Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:

The third-generation Apple TV streaming media box continues to lose access to its limited collection of apps, and there’s no replacement product from Apple in the sub $100 part of the market.

Apple released the first 1080p Apple TV set-top box for $99 many, many, many moons ago in 2012. Three years later, Apple dropped the cost to the nice price of $69 before discontinuing it a year and a half later.

The lowest end 4K Apple TV sells for $179. Some other Apple TV+ friendly options:

• Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K sells for $39.99
• Google’s Chromecast with GoogleTV sells for $49.99 ($89.99 with 6 months of Netflix included).

And there are others. Is Apple TV the best privacy option? Sure. But the leap from $40-$50 all the way up to Apple’s $179 cost of entry is a big one. More and more, the Apple TV box feels like a big markup without big benefits.

Streaming TV hardware is being commoditized. Hoping Apple has something stylish and splashy up its sleeves.