Apple has a reputation for making “premium” products with elegant designs and closed ecosystems. But sometimes the obsession with that design philosophy can cost the company money. Bloomberg's Apple insider Mark Gurman says Apple's marketing team scrapped the idea of a TV stick years ago and opted for the more expensive Apple TV box. Gurman also believes the company may be rethinking its decision now, although there's no way to prove that for sure. A TV stick would definitely be an Apple product to consider, in my opinion.
For comparison, the Apple TV starts at $129. Yes, it looks pretty snazzy, but much of that cost is due to the more premium form factor. Not to mention, the A15 processor, tons of RAM, Siri compatibility, and access to games from Apple Arcade add to the cost. As Gurman points out, content subscriptions are superior to box hardware.
I guess Apple thought a stick wouldn't take up as much space as a small box. On the other hand, Apple continued to sell the iPhone SE, which looks like a previous generation phone. Only now are we potentially looking at a modern re-edition of the iPhone SE, which I think should sell like hotcakes.
As I mentioned above, this is the same approach Apple took with the Vision Pro. And the company really needs to dial back the “high quality” for the Vision Pro 2 if it wants to secure a significant user base in the mixed reality industry.
The same goes for Apple TV. The company could be missing out on billions in revenue.