4 big gaps Apple needs to fill in the home theater space ‣ Diverse Daily

For a company that doesn’t focus on it, Apple has a surprising amount of popularity in the home theater arena. The Apple TV 4K is often the go-to media streamer for people who can afford one, even if they’re reasonably satisfied with their smart TV’s native interface. For Apple diehards, pairing a couple of second-gen HomePods can be a convenient (if pricey) way of incorporating wireless Dolby Atmos with voice control.

The problem for enthusiasts, at the moment, is that Apple’s efforts are almost taunting. A fully Apple-based home theater system has a certain appeal, if mostly to avoid some of the issues with other products, such as ads and privacy intrusion. Some potential categories are obvious, I think — others less so.

A full-fledged TV set

Don’t count on this one anytime soon

For many years, it was rumored that Apple was working on a complete TV, over and above a set-top device. Cynics have sometimes discounted those claims, but there was no ignoring Steve Jobs’ comments to biographer Walter Isaacson, in which he claimed that he had “finally cracked” TV, and that an Apple model would be “completely easy to use.” It was later reported that Apple had indeed been experimenting with a product, but decided to abandon it. That’s not too surprising. Tech companies regularly test the waters, and Apple is known to have spent billions developing an electric car that never shipped. CarPlay Ultra and upgrades to Apple Maps may be the most we ever see of those efforts.

What advantages would there be to a TV set, beyond tvOS? From a business perspective, it would really be about baking in Apple services at a fundamental level, but the company would also presumably want to out-spec its rivals. That could mean cutting-edge display tech such as RGB mini-LED, or built-in Atmos speakers that are actually worth using. It could even mean something as simple as offering modern ports across the board. Far too many TVs still include HDMI 2.0 ports alongside 2.1, and you’ll even find a lot of TVs with USB 2.0 or 100Mbps Ethernet — technologies that date back to 2000 and 1995, respectively. You wouldn’t put up with those on a computer from 2016, much less 2026.

Apple’s big turnoff is probably the margins of the TV industry. TVs have become relatively commodified, meaning that outside of the “premium” segment, it’s hard to reap the high profits the company is used to from iPhones. An Apple-branded TV could command extra cash, but it would automatically lose a huge market if it shipped for $3,000 or even $2,000.

An HDMI soundbar

Two birds with one stone

As nice as it is to use HomePods for a home theater system, they create a number of hurdles. Leading the pack is price — a pair of second-gen HomePods are going to set you back $600 plus tax, and they simply won’t pair without an Apple TV 4K, which is another $130 at least. While there are soundbars (and other speaker systems) that cost more, Apple’s offering is a hard sell when you could buy a Sonos Beam for under $600 and be plenty satisfied.

It can also complicate your setup. Linking HomePods to an Apple TV also requires configuring them in Apple Home, and if you want your HomePods to play audio from other sources, you have to plug your Apple TV into an ARC/eARC port and go to Settings -> Video and Audio -> Audio Output to enable Play Television Audio. You may also have to toggle passthrough on your TV for the best results.

Conversely, an HDMI soundbar would offer a plug-and-play experience with little to no work needed beyond connecting to ARC or eARC. Technologies like Apple Home and AirPlay would still be available, just optional, and it’s hard to overstate the value of simplicity for a lot of customers. A home theater system can take long enough to get working without having to troubleshoot why your console or Blu-ray player isn’t getting the proper audio output.

An all-in-one soundbar could also be cheaper, since there wouldn’t be any need to duplicate processors or wireless radios. Heck, Apple could conceivably offer two models: a baseline, and a higher-end one incorporating Apple TV 4K functions, much like the Roku Streambar.

A smart backlighting system

An obvious lure into the Apple Home ecosystem

Nanoleaf's 4D V2 backlight and Lines panels synced to a TV.

As I like to point out, for some people, synced backlighting might initially seem like a frivolous extra. Certainly it’s not required — Dune isn’t suddenly going to be boring without it. But with the right setup, backlighting can extend a movie to your entire room, making the experience that much more immersive. You might not even want separate lamps anymore.

The idea of Apple venturing into this space might seem odd, but there would be a variety of benefits. For one, it might get more people to dip into Apple Home beyond setting up an Apple TV or HomePods. Sure, Apple likes to sell HomeKit-ready products like Philips Hue bulbs in its stores, but those don’t have the appeal of first-party integration, particularly if they demand separate accessories like the Hue Bridge and (absurdly expensive) 8K HDMI Sync Box. After experiencing optimized backlighting, people might be more inclined to base their smart homes around HomeKit instead of Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

It might also be an excuse for upgrades to HomeKit. As things stand, none of the major smart home platforms have built-in support for the elaborate effects used by sync systems. Their automations and voice commands tend to be limited to setting a single color and adjusting brightness — imagine, then, if you could configure any HomeKit light for sync instead of having to drop several hundred dollars or more on brand-exclusive systems.

If nothing else, it would provide a “wow” accessory that would get people more excited about dipping into Apple’s home theater efforts. Backlighting can make anything on your TV better, whereas you can’t get the most out of an Apple TV/HomePods combo unless you’re also paying for premium streaming plans with HDR and Atmos.

A universal remote

Now play nice, Apple

A hand holding a Siri Remote and a Samsung universal remote.

People tend to either love or hate the Siri Remote that ships with Apple TVs. It’s deliberately minimalist, which helps avoid confusion. At the same time, its touchpad is imprecise — which eventually forced Apple to surround it with arrow buttons — and it’s easy to trigger Siri accidentally with the wrong grip.

The biggest problem, however, is that the remote is useless beyond an Apple TV. You can’t change inputs, much less open your TV’s Settings app, or change channels if you have a connected cable or satellite box. This is an issue with most media streamers, to be fair — but given that a replacement Siri Remote costs more than many Roku and Fire TV sticks, you might expect it to handle more.

It doesn’t even handle everything in the Apple ecosystem. There are no shortcut buttons to Apple services, and accessing smart home functions typically involves talking to Siri or launching Control Center. So while there’s value to hardware minimalism, that can backfire if it makes users jump through extra software steps.