Amidst rumours of Apple venturing properly into the television space, Apple boss Tim Cook has slammed TV by saying that it’s “stuck back in the 70s”.
Speaking on the Charlie Rose Show on 12 September, Cook said that TV is something the tech giant continues to have great interest in; however, criticised the current state of the medium.
“Think about how much your life has changed, and all the things around you that have changed, said Cook, “and yet TV – when you go in your living room to watch the TV or wherever it might be – it almost feels like you’re rewinding the clock and you’ve entered a time capsule and you’re going backwards.”
Cook added that the current TV interface is “terrible”, and said that people only watch programmes when they come on, unless they remember to record them.
Rumours of Apple stepping into the TV market have been around for years. However, so far, the company’s only move has been the launch of the Apple TV device in 2007. With more than 20 million users worldwide, Apple TV allows people to view photos, play music and watch video content from services including Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube.
When asked directly whether Apple was interested in TV, Cook laughed, refusing to be drawn, and said he was choosing his words very carefully; but he admitted an interest.
“We’ve taken stabs with Apple TV, which now has over 20 million users and far exceeded the hobby label that we placed on it; and we’ve added more and more content to it this year, so there are increasingly more and more things you can do on there,” said Cook.
“But this is an area we continue to look at.”
The full interview can be watched here.
