A Cup of Coffee in Hell
18 years ago, on stage at the D Conference, Steve Jobs made a funny. "It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell," Jobs quipped to Walt Mossberg, when asked about Apple's decision to bring iTunes to Windows.1 I was reminded of that quote with the news that Apple has finally brought their Apple TV app (and thus, Apple TV+ service) to Android devices.
To be clear, this is not nearly as big of a deal as that was. iTunes, way back when,2 was a great service that, importantly, powered the iPod. And that move, which Jobs famously resisted, opened up the device to millions of users that wouldn't have otherwise been able to use the music player without a Mac.3 That decision was arguably one of the most important in the history of Apple, thanks to the "halo effect" it caused, allowing the iPod to boost other Apple products.
Yeah, this is not that. In many ways, it's the opposite of that.
Apple TV – a product line that humorously and confusingly encompasses the Apple TV set top box, the Apple TV app (which runs on that box and on other devices – including now Android!), and the Apple TV+ streaming service4 – is not core to Apple in any way, shape, or form. The streaming box is a good device, but it's too expensive relative to its peers. The app is fine, pretty good, which is saying more than most such services. The streaming service is great content-wise when it comes to shows. As I've long said, it's the new HBO.5 When it comes to movies, it's decidedly less great – which is weird, but also self-inflicted. Anyway, regardless, one thing it's not is a massive success. And that's in spite of relatively massive spend, compared to their peers.
Said another way: while putting iTunes on Windows was great news for Microsoft (and yes, helped Apple quite a bit too, per above), putting Apple TV on Android is good news for Apple (yes, slightly helping Google too, I guess).
Presumably, with Apple TV+, Apple thought like Apple always thinks. That is, this will be another exclusive offering that boosts the value of Apple products. But it hasn't really worked out that way because for content to be valuable, it has to be seen. It was never going to sell Apple hardware (beyond perhaps some small amount of people who bought an Apple TV – again, the set top box, not the service – to get access to a show or two they heard about early on). And Apple quickly realized that in order to boost the now all-important Services narrative, they needed to widen the aperture. A lot.
And so the service came to Samsung devices. Samsung! And Amazon devices. Amazon! And a whole host of other devices. But for whatever reason, Apple took their time bringing it to what is technically the biggest platform of all: Android.
And it's a good app! I loaded it on my Pixel Fold device. It's nice. It accommodates the fold even though Apple doesn't yet have a smartphone that folds. It does all the things. I have no idea why it took six years to launch it – especially when, per the above Services point, they launched Apple Music on Android almost a decade ago – but well, here it is.
Might we see iMessage next? Yeah, I mean, no. Even though that probably also would have been the right move, strategically (in the face of WhatsApp). But that's another story. I'm excited for Android users to be able to discover Ted Lasso and Slow Horses and For All Mankind and all the rest.
This is less a glass of ice water in hell and more a cup of coffee there.
Update February 14: Another day, another massive Apple TV breakthrough?!
M.G. Siegler
1 Perhaps the most amazing thing about this quote is that it was made just before Jobs was set to be joined by Bill Gates on stage for a (famous) joint interview! Gates was "enraged", as Mossberg recalled. But Jobs quickly broke the, um, ice.
2 This is before the software got incredibly long-in-the-tooth and was finally put out to pasture in favor of Apple Music.
3 That list included myself at the time, by the way. The first Apple product I ever bought was an iPod.
4 But not, of course, an actual Apple television set.
5 Might it one day actually contain HBO content? Some people are saying...