Apple TV can replace your Charter Spectrum cable box later this year

Bye box.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter

Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.

Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials

Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)

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Joan E. Solsman

June 4, 2018 11:34 a.m. PT

2 min read

Charter's Spectrum cable service is the third biggest by subscribers in the US.

Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

The Apple TV streaming-television device can replace the clunky cable box for Charter Spectrum cable subscribers later this year, Apple said Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose.

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET's complete coverage from and about Apple's annual developers conference.

WWDC is the event at which Apple details the newest software that will hit its devices later in the year. It comes as software and services become even more important to Apple. The company still sells millions of iPhones every quarter, but sales aren't rising as much as they used to. With people are holding onto their devices for longer, convincing consumers to sign up for services that get they paying monthly has grown more crucial for Apple. The gadget giant has emphasized augmented reality, mobile payments, streaming music and other areas as key focuses over the past couple of years.

Watch this: Dolby Atmos comes to Apple TV 4K

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Charter's Spectrum cable service is the third biggest by subscribers in the US. With its Apple partnership, up to 50 million households will be able to use Apple TV to access their Spectrum live television.

"As more and more cable companies fundamentally shift how video gets to your TV, your typical cable box is becoming a thing of the past," Apple TV's lead designer said on stage.