Foxtel is set to kickstart a massive marketing blitz to promote its new streaming TV hardware Hubbl. As viewers watch the TV ads featuring Hamish Blake dancing across their screens dressed up as a Hubbl set-top box, many will be asking a not-unreasonable question: “Doesn’t my TV already do this?”
Most Australians now have a smart TV. Australia got serious about streaming TV back in 2015 with the launch of Stan and Netflix. With the general lifespan of a TV being somewhere between 7 and 15 years, it means most of Australia by now have smart TVs or have equipped their TV with a plug-in device to make their TV “smart”.
These days even the smallest, cheapest TV you can buy at JB HiFi (a $199 FFalcon TV) has smart TV functionality, with the Android TV operating system.
To compete with such heavy market oversaturation, if Foxtel is to launch its own streaming hardware, it needs to provide a compelling product that is so good that Australians choose it over TVs powered by software and hardware from global technology companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon, and Sony.
Has Foxtel done the impossible here? Surprisingly, Foxtel’s Hubbl makes a pretty good case for itself even if it doesn’t completely pass the sniff test.
The hardware – an average performer
Hubble comes in two forms – a set-top box that plugs into your TV and an actual 4k television that comes in 55 and 65 inch versions with a built-in soundbar.
The TV set, branded Hubbl Glass, is fairly unremarkable-looking in its basic-black. But one could easily imagine potential buyers being swayed by the fact that, like a recent iPhone, the TV comes in a variety of fairly elegant colours: Anthracite Black, Ocean Blue, Racing Green, Dusky Pink, and Ceramic White.
If you are the sort of person who cares about getting the best picture quality you can out of a screen, these mid-range TVs won’t impress you. But if you’re out to buy a TV and the fact the TV is available in a pleasing shade of Dusty Pink and the picture looks pretty good, then suddenly this TV starts to look like a contender. It is priced competitively with other TVs and comes with that built-in soundbar.
It is those undemanding people that the Hubbl is pitched at. It is designed to be as user-friendly as possible with a plug in and play ethos. That simplicity is its strongest selling point and its biggest weakness. This is most apparent when it comes to the operating system that powers the Hubbl Glass TV and the Hubbl set-top box.
The software – user-friendly up to a point
For undemanding, unadventurous viewers whose viewing extends as far as some of the free-to-air networks apps, and maybe a Netflix, Stan, or Binge account or two, the Hubbl platform is actually pretty good.
The selling point of Hubbl is that it aggregates all of your apps together into one interface and you don’t need to open up individual apps to find something to watch. That’s actually useful.
But to achieve this, the entire experience is based on partnerships forged between Foxtel and the various streaming services. Apps include: Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Binge, Kayo, LifeStyle, Flash, YouTube, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Stan, Optus Sport, ABC iview and ABC Kids, SBS On Demand, 7plus, 9Now, and 10 Play.
What happens if Hubbl hasn’t formed a relationship with a service you enjoy, like, say, UK drama streaming service BritBox? Or horror movie app Shudder? Or reality show destination Hayu? You’re going to need an entirely different device to access them – they’re not on Hubbl.
Also integrated into the box is all of the linear channels from your various installed apps. It also has an antenna port at the back to add channels from a home antenna. That’s all pretty useful, but if you do want to record something, Hubbl won’t be able to do that.
The user experience is actually really quite good. But if you are thinking about buying one, you need to have a good think about what you do and don’t want to stream.
Friendly on the wallet
The one big selling point for Hubbl is that it will offer you discounts on your paid streaming services. If you are willing to let Hubbl manage all of your billing for the various services, you can bundle and save between $5 and 15 a month, depending on how many services you bundle.
Should you press play on Hubbl?
Trust your first thought about Hubbl and know that there is nothing so compelling about Hubbl that you should replace any functional devices at home with this. But where you might want to think about it is if you are doing a hardware upgrade.
The user interface is really easy to use. And it does a really great job of integrating that content into one place for you to choose. And it has a good remote. And the discounts are always welcome.
But you are limited by the apps that are available. There’s no guarantee that Foxtel will add the apps you want at a later date. And there’s always the possibility that one of its partnerships may conclude, removing that app from the platform.
Those are risks maybe worth taking if you have limited options, but that’s not the case here. Every TV has smart functionality nowadays and will more than likely have all the apps Hubbl has and thousands more.
This is a good, handsome product that does a lot of things right. But it has limitations that are too great to ignore. Sure, you could choose it over the many other options out there, but why would you?
