Apple television expected in mid-2012 as competition is 'scrambling'

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Commercial production of Apple's anticipated television set is expected to begin in February at a Sharp plant in Japan, while competing HDTV makers are reportedly desperate to find out just what Apple plans to sell.



Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said in a note to investors this week that Apple is expected to partner with Sharp for TFT-LCD panels for its so-called "iTV." Production is expected to begin in February at the company's Gen 10 Sakai facility in Osaka, Japan, placing the television set in position for a mid-2012 launch.



Apple's expected entrance into the television market is said to have sent other TV makers "scrambling" to identify what the features of the product may be.



"They hope to avoid the fate of other industries and manufacturers who were caught flat footed by Apple," Misek wrote. "Having said that, it appears that mainstream TV manufacturers are likely to be at least 6 to 12 months behind in a best-case scenario."



TV makers are said to be looking at Android as a potential option to counter Apple's anticipated television set. In that scenario, the television market would act much like the current smartphone landscape, with manufacturers making the hardware and Google providing the operating system.



TV makers are said to be looking to Android because they lack the software and cloud capabilities Apple already offers. Earlier reports have also suggested that Apple will implement its proprietary voice recognition service, Siri, to allow controller-free navigation and further differentiate itself from current products on the market.



Rumors of an Apple television set picked up considerable steam with the release of the authorized biography of Steve Jobs. To biographer Walter Isaacson, Jobs hinted at a completely new product that would feature "the simplest user interface you could imagine."







In an interview published last week, Isaacson revealed that before he died, Jobs had three products he wanted to reinvent, with the television being first among them, followed by textbooks and photography. Jobs reportedly felt there was "no reason" for televisions to be as difficult to use as they currently are.



Misek's timeframe for a mid-2012 Apple television launch is slightly more aggressive than some other rumors have suggested. For example, last month The New York Times forecast Apple to announce the product by late 2012, with it going on sale to consumers by 2013.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 260
    Apple reinvents the TV ....
  • Reply 2 of 260
    technotechno Posts: 737member
    This has been the obvious direction for many years now.
  • Reply 3 of 260
    I'm in the market for a flat screen. I'll wait for apple!
  • Reply 4 of 260
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    Great, so when I am in the middle of a program and the kid comes through the living room whining "I wanna watch cartoon network" the TV will change channels?



    Or - with the TV something like 15 feet away from me - "Find Mythbusters" - "Find MYTHBUSTERS" - "FIND MYTHBUSTERS" - "FIND MYTH BUSTERS" - oh forget it.
  • Reply 5 of 260
    ?You never change things by fighting the existing reality.

    To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.?

    ― Richard Buckminster Fuller
  • Reply 6 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hankx32 View Post


    ?You never change things by fighting the existing reality.

    To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.?

    ― Richard Buckminster Fuller



    True dat
  • Reply 7 of 260
    I would love to see my Apple remote app work with Siri. People are missing the point with their idiotic rants about having to shout. If you want to search for a T.V. show it will be easier to use Siri than typing it out.



    Me: "Find episodes of Breaking Bad."



    Siri: "Okay here is a list of Channels Showing Breaking Bad. I've Listed them by time"



    Then you tap one if it's currently showing.



    Siri works just fine even with other people in the room. I am always demonstrating it at work for people when it comes to looking at weather or putting my work schedule in, then go on to show how Siri can help me find 'God'.
  • Reply 8 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lilgto64 View Post


    Great, so when I am in the middle of a program and the kid comes through the living room whining "I wanna watch cartoon network" the TV will change channels?



    Or - with the TV something like 15 feet away from me - "Find Mythbusters" - "Find MYTHBUSTERS" - "FIND MYTHBUSTERS" - "FIND MYTH BUSTERS" - oh forget it.



    Why does the mic have to be (only) on the TV? How about a remote with one 'Siri' button and a mic? Or control through the iPhone/iPad 'Remote' app (together with AirPlay)
  • Reply 9 of 260
    I really don't buy this rumor at all.



    TV isn't that complicated that it needs fixing.



    The TV market is saturated and prices are crashing and margins are nearly non existent, it is essentially a commodity market. The kind of market Apple usually stays far away from.



    Not to mention the inventory nightmare and how poorly suited Apple stores are for carrying huge physical items like TV.



    IMO this is one case where it would make a lot more sense for Apple to simply license Apple TV software for manufacturing partners to include in their TV's.
  • Reply 10 of 260
    wingswings Posts: 261member
    Let's say I've posted a tutorial on YouTube of how to use Siri with the new Apple TV. In the video there is this one clip where I say, "Siri, find the Apple TV Tutorial on You Tube and play it", as part of the tutorial explaining how to use Siri to play a video.



    Later, in real time, I'm showing a friend how Siri works on the TV, and I say "Siri, find the Apple TV Tutorial on You Tube and play it". When it gets to the clip where I'm saying the same thing, what happens?



    It'll be like looking into two mirrors facing each other! I think the universe would implode, so don't ever try this!
  • Reply 11 of 260
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    New TV with built in iPad/iPhone Tech. Simplified user interface with options to use included remote or voice via Siri.



    New section in iTunes for TV Apps. Also compatible with the Apple TV.



    PC Free, hang it and turn it on.

    Built in FaceTime etc

    Could even use visual along with audio commands.



    That sort of stuff.
  • Reply 12 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Snowdog65 View Post


    I really don't buy this rumor at all. TV isn't that complicated that it needs fixing.



    I doubt Apple could really "re-invent" the TV. They could certainly make a better TV, but it's hard to imagine anything they could do that would disrupt the market like they did with phones.



    Where they could make an impact is on the content side and how that interacts with the hardware. There is nothing that exists at the moment that lets you watch what you want to, when you want to, through one simple easy-to-use interface.
  • Reply 13 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wings View Post




    It'll be like looking into two mirrors facing each other! I think the universe would implode, so don't ever try this!



    Recursive function call, is all
  • Reply 14 of 260
    blitz1blitz1 Posts: 433member
    Apple might first want to fix all loose strings. Battery, iCloud, iWork, ...
  • Reply 15 of 260
    morkymorky Posts: 200member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Snowdog65 View Post


    I really don't buy this rumor at all.



    TV isn't that complicated that it needs fixing.



    The TV market is saturated and prices are crashing and margins are nearly non existent, it is essentially a commodity market. The kind of market Apple usually stays far away from.



    Not to mention the inventory nightmare and how poorly suited Apple stores are for carrying huge physical items like TV.



    IMO this is one case where it would make a lot more sense for Apple to simply license Apple TV software for manufacturing partners to include in their TV's.



    I'm fairly technical, and I had a bugger of a time getting the aspect ratio fixed on my neighbor's TV, as that can be controlled by whatever box is plugged into it. You really think remotes for TVs don't need fixing? They are a disaster and far too complex for most people to access anything but the simplest functions. Licensing software doesn't fix either of these issues. I would like to see, however, how Steve "cracked" the problem with cable boxes and the go to market strategy.
  • Reply 16 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Firefly7475 View Post


    Where they could make an impact is on the content side and how that interacts with the hardware. There is nothing that exists at the moment that lets you watch what you want to, when you want to, through one simple easy-to-use interface.



    Exactly. And you don't need to waste billions of money to enter the absurdly-low-margin TV market to do that.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blitz1 View Post


    Apple might first want to fix all loose strings. Battery, iCloud, iWork, ...



    Please don't.
  • Reply 17 of 260
    I don't buy this rumor. Apple wouldn't be this foolish. This isn't a market they would enter at this point. After all, the latest Apple TV sells ok, but its not a hot seller. Apple isn't going to enter the very crowded HDTV market with a TV that has an Apple TV built in. Also, consider that Apple doesn't even have all the networks on board for streaming content. No way this will happen.
  • Reply 18 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Snowdog65 View Post


    I really don't buy this rumor at all.



    TV isn't that complicated that it needs fixing.



    What?... Have you tried any of the so-called Smart TVs? The ones from Sony are extremely, extremely complicated and the interface is butt-ugly. LG isn't doing very well, Panasonic neither. Philips, Sharp and Loewe use some kind of website as a Smart TV front page and it is actually quite sad. Samsung's Smart TV platform is the best one but it still sucks. It doesn't even support smooth streaming for video streaming, which basically means that video quality is extremely bad.



    And the remotes. They are all ridiculous.



    I don't know a single non-techie person that can install a TV without trouble. Very few "normal" people even know how to do a channel search.
  • Reply 19 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rtapps View Post


    I would love to see my Apple remote app work with Siri. People are missing the point with their idiotic rants about having to shout. If you want to search for a T.V. show it will be easier to use Siri than typing it out.



    Me: "Find episodes of Breaking Bad."



    Siri: "Okay here is a list of Channels Showing Breaking Bad. I've Listed them by time"



    Then you tap one if it's currently showing.



    Siri works just fine even with other people in the room. I am always demonstrating it at work for people when it comes to looking at weather or putting my work schedule in, then go on to show how Siri can help me find 'God'.



    I don't believe Apple, if they want to produce a TV, aim for "TV channels". It will be a connected TV without TV tuners inside. I'm pretty sure about that. If Apple start competing in the cable/satellite market, they have already lost. They need to re-invent the content delivery system and why not use iTunes and then add the App Store in order to get all those streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, CinemaNow on board.
  • Reply 20 of 260
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Snowdog65 View Post


    I really don't buy this rumor at all.



    TV isn't that complicated that it needs fixing.



    The TV market is saturated and prices are crashing and margins are nearly non existent, it is essentially a commodity market. The kind of market Apple usually stays far away from.



    Not to mention the inventory nightmare and how poorly suited Apple stores are for carrying huge physical items like TV.



    IMO this is one case where it would make a lot more sense for Apple to simply license Apple TV software for manufacturing partners to include in their TV's.



    Agree 100%. The TV market is not one where Apple is likely to achieve the same level of success they are used to. They would be better served working on the next product we don't currently have but will want. Think iPod iPhone iPad i??? Most of us already have TV's and an ability to stream to them, and it is going to have to offer a lot more than a slick interface if we are going to pay a 40-50% premium for Apple's version. A smart TV reeks of lazy thinking by Apple and has marginal player written all over it, just like their Apple TV boxes.
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