Apple ditched low-cost TV dongle plans, but looks to double the new Apple TV + content rate in 2022

Apple has abandoned plans for a low-cost Apple TV dongle and is expected to speed up and significantly expand the release of new content on Apple TV + next year, according to Information.

Sources are said to be familiar with Apple’s plans to speak to Information apparently revealed in detail many of the company’s internal discussions and attitudes regarding ‌Apple TV + ‌. The company would view ‌Apple TV + ‌ as a stand-alone business rather than a mechanism to encourage users to buy into the Apple ecosystem.

Information reported in 2018 that Apple was working on a low-cost TV dongle device as a cheaper alternative to the Apple TV‌, which starts at $ 149. The project was led by Tim Twerdahl, an Apple video and audio marketing manager, who argued that a low-cost television set would allow users to more affordably access ‌Apple TV + ‌ based on his experience in supervising similar projects at Netflix and Amazon.

Greg Joswiak and Phil Schiller reportedly canceled Twerdahl, insisting that Apple shouldn’t start making cheap, low-margin devices because of its potential to damage its reputation for high-end products, which means that Twerdahl’s low-cost television set project was scrapped. Twerdahl is said to have recently left the company.

Apple decided that a suitable middle ground would be to develop apps for ‌Apple TV + ‌ on other platforms, such as devices from Samsung, Roku, Amazon, Sony, and Microsoft, which matched executives’ earlier concerns. including Eddy Cue, that ‌Apple TV + ‌ is expected to be available on a wide range of devices, including non-Apple ones.

Executives reportedly debated putting the Apple brand on another company’s device for more than a year, before Apple reached a deal for a dedicated Apple TV + button on the Roku remote. Apple has apparently discussed similar arrangements with at least one other TV maker, but there are no imminent plans for another dedicated button.

The report explains that Apple intends to increase the amount of new regular content on ‌Apple TV + ‌ in 2022, with at least one new item added per week, to more than double the rate of new content in 2021.

Despite Apple’s willingness to pay extra for ‌Apple TV + ‌ content, the company apparently refuses to cover the budget overruns, insisting that studio partners pay any extra costs.

Some studio executives have apparently felt frustrated by Apple’s unwillingness to aggressively market shows ahead of release, treating new show debuts as hardware products. The company is also said to share few details with partner studios about the goals of marketing campaigns and their goal of advertising to acquire subscribers or spread awareness of an individual show.

‌Apple TV + ‌ is also expected to receive more than $ 500 million in marketing this year. The company is believed to have spent significantly less than that on marketing in 2020. Netflix, by comparison, spent $ 1.1 billion on marketing in the first half of 2021 alone. Apple has also reportedly told its advertising partners that it would not buy campaigns for ‌Apple TV + ‌ titles on Facebook or Instagram.

It was estimated that at the end of 2020, ‌Apple TV + ‌ had around 40 million subscribers. Those numbers are roughly the same as this summer, according to someone with knowledge of Apple’s subscriber numbers. About half of Apple TV + subscribers now pay for the service, with the other half still using a free trial period.

Other information in the report includes the fact that Apple has made an effort to protect its brand in ‌Apple TV + ‌ shows, insisting that the ugly character of “Jo” in “Mythic Quest” was not. seen using Apple devices during the show’s second season.

For more details see Informationthe full report.