Apple's digital home, five years out

Five years from now, with Apple aiming to become the center of the digital home, users may expect to see a number of key products and services designed to connect PCs and digital content to HDTV stereo audiovisual networks, according to "The Future of Apple" report, released by Forrester Research on Thursday.

Currently, audiovisual equipment "and IT aren't actually connected together in most homes. A few bridge products exist...Apple's own Airport Express and Apple TV are designed to bridge this gap," according to the Forrester report. "Nevertheless, the AV/IT divide remains for video, music, and photos in most homes, and a clear consumer need remains for an industry player."

Forrester predicts that Apple will step into this 2013 future with five key products that will serve as its foundation to be the digital-home hub:

1. As would be expected, the Macintosh will likely be sprinkled throughout the home.
2. A home server product would act as the digital hub-and-spoke ecosystem to push video streams, music, and photos throughout the home.
3. An AppleSound universal music controller could serve as a standalone iPod, and as a music and video controller, via dedicated home stereo amplifiers. And, of course, it would feature a touch screen and Internet connection, with access to Apple's home server. This device would, in essence, become a remote control, a mobile Internet device, and a gateway to a unified digital home AV/IT system.
4. Network-enabled "clock radio" and digital-photo frames would aim to be spread throughout the house, offering something like Bose-quality speakers and HD-quality 9-inch screens. These little devices would pump out music, video, and, as one would expect, digital photos throughout the house.
5. Lastly, there would be an Apple TV media extender. Apple TV may morph to feature such goodies as a long-rumored integration of a Blu-ray player, an integrated DVR, and a possible joint venture set-top box, the report surmises.

So as Forrester looks five years out, Apple's house will become more than a home.

[rucknrun]

I hope everyone is rich 5 years out, because Apple stuff is not cheap.

[Kev Orng]

And we'll all have flying cars and robo-maids and girlfriends who look like Judy Jetson.

[OldtimeIT]

Can't believe someone would pay Forrester for this "research". It will take Apple 5 years to develop technologies that are coming available now from other vendors?

[sbwinn]

1 and 2 are the same thing - a Mac or cluster of them. Zero-conf networking makes that quite doable.

3 is an iPhone / iPod Touch. People have already talked about the possibility of using it as a media controller.

4 I doubt Apple would do.

5 is the next rev of Apple TV - I hope.

[StephenGolub]

All of this stuff is already available. Look at things like Crestron, AMX, or Extron. Granted, it's not cheap. But definitely look for Apple to improve on the usability and bring it to the mass market.

[edmalloy]

What a stupid report. What's new? What's realistic.
What's the difference between 1 & 2 and if they aren't different aren't they really tasks by on computer that is used for many many other things? Silly.

Networked frames and clock radios are out there now. (but thank god, not with "Bose" sound).

The use of a "hub" concept and apparently a taste for Bose's sound, in my opinion mark this as done by a hack.

Lastly why would anyone want a "Blue-ray" player 5 years from now. Does anyone really think that dvd's of any sort will be on the market in 5 years? Oh there they are, right next to the 78 rpm shellac disks!.

[tundraboy]

Yes they're all available now but they're too complicated for the average consumer. Apple has the best chance of success in offering a simple, integrated, zero (or near-zero) configuration system. Which BTW will easily extend to a complete smart house system.

Incidentally, I would want a Blu-ray player because all my HiDef home movies are stored in Mini DV tapes and I want to archve them to discs and share some with my relatives.

[WillSimpson62]

I have to agree with most of the people here, it's completely useless and unrealistic. I could randomly make up stuff on my blog and it would be higher quality "research."

Apple is /never/ going to be in the digital picture frame business. Their style is to not get cluttered. The description his is very cluttered and complicated (an Apple clock radio? give me a break), and very non-Mac. Besides, if Apple ever rolled out a home system per DVR-expanded Apple TV, which is actually realistically possible, the Mac itself would be the home server--not a separate system. Pricy and unnecessary.

[Mr. Dee]

These ideas sound like stuff Microsoft is already doing with their software and partner ecosystem. Unless the author is suggesting Apple will make better as they usually do and more expensive. Still, a lot of what is suggested too will not happen since Wireless devices like the AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule and pervasiveness of devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch will not necessitate the need for more than what actually exist right now.

[rslc]

I made simliar prediction 3+ years ago on Apple, that it will attack the digital home.
And I predicted AppleTV and iTunes offering movies even before ipod video was annouced.
Hmm...what made Forest Researcher so great?!? "-:)

iPhone? Thats what any apple fan or tom and harry can guess.
Predict the less obvious.

Wait, I had predicted the digital home 10+ years ago!
Complete with webcam, voip, dvr and also interative internet radio..like last.fm ."-)

[Jesse Chan]

Here's another article written a year ago about the Apple digital home and lifestyle: http://digg.com/apple/Steve_Jobs_Master_Plan

[Dimitrios Matsoulis]

Of course we know that Apple wants to get in our home with a range of products. The thing is that if this is attempted in the usual manner we will be locked in Apple hardware and software for ever. No thanks. There is other companies also doing really good stuff!
http://electronrun.com/

[ericanthem]

1 & 2 are not the same. 2 is basically for media storage, while 1 acts as a PC with access to the media stored on 2.

[benjaminstraight]

Let's start planting the money tree now so we can pick it in five years.