Is Apple TV Yet Ready to Revolutionize the Category?

Some doubt Apple is yet ready to create a revolutionary TV experience, as most observers think significant amounts of high-value bundled content would be necessary to recast and reshape the consumer television experience as much as Apple tends to prefer, whenever it enters a market.

One can tinker with the user interface, add cameras, make streaming content easier to integrate with other content sources (over the air, cable, satellite or telco TV). Perhaps Apple also can change the visual appeal of the device itself, as by turning the display into something that looks quite different.

A transparent screen would look very different. Still, many believe a truly-big change would have to involve content, the way iTunes drove the appeal of the iPod, or the App Store helps drive the appeal of the iPhone and iPad.

In the case of the iPad, one might argue Apple was able to see the changed nature of an untethered  computing device, optimized for content consumption and building on the touch interface. Earlier thinking about tablets had focused on "work" applications.

"Gesture" operations analogous to that used for video games also would be helpful. But all that taken together might not constitute the sort of breakthrough Apple typically seeks. That would require a new way to purchase content, not simply a new way to navigate or integrate sources.