As soon as I heard that there was a forthcoming major revamp of the Apple TV, I had high hopes. I’ve long been frustrated with the lack of innovation and inflated prices over at Time Warner Cable, and the prospects of having an inexpensive box I can plug in to my TV that would allow me to cancel my cable is an alluring idea. This, however, is not what the latest revision of the Apple TV offers.

The rumors were swirling that Apple would be porting the iOS to the Apple TV. Although I suppose this is still something that could happen in the future, it did not manifest for this release. Instead, they chose to just update the software a little bit and write their own programs to support Netflix streaming, YouTube, and Flickr. The addition of Netflix and YouTube are fantastic additions, but what really would have sealed the deal, at least for me, is a third-party App Store. Hulu Plus in particular would elevate the Apple TV from a novelty rental box to a potential competitor to the cable and satellite oligopolies that currently dominate your television. The possibilities don’t stop there, though. Pay channels such as HBO and Showtime could easily release an App tied to a subscriptions service. Depending on the versatility of the included remote, it could even become a gaming system. As Apple has learned from its other iOS devices, the possibilities are quite literally endless when you open up development to third-party developers.

Instead, Apple released a smaller black box that basically does the same thing it did before, but now you rent instead of buy. Coming from a company that is known for innovation, the Apple TV is a pathetic shadow of its true potential.