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Tim Cook: Existing TV Interface Is 'Terrible'

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Tim Cook was coy when asked about the possibility of an Apple-branded TV set.

By Stephanie Mlot
September 15, 2014
Tim Cook

In the wake of Apple's newly announced gadget lineup, CEO Tim Cook sat down with Charlie Rose to talk present and future products, iCloud, Steve Jobs's legacy, and more.

During the first installment of a two-part interview, the CEO dove into the rumor-infested waters of the Apple TV set, which has long been discussed in the media, but has yet to come to fruition.

Apple review, Apple commentary, Apple news... Everything Apple The tech giant has, of course, produced its own set-top box, which still lags behind the more popular Roku in the U.S., despite 20 million units sold overall. But what was once considered just a "hobby" has earned more than $1 billion in revenue for the company via direct access to movies and TV shows. But this year's edition of new content and services—Apple TV owners now have access to iTunes Extras—seems to be setting Apple in the direction of something more large-scale.

"It's so easy to add, it's hard to edit," Cook told Rose in his interview. "The hardest decisions we make are all the things not to work on, frankly."

He remained coy on the subject of a branded TV set, though. "There's lots of things we'd like to work on that we have interest in, but we know that we can't do everything great," Cook said, adding that "TV is one that we continue to have great interest in."

If for no other reason than trying to pull the medium into the 21st century.

"TV is one of those things that, if we're really honest, is stuck back in the '70s," Cook said, waxing poetic about how much life has changed in four decades, while the family television set remains a relic.

"It almost feels like you're rewinding the clock and you've entered a time capsule and you're going backwards," he said of the boob tube. "The interface is terrible. It's awful."

Still, it's not definite that Apple may be doing to change that. "I don't want to get into what we're doing in the future," Cook said, admitting only that TV "is an area we continue to look at."

That being said, "we kick around a lot of things internally," the CEO said. "We might start something and get down the road a little bit, and have a different idea."

Part one of the Charlie Rose interview (video above) is currently available for free on Hulu; the second episode is set to air tonight on PBS.

For more, see PCMag's review of the Apple TV and the slideshow above. Also check out How the Apple TV 'Hobby' Marketing Paid Off.

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About Stephanie Mlot

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Stephanie Mlot

B.A. in Journalism & Public Relations with minor in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)

Reporter at The Frederick News-Post (2008-2012)

Reporter for PCMag and Geek.com (RIP) (2012-present)

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