FORM SD TO HD
The pace picks up – here come movies and iOS
Apple TV Software 2.0 removed the requirement for a separate computer.
Though sales in the Apple TV’s initial period were reasonable, it took less than a year for Apple to rethink the whole concept. Apple TV Software 2.0 – cunningly subtitled ‘Take Two’ – was revealed by an uncharacteristically humble Steve Jobs during the company’s keynote at the 2008
Macworld Expo. “We’ve all tried to figure out how to do movies,” he said. “And you know what?
We’ve all missed. No one has succeeded yet. We tried with Apple TV. Apple TV was designed to be an accessory for iTunes and your computer. It’s not what people wanted. We learned what people really wanted was movies… And we weren’t delivering that.
So we’re back with Apple TV take two.”
The new software ditched the Front Row-esque interface, replacing it with a more bespoke look, and removed the requirement for a separate computer; iTunes content could be downloaded (and, indeed, rented or purchased) in newlylaunched HD format directly on the device, direct access was available to YouTube, and functionality was added for podcasts and Flickr photo downloads. Sales tripled year-on-year, and tripled again by the launch of the 3.0 software in October 2009; a reshuffled, content-forward home screen aped the design language of iOS.