In a great article on what the Apple TV may become Horace Dediu describes a scenario of disruption:

What Apple best contributes asymmetrically is a new experience. The experience allows new behavior, new usage models and hence new loyalties to emerge. The loyalties create affinity which shifts the “love interest” for the user. The new Apple TV attempts to provide such a contribution. Not only in terms of the experience but also for becoming, finally, a platform for developers, who will try to make the product itself better in collaboration with Apple. Thus the “new experience” flips when bits which are streamed cohabit a device with bits which expect a consumer response.

This “appification” becomes an interesting experiment in behavior alteration. Will “couch time” change from pure passivity to partial interaction?

To the orthodox adherents to the religion of linearity of immersive programming this sounds impossible. But why else should a product deserve to exist? A great product is one which changes the user and for Apple TV to become great it needs to engage us to do something different than we do today. It needs to make us feel we are better for using it.

Is this new Apple TV up to it? We’ll have to wait and see. But then again, if not this one, then another one will. TV will not remain unchanged forever.

Build upon the existing and improve dramatically.