Industry insiders downplay likelihood of Apple television release in Q2 2012
As rumors continue to swirl that Apple is preparing to launch a connected television set, a new report claims it is highly unlikely that the company will release such a device in the second quarter of 2012 because Sharp has limited production of the IGZO panels reportedly bound for the device.
DigiTimes reported that, according to industry sources, "the chance is low" that Apple will release a television next quarter. Tipsters said there were no signs indicating that supplier Sharp is prepared to ship Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide panels to Apple.
Apple was believed to have turned to Sharp for its IGZO panels after it became clear that South Korea's Samsung and LG were "unlikely to share" OLED panel production capacities with their rival. Both electronics makers reportedly regard their new OLED TV models as their "killer products" for this year.
The report went on to note that Sharp's "seems unready" to start shipping larger IGZO panels, despite the fact that its 8G production lines are capable of outputting 32-, 46- and 55-inch panels. Yield rates were listed as a major concern for the company.
The panel maker announced at the start of this month that it plans to turn its attention away from commodity LCD panels and focus heavily on ramping up IGZO production, Semicon Portal reported earlier this week.
"IGZO panels are expected suitable for smartphones and tablets, but there is much wider demand of IGZO applications is emerging. We are now proposing IGZO panels for notebook PC displays and PC monitor display and have got good reactions. We count on IGZO as new business," company president Mikio Katayama said.
Katayama was recently asked about Apple's plans for a high-definition television, but he declined to comment.
Though Sharp's LCD TV business was profitable during the first half of its fiscal year, which ran from April to September, a sudden shift in demand last fall resulted in a rapid decline. Katayama said the Japanese LCD TV market on a value basis shrunk to 20 percent of its year-ago size during the third quarter.
If earlier reports are to be believed, Apple's third-generation iPad may be the first of its products to sport Sharp's IGZO panels. Multiple sources (1, 2) have suggested that the technology will end up in the next iPad, though one report out of Korea claimed last month that Sharp had failed in its initial supply and would not provide displays for the rumored tablet, which is expected to arrive in March.
Apple has also reportedly invested in Sharp's manufacturing facilities as part of their partnership. Sources for The Wall Street Journal indicated last November that the iPad maker had contributed an unspecified amount toward Sharp's Kameyama No. 2 plant in Japan. Earlier rumors had suggested that Apple would pay a "large portion" of the $1.2 billion set aside for a new factory.
DigiTimes' most-recent report would appear to contradict claims made by Jefferies analyst Peter Misek last November. At the time, Misek said production of an Apple television would begin at a Sharp facility this month in preparation for a mid-2012 launch.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said earlier this week that Asian supplier checks had revealed Apple has prototype televisions "in the works." Sources also indicated that Apple had contacted a "major TV component supplier" about its plans.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
Even if? PARTICULARLY if Apple doesn't make a TV, they'll think they've won.
If Apple makes an A6 Apple TV with the most optimistic of everyone's expectations put together, they'll think they've won because "they'll sell more TVs that way".
And then they realize that it's the interface that made Apple win. Suddenly no one wants to waste their time with TVs that take a MINUTE to turn on because they're loading the crap "smart TV" interface on their pathetic embedded chips? the "smart TV" interface that no one even uses because they have their Apple TV plugged in.
And along comes a no-name TV company that sells 'instant-on' TVs. Dumb panels like every single one was five years ago? but it's quality hardware and it turns on almost immediately because it only has to be smart enough to understand how to turn the volume up and down and mess with color quality settings. These TVs are designed expecting the Apple TV box to do the rest, and it does.
And the big names cry out in horror; they make their own rip-offs of the Apple TV interface and embed them in their TVs, but that's not what people want. They want the real thing. The real box designed to integrate with the stuff on their computers, the shows from the cable and satellite companies that users have now abandoned, and the services from the Internet that they know and love.
And so Apple makes a killing selling $99 boxes to everyone with any TV and a previously unknown TV manufacturer wholly unrelated to Apple becomes the largest in the world, simply by emulating Apple's core principles.
?
Why have I become a wishful thinker? I'm so much better at being The Apple Pessimist.
And so Apple makes a killing selling $99 boxes to everyone with any TV
Personally I think you nailed it right there. The Apple TV will be a better black box, serviced by better content deals in iTunes and more built in apps like the current sports stuff.
If Apple builds a display I suspect it will be a dumb one similar to the current 27 inch displays but with the inputs and outputs to be used with a computer, the Apple TV, a blu-ray/dvd etc. by not putting a tuner in the unit they avoid a lot of patent hassle (much of which is owned by the compets like samsung, lg and sony). And by making it a dummy unit that can work with a variety of systems they increase their potential market.
Just upgrade the existing Apple TV and add the ability to recieve & record live broadcasts already and be done with it.
If I feel like I really have to watch it on an Apple branded screen, I can always plug in into an Apple Cinema Display.
InGaZnO (Indium, Gallium, Zinc, Oxygen) is a production method and material choice where an indium/gallium/zinc/oxygen layer replaces the traditional amorphous silicon based layer (a-Si used in most LCDs today). It allow manufacturers to produce LCD panels or even OLED panels but there is no such thing as a "IGZO panel"; it's still either a LCD or OLED (seems unlikely at launch if Sharp is the partner).
Sure, the IGZO method can enable higher pixel density, thus higher pixel resolution, and faster addressing of pixels, but that's a different discussion.
Can we please call it "IGZO based panels" or "IGZO LCD" / "IGZO OLED" panels, people?
I have no interest in a smart TV from Apple or anybody else. A large screen display that goes obsolete evey year is just plain stupid.
Just upgrade the existing Apple TV and add the ability to recieve & record live broadcasts already and be done with it.
If I feel like I really have to watch it on an Apple branded screen, I can always plug in into an Apple Cinema Display.
Where can I buy a 60" Apple Cinema Display?
Personally I think you nailed it right there. The Apple TV will be a better black box, serviced by better content deals in iTunes and more built in apps like the current sports stuff.
If Apple builds a display I suspect it will be a dumb one similar to the current 27 inch displays but with the inputs and outputs to be used with a computer, the Apple TV, a blu-ray/dvd etc. by not putting a tuner in the unit they avoid a lot of patent hassle (much of which is owned by the compets like samsung, lg and sony). And by making it a dummy unit that can work with a variety of systems they increase their potential market.
I could still see Apple selling an OEM Apple TV board to be included inside someone else's TV as well as selling the separate Apple TV box.
But why in the world is anyone still quoting DigiTimes? Have they EVER been right about anything of substance (other than, of course, the ones where they take both sides - saying that Apple will do something and at the same time saying that they won't).
I have no interest in a smart TV from Apple or anybody else. A large screen display that goes obsolete evey year is just plain stupid.
My dads 2007 2.8 core 2 extreme 24" iMac is still awesome. If computers aren't obsolete after a year- why would a television screen?
I think the refresh cycle might be a little different. But you, as a consumer, gets the decide when you "need" to upgrade.
Ireland, you're full of it, Apple will never make a TV
So you're patting yourself on the back and looking for some sort of acknowledgment from others for a pipe dream you've pushed for over 6(?) years now and one that that is still just an unsubstantiated rumour.
PS: Good luck with your Apple HDTV that has no inputs for any connections whatsoever.
...
PARTICULARLY if Apple doesn't make a TV, they'll think they've won.
...
... but they'll be wrong. /s
Throwing the industry off track again. 6 months before the iPad, "We are not interested in a tablet."
lol I remember this.
My dads 2007 2.8 core 2 extreme 24" iMac is still awesome. If computers aren't obsolete after a year- why would a television screen?
I think the refresh cycle might be a little different. But you, as a consumer, gets the decide when you "need" to upgrade.
Look at the phone business. TV's are about the same price but the refresh cycle are completly different. The question is will TV's become tech toys you need to change more often?
Throwing the industry off track again. 6 months before the iPad, "We are not interested in a tablet."
lol I remember this.
I don't remember anyone from Apple stating that. I do remember Jobs saying that a $500 PC I'd not in their DNA (paraphrasing).
Edit: I found this from 2003:
Walt Mossberg: A lot of people think given the success youive had with portable devices, you should be making a tablet or a PDA.
Steve Jobs: There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards. When Apple first started out, "People couldnit type. We realized: Death would eventually take care of this." "We look at the tablet and we think itis going to fail." Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already. "And people accuse us of niche markets." I get a lot of pressure to do a PDA. What people really seem to want to do with these is get the data out. We believe cell phones are going to carry this information. We didnit think weid do well in the cell phone business. What weive done instead is weive written what we think is some of the best software in the world to start syncing information between devices. We believe that mode is what cell phones need to get to. We chose to do the iPod instead of a PDA.
Edit: I found this from 2003:
Wow, that's a gem. Maybe Steve was not convinced about the strategy of selling an iPhone or iPad at that time. 2003 seems like a long way out to have him start with the poker bluff.
Walt Mossberg: A lot of people think given the success youive had with portable devices, you should be making a tablet or a PDA.
Steve Jobs: There are no plans to make a tablet. It turns out people want keyboards. When Apple first started out, "People couldnit type. We realized: Death would eventually take care of this." "We look at the tablet and we think itis going to fail." Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already. "And people accuse us of niche markets." I get a lot of pressure to do a PDA. What people really seem to want to do with these is get the data out. We believe cell phones are going to carry this information. We didnit think weid do well in the cell phone business. What weive done instead is weive written what we think is some of the best software in the world to start syncing information between devices. We believe that mode is what cell phones need to get to. We chose to do the iPod instead of a PDA.
Wow, that's a gem. Maybe Steve was not convinced about the strategy of selling an iPhone or iPad at that time. 2003 seems like a long way out to have him start with the poker bluff.
According to an article a few months back it wasn't until 2005 that Jobs was serious about creating a tablet/phone/PDA-esque device and even then it was clearly still in the early stages, at least with the OS. I don't think anyone would cry foul on Jobs for saying what he said in 2003.I can't find any quotes from 2009 where Jobs said they are not interested in a tablet. That doesn't even sound like something Jobs would say. He usually just points out all the hurdles that need to be dealt with and/or talks about how poor something is being done.
Ireland, you're full of it, Apple will never make a TV
You may well be right but we ain't there yet. If they don't get the content deals who knows.
I would love an Apple TV but like most things with Apple I won't believe till I see it.
I can't find any quotes from 2009 where Jobs said they are not interested in a tablet. That doesn't even sound like something Jobs would say. He usually just points out all the hurdles that need to be dealt with and/or talks about how poor something is being done.
This touchscreen thing even goes back as far as 1980: from the biography (yes, again)
By then Jobs had distanced himself from the Apple III and was thrashing about for ways to produce something more radically different. At first he flirted with the idea of touchscreens, but he found himself frustrated. At one demonstration of the technology, he arrived late, fidgeted awhile, then abruptly cut off the engineers in the middle of their presentation with a brusque ?Thank you.? They were confused. ?Would you like us to leave?? one asked. Jobs said yes, then berated his colleagues for wasting his time.
- Chapter 8, 'Xerox and Lisa'
So you're patting yourself on the back and looking for some sort of acknowledgment from others for a pipe dream you've pushed for over 6(?) years now and one that that is still just an unsubstantiated rumour.
PS: Good luck with your Apple HDTV that has no inputs for any connections whatsoever.
He's been patting himself on his back for six years, why stop now? His arm must be pretty tired though.