Apple’s Marketing Executives ‘Detest’ The Idea Of Introducing An Affordable TV Stick-Like Device, But A Report Says It Is Necessary To Expand Its Presence
But why would they? They can't put anything meaningful on a tiny device like this that is powered by HDMI. TV+ is available on Smart TVs. What kind of niche audience would this have?
My experience with Airplaying to a Roku-based TV is that it isn’t as smooth. E.g., screen mirroring a Mac had noticeable mouse lag, whereas it was pretty buttery smooth with an AppleTV.
Maybe newer Rokus have addressed that problem, though.
They don't need to limit themselves to HDMI power. They could do like the Chromecast and Fire stick do, and have an external power source for 7.5W or whatever over USB. At that power level, I'm sure Apple could develop or repurpose their existing silicon lineup to be able to make a passively cooled stick design for under $100.