.  Then open it up to the App Store.  Wow, it could be really amazing.  I think we would see innovation on a huge scale and this could potentially propel Apple to become the first $1 trillion market cap company.  Come on Steve Jobs, let’s do it!