If Apple does make a TV, I hope Google copies it

In a recent issue of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, the frequent Apple leaker divulged that the company might be working on a new product: an Apple TV. This would not be a new version of its Apple TV streaming box that runs on tvOS, but a full-fledged television designed with the Apple ethos.

This is not a new concept. In fact, we heard about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs planning something like this before his death in 2011. However, the product was shelved, with rumors pointing to high production costs and minimal profit margins being the main reasons why.

Gurman’s hint that Apple could be reviving this idea got me thinking: If Apple did release a television, would Google turn around and copy it? Is there room in my life for a Google-branded television? Ultimately, I would say yes — but a very hesitant yes.

Obviously, both the Apple and Google TVs would have the brands’ respective streaming software built right in. That would mean tvOS for the Apple model and Google TV for the, uh, Google TV. In other words, these televisions would not need an Apple TV 4K or a Google TV Streamer attached to them because they both would have those capabilities built in already.

The big obstacle that Apple and Google would need to overcome is what you see in the photo above: an unobtrusive rectangle with minimal black bezels surrounding it. I can tell you that that’s an LG C1 television, but how would you know if I didn’t say that? Apple and Google would need to figure out ways to make their TV products stand out at a time when people seem to only want TVs that don’t stand out at all.

Knowing Apple, its TV would be impeccably designed, incredibly expensive, and feature at least one killer feature that most other TVs don’t have (or have, but it’s a weaker version). Steve Jobs had said his TV plans would include a touchscreen, making the TV like a giant iPad. He had even admitted this was a tough problem to solve, but he had “cracked it.” We never found out what he had in mind, though I’m sure Apple knows. It’s possible Apple could use that as its main killer feature.

Meanwhile, Google’s TV would also certainly be designed well, just with the quirky, more approachable ethos for which it’s known — and probably be a bit cheaper. It would also have at least one feature that the Apple television doesn’t have. Based on what the aforementioned Google TV Streamer can do, it could have more smart home integration — sort of like the Google Home panel on the streamer, but on steroids. Google could also have innovative hardware, such as a camera, allowing the TV to be a giant Google Meet device. There’s lots of room for innovation in this space; each company would need to figure out its respective strategy.

The thing that would make me the most hesitant about buying a Google television is the company’s well-known reputation for lacking commitment to its creations. The Google Graveyard is enormous and grows bigger every year, after all. However, my favorite Google hardware product, the Google Nest Hub Max, has stood the test of time quite well, and it isn’t too far off from what a Google TV might be like.

In fact, if Apple’s TV has a touchscreen, as Steve Jobs suggested it would, then Google might copy that aspect for its own TV. With the addition of a camera, as I suggested in the previous section, you would basically have a 65-inch Nest Hub Max. This would make me feel slightly more comfortable about investing in a Google TV because Google has already laid some good groundwork for it.

The Google TV Streamer is also a pretty successful product. I would hope the version built into this hypothetical television would be a lot more powerful, especially for gaming (using the Google TV Streamer for gaming is a non-starter due to its lack of horsepower, among other issues) and future-proofing. But once again, Google has already proven it can do this well, making me more confident that its TV would be an overall success.

I also already own so many other Google products, so having a Google TV at the center of it all makes a ton of sense. I can imagine not needing to buy a surround sound system because my Google TV would pair with my multiple Nest speakers, creating a wide sound field wirelessly and instantly — a feature Google had teased for the Chromecast with Google TV and never rolled out. I can also imagine “throwing” a Meet call from my Pixel phone to my television without missing a beat and having my Nest smoke alarm interrupt whatever I’m watching with an on-screen alert to tell me something is wrong. Once again, there’s so much room for innovation here!

Of course, the TV industry is very, very cutthroat — probably even more than the smartphone industry. Despite the pedigrees of both Apple and Google, they would face difficulties in making these products successful.

Both Apple and Google would need to step out of their own way for their TVs to be successful. Apple is notorious for overpricing things — the “Apple tax,” if you will — and Google is notorious for killing things off if they aren’t immediately successful. Both of these problems would be a death knell for any television. The competition is too fierce.

Just incorporating tvOS and Google TV wouldn’t be enough. Remember that many people don’t even want streaming hardware in their TVs in the first place; they just want “dumb” televisions. These hypothetical Apple/Google TVs would need to be something truly special and wholly different from those $500 sets. And I’m not talking specs, either — super premium OLED displays, powerful processors, and all the audio/video bells and whistles should be a given for these TVs. To get me or any other consumer to spend more, we would need to be blown away by how these TVs enhance our lives overall. It wouldn’t be easy to do, but Google and Apple could do it, I’m sure.

There’s also one more problem, which is that people don’t tend to buy TVs very often. Most consumers hold on to a TV for over five years, with some waiting over a decade before upgrading. Apple and Google wouldn’t be able to depend on yearly or even biannual upgrades from their users, forcing the companies to rely heavily on other ways to turn a profit, which would likely involve subscriptions. Everyone loves subscriptions, right?

Regardless, I still think I would buy — or at least seriously think about buying — a Google-branded TV. Google has everything it needs to make something really compelling. Let’s see what happens!