Apple needs to overhaul Apple TV in 2015

Here it goes - I'm calling it:

This year, 2015, we have to see an update to Apple TV. This update must be both in hardware and in software. 

The hardware can come either in the form of an updated set top box, or our can be the long rumored full-on Apple Television we've been hoping for. What it looks like essentially doesn't matter. What matters is that it will have an A8 system on a chip and 1-2 GB of RAM minimum. The A8X from iPad Air 2 wouldn't be a bad thing, though. 

The software could definitely use a more modern face-lift, but that's not the most important thing for now. What we absolutely need to see is an App Store so that developers can take advantage of the space. What makes any product, but Apple products in particular, great is what they enable you to do with them. An app ecosystem open to developers is vital to this, and is the biggest reason we've seen iOS and Android take off in recent years. And yes, this App Store likely means games on Apple TV (because it certainly means the potential for games: and where there's potential, there are apps taking advantage of that potential). 

The only way around these upgrades is for Apple to do something like they are doing with CarPlay, where the device responsible for AirPlay-ing to Apple TV handles the processing, and Apple TV just acts as a wireless display adapter. Or, Apple could come up with some other crazy, Apple-style optimizations and blow our minds. Essentially, the hardware needs to get more powerful, the OS needs to get easier to run, or our iPhones/iPads/Macs need to be offloading the computing from the device.

But of course, it's possible none of these update will happen. The consequence for these updates not happening is that Apple TV will fail to remain relevant in the streaming/set-top-box world. Playing the AirPlay card to justify Apple TV's superiority has worked so far, but Android 5.0 has achieved this ability with Chromecast, so it's not as cut and dry of an argument as before. 

So, I'm calling it: we will see a major update to Apple TV this year, or it will fade into obscurity. Apple TV can no longer afford to be Apple's hobby device.

Do you think we'll see an Apple TV update this year? How will that manifest? Do you even care about Apple TV anymore? Do you even care about set-top boxes or streaming devices anymore? Let me know in the comments. 

Quick charge vs wireless charging

There seems to be this move towards quick charging in the Android OEM world, and almost to the complete sacrifice of wireless charging. This misses the point of why wireless charging is great, though.

I will refer to quick charging as such, but also fast charging, and it goes by turbo charging as well. It's a Qualcomm technology, but every Android OEM that implements it has their own name for the tech. Know it's the same thing.

Don't get me wrong, quick charge is actually really cool. It's also not any worse for the battery than wireless charging, or so says Qualcomm, maker of the technology.

The real advantage of quick charge surfaces for the people that don't charge their phone every night. In my experience, there's a siginificant group of people who drain a battery near dead, and then charge it whenever that ~10% or lower battery occurs, and stop charging when they have to move from the power source. Alternatively, there are the super power users that simply have to charge their phone whenever possible, because they burn 30% battery an hour. In either case, though, they want to spend as little time tethered to the wall as possible, but they still want/need to get as much battery as they can. Especially with today's ~2900 mAh average flagship battery capacity, we need fast charging. Even Apple supports fast charging on their new iPhones by using an iPad charging brick.

So quick charging is great, and definitely has its purpose. But so does wireless charging.

Yes, wireless charging is a little bit slower than charging with a 1A charger. But it's a brilliant technology for the people that do charge their phones overnight. For example, the Nexus 6, with its 3200 mAh battery, takes around 4-5 hours to fully wireless charge from 0-100%. But that's not a problem for overnight. The advantage of wireless charging, then, is that it doesn't require plugging anything in. Especially with non-reversible USB connections in Android phones, this can be a challenge in the dark at night at the bedside. Wireless charging just requires the placing of the device on a pad. Done.

So, why aren't more OEM's supporting it? Well, there are still two major competing methods, those being qi and powermat. Qi is by far the most popular, but it isn't the industry standard, by any means. Also, carriers generally force manufacturers to not include wireless charging out of the box on US models, so that consumers have to buy accessories to support the feature. And consumers don't really know it exists, let alone that they should buy certain cases for it. Also, Apple hasn't chosen to support it on iPhone, yet, which is how most technology goes mainstream now-a-days.

And the biggest problem facing wireless charging right now is that it's still finicky if done poorly (which is likely why Apple hasn't decided to mess with it yet). It is incredibly convenient when done well, and I love it. But it's incredibly frustrating when it doens't work. The Nexus 6 is a perfect example of wireless charging done poorly. It starts with poor advertising of the feature, certainly. But it extends beyond that; the curve of the phone causes it to not sit well on many flat qi chargers, which happens to be the most common form that they take. This leads to it being hard for the coils to line up for the charging to occur, It's far too finnicky. It's especially surprising being that the Nexus 6 is the successor to the Nexus 5, which had a brilliant magnetic system with its OEM made charging pad that made lining up the charging coils fool proof. To be fair, the Nexus 6 charges great with the Tylt Vu wireless charging stand, but that's an expensive charger that not everyone will want.

Consumers just don't care about wireless charging enough for manufacturers to bother trying to include it. They'd rather focus on charging features that every consumer can understand and use as they always have. That's why we're seeing the quick charge push.