Apple once considered making a TV dongle: sources

At a time of year when you have a chance to get nearly anything at a good price, it may be interesting to stop shopping for a second and think about things you can't have. These include Apple TV in more than one form factor and in more than one price range. However, according to The Information, this is a potential option that was making its way towards actuality at one point.

This product may have been a TV dongle, and thus could have competed with Google's Chromecast and Amazon's Fire TV sticks. These devices often go for reasonable prices; therefore, an Apple counterpart could have opened up a whole new market for the Cupertino company. There was once even a development team for this putative product - according to sources claiming to be 'close' to people that had been on it.

However, there is no evidence that the rumored dongle is still anything like progressing towards realization as a product. This is somewhat of a shame, as increased choice among Apple TV hardware may have helped the popularity of the company's putative Netflix-like own-branded streaming service. On the other hand, this very brand does not lend itself to affordability often. Therefore, the next generation of the Apple TV box is likely to be a relatively large, expensive accessory, much like its predecessors.

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