Here's everything we know about Apple's plan to change the way we watch TV

Apple is almost certainly working on building a streaming TV service.

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The company is known for taking products with frustrating and unfriendly user experiences — for many Americans, cable and satellite TV service would definitely fall into this category — and creating beautifully designed products and services that appeal to millions of people.

If Apple were to come out with a streaming TV service, it could have broad implications across the TV industry. As soon it's released, millions of people will be able to choose another company to pay for their TV.

tim cook future of tv is apps
Reuters/Beck Diefenbach

Meanwhile, Apple just released the new version of the Apple TV box, which lets you download third-party apps for the first time. It's the first big move into its vision for the future of TV.

Apple hasn't said anything publicly about a TV service, but there are plenty of rumors and leaks about what it could look like.

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Here's everything we think we know about Apple's rumored TV service.

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It will likely be a smaller "bundle" of channels.

gronk
Joe Robbins / Getty

Don't expect Apple's TV service to have hundreds of channels like a typical cable or satellite package. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the service will have around 25 channels, including ESPN and FX. 

Bloomberg reported in August that Apple is looking "to find the right mix of channels to appeal to cord-cutters."

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It will likely be based on the new Apple TV

new apple tv (4th gen)
Apple

Cook has repeatedly referred to the new Apple TV, which went on sale late last month, as "the foundation of the future of TV."

The device, which starts at $149, has an App Store, so TV networks, game designers, and other developers, can build apps for it. 

Already, people can download apps for HBO Now, Showtime, QVC, Netflix, Hulu, and more.

Cook has also said that "the future of TV is apps," which makes perfect sense if you think about Apple's bundle of channels being just that — an app.

As Cook said in October, "The first thing that has to be done when you buy a house is lay the foundation."

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Siri on the new Apple TV would work really well with a live TV service.

apple tv remote siri
Apple

The new Apple TV is built around Siri, and you can speak into the new remote to ask it advanced questions like "show me all of the James Bond movies with Sean Connery" or "show me animated TV shows for kids."

It's easy to imagine asking Siri to do tasks like "DVR the next episode of the Daily Show," or show you "what's on ESPN right now."

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And it will also work on the iPhone and other Apple devices.

iPhone 6S 4k video
Steve Kovach/Tech Insider

The WSJ reported that the service will stream on Apple's devices that run iOS, like iPads and iPhones.

 

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It will probably include CBS.

the big bang theory computer
CBS/"Big Bang Theory"

Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS, told Re/Code's Kara Swisher in May that he recently had met with Apple vice president Eddy Cue to talk about the new TV service. Moonves said CBS will "probably" be a part of it.

Moonves reiterated that the network was in talks with Apple last month during an appearance on Bloomberg TV.

“Apple is having conversations with everyone about doing their own streaming services,” Moonves told Bloomberg in October. “We have had those conversations, as have the other networks. Do I think something will happen? Probably, but I do not know when.”

 

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It could be cheaper than a traditional cable package.

Comcast Cable Box
Flickr/mr_t_in_dc

Brian X. Chen of the New York Times reported in March that the service could cost somewhere around $20 or $30 per month, and Bloomberg reported in August that it would be "around $40."

Customers would still have to pay for broadband service, which would likely be from a cable company, however.

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It'll be a great fit for the iPad.

picture in picture apple ipad
Apple

Apple said at its annual conference for developers in June that a software update to the iPad will include a new picture-in-picture feature, which will allow people to check email or respond to a text message while watching a video. It's easy to see how well this feature would work with a streaming TV service.

It may include local channels.

local newscast
NBC via HBO/"Last Week Tonight"

Re/Code's Peter Kafka and Dawn Chmielewski reported in May that Apple has been negotiating with local broadcast channels to include them on the service. Other live streaming services, like Sling TV, don't offer local channels.

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It may rely on iCloud for DVR.

clouds
Takashi

Apple recently drastically reduced the price of iCloud, its subscription-based cloud storage service. Now, a terabyte of storage, enough to store hours and hours of HD video, is only $9.99 per month. The new Apple TV only has up to 64 GB of storage, which won't be nearly enough.

Apple could possibly use iCloud for a cloud-based DVR service that would allow consumers to record shows to watch later, although we haven't seen any solid reports or rumors on that yet.

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It could be "curated," like Apple Music.

Jimmy Iovine
AP

With Apple Music, Apple is working really hard to give you exactly what you want to listen to at a given time. And in an interview with Wired UK this summer, Apple Music boss Jimmy Iovine dropped a hint that Apple could be working on the same kind of technology for a TV service.

"We all know one thing, we all have different television delivery systems, don't we all wish that the delivery systems were better, as far as curation and service?" he told Wired UK. "We want to watch movies. Sit down with your girlfriend or a bunch of friends and try to find a movie online. That box helps you none -- it doesn't help. You're on your own. And eventually that will catch them unless somebody digs in and really helps the customer. And entertainment needs that, it needs to live and breathe."

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Tim Cook thinks TV is broken.

tim cook wsjd live 2015
Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) speaks with Gerard Baker, Editor in Chief, The Wall Street Journal, during the Wall Street Journal Digital Live ( WSJDLive ) conference at the Montage hotline Laguna Beach, California October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake

During a Wall Street Journal conference last month, Cook laid out everything he thinks is wrong with TV. In short, he said that the programming is great, but the experience is terrible.

Cook, like many people, has qualms how you actually watch TV. "The user experience is in another decade [compared to] the way you live on your iPhone or your iPad or your Mac," he said. "...it has to be brought up and modernized."

Cook also said that even though there are hundreds of channels, people still have a hard time finding something to watch.

And consumers don't actually decide when to watch something. "The TV makes the decision about what time to watch" a program, he said.

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It probably won't come out until 2016.

tim cook
Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Bloomberg reported in August that even though Apple wanted to release the service this year, it likely won't come out until 2016. The reason? Negotiations with TV networks for programming are taking longer than Apple anticipated.

 

 

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