Apple gets weird and gives Roku exclusive integration with iOS and Mac

[Roswell]

 

Summary

 In a weird move Apple has decided to give Roku exclusive access to iOS and Mac’s integrated features, enabling Roku to better compete with Apple TV devices. Roku 4K devices now support AirPlay, screen mirroring and HomeKit automation through the iOS app and any device with Siri functionality. Roku also already has the Apple TV channel, essentially rounding out most of Apple’s functionality on their own native device.

The software update on Roku’s end to enable this seemingly started rolling out today.

 

Quotes

Quote

 Roku today announced that it plans to bring support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit features to many of its streaming players and Roku TVs by the end of the year. The move will allow people to send content — music, videos, photos, etc. — from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac to their Roku device. That’s the AirPlay 2 part, and HomeKit will let Roku’s products be controlled with your iPhone via the Home app or Siri, and they can also be included in smart home routines.

 

My thoughts

 With how reluctant Apple has been to share functionality with other platforms, this is pretty noteworthy. I’m curious as to what this means for the future of Apple’s own streaming devices.

 

Sources

 https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/28/21459575/roku-apple-airplay-2-homekit-announced-9-4-update

 

 

 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Now... does this move also translate to TCL's partnership with Roku? Will we be seeing TCL TVs that support AirPlay, etc.? That could be interesting. 

[BuckGup]

Airplay was open sourced a while ago and I have a somewhat old Vivio with airplay on it. I am very suspicious of this as roku TVs were found to be storing SSID names, passwords, and information about other devices on the network.

[Roswell]

3 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Now... does this move also translate to TCL's partnership with Roku? Will we be seeing TCL TVs that support AirPlay, etc.? That could be interesting. 

https://www.tcl.com/us/en/blog/article/announcing-roku-os-9-4-with-apple-airplay-2-and-more
 

Looks like it.

[Roswell]

3 minutes ago, BuckGup said:

Airplay was open sourced a while ago and I have a somewhat old Vivio with airplay on it. I am very suspicious of this as roku TVs were found to be storing SSID names, passwords, and information about other devices on the network.

It’s still proprietary AFAIK, at least AirPlay 2. There’s DRM involved. HomeKit support was the more shocking thing to hear for me.

 

Even with the AirPlay TVs that license it now, they’re not competing with Apple. Roku on the other hand is a direct competitor and now Apple is weirdly making Roku a more attractive device than it was before for Apple users.

[Belgarathian]

18 minutes ago, Vitamanic said:

It’s still proprietary AFAIK, at least AirPlay 2. There’s DRM involved. HomeKit support was the more shocking thing to hear for me.

 

Even with the AirPlay TVs that license it now, they’re not competing with Apple. Roku on the other hand is a direct competitor and now Apple is weirdly making Roku a more attractive device than it was before for Apple users.

Not really that shocking... Is the Apple TV really that important to them, or would they rather sell more iPhones and iPads that integrate seamlessly with a wide range of devices and own the content that you stream?

 

Previously the stated purpose of the Apple TV was to have access to the main display in most homes, the TV, but they were losing that battle. So by making it an app on every TV and streaming box they get access to a much larger potential market for Apple TV, and give a bigger reason to all the iPhone and iPad buyers to buy them.

[TetraSky]

Opening it up to Roku opens their market to even more users, in an insane move coming from Apple?

Not everyone would want to go out of their way to buy an Apple TV device. But a lot of people have a TV with a built-in Roku.

 

I mean, it's either that, or Apple is planning on phasing it out and just want people to still have casting capabilities ?

[RedRound2]

I chuckled a bit reading the title.

 

But yeah, they kinda made AirPlay and Apple TV open to other platforms a while back. This is probably their 4D chess move to lure more people into their ecosystem, citing benefits like privacy and tight integration (not that it's a bad thing at all)

[GDRRiley]

roku way under cuts all of apple TV units

I've got a feeling apple would like to do away with what look to be 150-200 iphones - screen

[Bombastinator]

Apple is a for profit company which means they don’t do anything for free.  Conversely it’s amazing what a for profit company might do if offered enough money.

[Video Beagle]

7 hours ago, Vitamanic said:

HomeKit support was the more shocking thing to hear for me.

I've heard some rumblings they're wanting to make a big push to get homekit bigger, so could be a key.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Cool, but can HBO put HBO max on roku now?

[Commodus]

AirPlay and HomeKit have been available on a number of non-Apple devices for a while, this is just a prominent example.

 

And there's no mystery as to why Apple's doing this: it puts services like Apple Music and Apple TV+ on more devices, and gives you more of a reason to stick to Apple hardware like iPhones and Macs.

[Roswell]

2 hours ago, Commodus said:

AirPlay and HomeKit have been available on a number of non-Apple devices for a while, this is just a prominent example.

 

And there's no mystery as to why Apple's doing this: it puts services like Apple Music and Apple TV+ on more devices, and gives you more of a reason to stick to Apple hardware like iPhones and Macs.

I guess I could have clarified better in the OP. I think it’s notable because it’s the first time they have done this with a competitor in the space. Apple has never licensed this stuff to Amazon, Google or other streaming hardware vendors before.

[NotTheFirstDaniel]

15 hours ago, TetraSky said:

I mean, it's either that, or Apple is planning on phasing it out and just want people to still have casting capabilities ?

The Apple TV was never a major business for them. I think when Steve Jobs introduced it, they called it a "hobby".

 

The leaks are pointing to them positioning the Apple TV more as a Switch on TV competitor.

[pythonmegapixel]

Wouldn't surprise me if Apple are trying to build up a range of high-profile partnerships with other companies to point to if they ever end up under scrunity of competition regulators.

[Guest willies leg]

Another step towards Apple getting out of the hardware business, Tim Cook's utopia.

[Bombastinator]

34 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

Wouldn't surprise me if Apple are trying to build up a range of high-profile partnerships with other companies to point to if they ever end up under scrunity of competition regulators.

That’s a possibility.  Another is the AppleTV doesn’t make a profit sales wise but they’ve got all this great software.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, pythonmegapixel said:

Wouldn't surprise me if Apple are trying to build up a range of high-profile partnerships with other companies to point to if they ever end up under scrunity of competition regulators.

Nah, it's really about the money. Hardware sales remain the core of Apple's business, but they're seasonal and otherwise volatile. Services provide a more dependable source of revenue — it's in the company's best interests to make them widely available. And if Apple plays its cards right, some of those services drive hardware sales.

[Video Beagle]

On 10/30/2020 at 11:18 AM, willies leg said:

Another step towards Apple getting out of the hardware business, Tim Cook's utopia.

Yeah...that explains the whole "developing their very own processors" because they want to be out of the hardware business.

[captain_to_fire]

On 10/31/2020 at 1:18 AM, willies leg said:

Another step towards Apple getting out of the hardware business, Tim Cook's utopia.

How exactly is Apple stepping out of the hardware business?

• iPhones and iPads are one of Apple's biggest money makers
• They've talked so much about their Macs transitioning to Apple Silicon and there is no way Apple will allow PC OEMs to use their own in-house chips.
• They've reduced the price of the new HomePod mini to just $100
• They're pushing the Apple Watch as a health companion

[Commodus]

To expand on what others have been saying: Apple is a hardware company, unless its services suddenly become huge.

 

Apple has almost always built software and services to fuel its hardware. People have long argued that Apple should license macOS to run on generic hardware to expand market share, but the whole point of macOS is to shape the ease of use and tight integration of Macs — it'd lose some of its appeal if you had to deal with the compatibility issues and driver headaches that are more common on Windows PCs. In fact, Apple did try licensing Mac clones in the '90s... it nearly killed the company, and there's no guarantee it'd fare much better now.

 

And that's true even now. Apple Music may play on your Android phone, but you're meant to notice how seamless it is on Apple devices. You can use the Apple TV app and AirPlay on your Roku box, but wouldn't it be great if you had an iPad so you could watch in bed? The Apple One bundles that just launched are proof positive of this — they're great values, but they only make sense if you have Apple gear, since they include services like Arcade and iCloud.

 

This isn't to say Apple will never evolve into something else. Right now, though, it's treating services as a supplement, a way to keep the money consistently rolling in no matter how its hardware sales fluctuate. Expanding to platforms like Roku's helps drive those hardware sales in addition to expanding the audience for services like Apple TV+.

[Spindel]

Surprised that no one has brought forward the thought, in this thread, that Apple might be considering to acquire Roku in the near future.

[Commodus]

52 minutes ago, Spindel said:

Surprised that no one has brought forward the thought, in this thread, that Apple might be considering to acquire Roku in the near future.

I don't know what it would get out of that other than eventually knocking out a competitor. It's not going to keep the Roku hardware platform going, and I wouldn't count on Apple keeping up smart TV partnerships.

 

Besides, as I mentioned, Apple's goal is to make its services as ubiquitous as possible, both to boost their subscriber numbers and drive hardware sales. Buying Roku would make it biased against other platforms (say, Samsung and LG TVs) and complicate relationships even if it tried to stay neutral.

[AndreiArgeanu]

It kind of makes sense, devices like Roku and Chromecast are more popular than the Apple TV.