AppleTV as a First-Class iOS Device

I believe that Apple is still dabbling (and more) in the TV arena, but that it will be AppleTV “set-top box” driven rather than a full-scale television screen. Moving into the TV arena would actually be a reason to complicate the resolution space for apps, and has intriguing possibilities for AirPlay from multiple iOS devices.

  • Full-definition HDTV is 1920×1080, landscape only.
  • This is big enough to show a full-resolution legacy (320×480) or retina (640×960) iPhone app in either orientation.
  • It is big enough to show a legacy resolution (768×1024) iPad app in either orientation, but not large enough to show a full retina resolution (1536×2048) in either orientation, though the iPad can show full HDTV resolution in landscape.
  • HDTV is enough resolution to show three portrait retina iPhones or two landscape retina iPhone or portrait legacy iPads side-by-side.  Think of the collaborative gaming that could enable. (It could also display two rows of six – for a total of 12 – legacy iPhone screens, but that’s absurdly old-school for an iPhone resolution.)
  • Future hi-def televisions are looking at retina-equivalent resolution-doubling, for a total resolution of 3840×2160. Now that’s an Apple retina-display monitor I’d like to have!

So, I predict that AppleTV will become a “first-class” iOS device with apps designed for its 1920×1080 resolution, but that it will depend on a second (or third, fourth, …) iOS device (and probably Siri and/or 3D gesture – Kinect-like) for control and interaction. The television and gaming ecosystems are rich enough and consumer-engaged enough to justify the pain and suffering of a third form-factor for app developers.

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