Designer Jony Ive reportedly has a 50-inch Apple television in his studio

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
A "slick" 50-inch Apple television is said to be housed in the secure California studio of Jonathan Ive, Apple's acclaimed head of product design.



Citing an anonymous source who worked at Apple, USA Today revealed that the 50-inch television secretly resides in the "locked-down studio" of Ive. The person also reportedly said that Apple is looking to build an LCD television sized 42 inches or larger with built-in Wi-Fi functionality.



Aside from those details, the report offers little else that is new about Apple's anticipated television set. Author Scott Martin notes that Apple's rumored TV set is going to receive "big buzz" at next week's Consumer Electronics Show, even though the Cupertino, Calif., company isn't attending the event.



The story also features a quote from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who said he expects Apple will make "an attempt" to build a TV. He believes the living room will "remain a center for family entertainment, and that touches on all areas of consumer products that Apple is already making."



The new details, if true, suggest Apple is not interested in building an HDTV with a screen size of less than 42 inches. That contradicts a story from a month ago, which claimed Apple was looking to build televisions with three screen sizes, starting on the low end at 32 inches, and maxing out at 55 inches.



Other reports have indicated that Apple plans to use custom chips, like it does with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, to power its new integrated television. The USA Today report reiterated those apparent intentions, and also suggested that the inclusion of AirPlay and iCloud integration could make such a product enticing to consumers.



The main hold-up, onlookers believe, is content licensing deals. Gartner analyst Mark McGuire believes that Apple will have to pay a high price to obtain the kind of access it seeks.







Rumors have suggested Apple wants to be able to offer customers customized channel lineups with its anticipated television set. Such a plan could offer customers the ability to choose whichever channels or shows they want for a monthly subscription fee.



But content providers are said to have resisted Apple's offers for subscription-based plans. Networks similarly turned a cold shoulder to Apple's plans for 99 cent TV show rentals, which were discontinued on iTunes last August.



Rumors of an Apple-built HDTV began to pick up steam late last year, when it was revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his biographer that he had "cracked' the secret to building an integrated, easy-to-use television set. He said the device "will have the simplest user interface you could imagine."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 125
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    50" is good news, hopefully 60 through 80 not far behind I'd like a 100" that 'rolls' up into a ceiling housing and drops down at the command to Siri.
  • Reply 2 of 125
    And since there are probably FIVE people who are allowed in Jony's den, we can easily check the recent Apple firings to see if this is a real leak.
  • Reply 3 of 125
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Some bozo just pulled this right out of his butt crack. It's easy to quote "anonymous" sources. If the information is bogus there's no price to pay is there. And USA Today is a bastion of quality journalism isn't it.



    Nothing innovative here. Android TVs have been around for years.... slappy
  • Reply 4 of 125
    I really, really love my Apple products. And I hope that if they build a TV, it's successful for them.



    But I hope they also incorporate the same ideas and tech into an upgraded AppleTV box, because I already have a beautiful, functional, huge television. I'm not looking for another one, and I suspect a lot of people are in the same condition.



    The current AppleTV works well, and in conjunction with Plex and my iPad I've used it to eliminate cableTV altogether. My fear is that they get greedy, cancel the ATV box, and push people toward the TV which I can't justify buying, after what I just recently spent on my current one!
  • Reply 5 of 125
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And since there are probably FIVE people who are allowed in Jony's den, we can easily check the recent Apple firings to see if this is a real leak.



    You forget ... the cleaning staff
  • Reply 6 of 125
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    1) I wouldn't be surprised if Ives has several Apple prototypes and one-off designs he helped create for personal use, but that doesn't mean these will come to market.



    2) Again, we're still talking about how to you overcome or integrate into the world's most closed and effective entertainment ecosystem. Not making a TV without any inputs, as Ireland suggests, isn't going to cut it, and putting an AppleTV in a TV isn't a revolutionary or clever idea.



    3) I played Dance Central on Xbox 360 this past weekend for the first time. The way you move your hands to interact with the data onscreen was interesting. It felt sloppy and crude much the way smartphones with single-touch resistive screens requiring a stylus were before the iPhone showed them the only viable way. While I have doubts about a TV for many reasons already discussed I can see how a camera in the bezel and a sensors running the frame of the set could allow for a very sensitive and advance interface that can utilize their facial recognition software.



    4) I wish AI would hire there own graphics editor. Besides not liking to see the same image over-and-over I think it would help the site if they could be the go-to site for finding renderings based on rumours. I think it could get then a lot more page hits.
  • Reply 7 of 125
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The main hold-up, onlookers believe, is content licensing deals.



    Remember that iPhone 4 song following 'Antennae-gate" where at the end of the song the verse went, 'If you bought one and you don't like it, bring it back... Bring it back... Bring it back to the Apple store... But you know you won't!'



    C'mon content providers you balk at giving Apple what they need for their next latest greatest thing that in the end would probably bode well for you as well... Well, we need the iPhone 4 songwriter, Jonathan Mann, to write an Apple TV song where then ending goes...



    'You balk at content licensing deals... You say you won't do it... You say you won't... But you know you will!'

    /

    /

    /
  • Reply 8 of 125
    I guess Apple's releasing their landline phone, too.







    And IT'S ABOUT TIME. I've always wanted to write checks via phone.
  • Reply 9 of 125
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    Some bozo just pulled this right out of his butt crack. It's easy to quote "anonymous" sources. If the information is bogus there's no price to pay is there. And USA Today is a bastion of quality journalism isn't it.



    Nothing innovative here. Android TVs have been around for years.... slappy



    What? You don't trust anonymous reports? Heck, I just read an anonymous report that Slappy is a transgender chimp that learned to type using a pre release Android phone with a plastic keyboard.
  • Reply 10 of 125
    Quote:

    Rumors of an Apple-built HDTV began to pick up steam earlier this year.



    Errr... last year.
  • Reply 11 of 125
    It doesn't make a lot of sense to build a small TV, when we know it will have to sell for a premium price. I would expect mainstream sizes, like in the order of 46-55 inch, with bigger ones coming in the future.



    However, I would expect that the 27" iMac could be increased somewhat in size to create a 32" or 37" iMac. I would certainly salivate at that, especially with the same pixel density as the current 27" screen (which I own, love and am writing this on now).



    I think it would be a no-brainer to make the Apple TV software run on both the TV and the iMac, since the iMac makes a very useful viewing device for Internet video as it stands.



    D
  • Reply 12 of 125
    jasonfjjasonfj Posts: 567member
    Would be LED surely....? LCDs are living room fatties these days.
  • Reply 13 of 125
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by David Dennis View Post


    It doesn't make a lot of sense to build a small TV, when we know it will have to sell for a premium price. I would expect mainstream sizes, like in the order of 46-55 inch, with bigger ones coming in the future.



    However, I would expect that the 27" iMac could be increased somewhat in size to create a 32" or 37" iMac. I would certainly salivate at that, especially with the same pixel density as the current 27" screen (which I own, love and am writing this on now).



    I think it would be a no-brainer to make the Apple TV software run on both the TV and the iMac, since the iMac makes a very useful viewing device for Internet video as it stands.



    D



    That's part of the problem with this whole Apple HDTV issue. I want Apple to connect every room that has a TV, not just the living room. That means I want the bedrooms, guest rooms, den, living room, and even the master bathroom to all an AppleTV that can switch content to my last saved point as I leave one room and enter another. I won't have a 50" TV in all rooms because it doesn't make sense.



    The only way to do this is to offer an AppleTV appliance that connects to any all devices with an HDMI connection. They would be remiss to ignore the rest of the house when they can finally unify the entire system the way DirectTV is with the Whole Home DVR service.
  • Reply 14 of 125
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    1) I wouldn't be surprised if Ives has several Apple prototypes and one-off designs he helped create for personal use, but that doesn't mean these will come to market.



    2) Again, we're still talking about how to you overcome or integrate into the world's most closed and effective entertainment ecosystem? Not putting any ports input ports on the TV, as Ireland suggests, isn't going to cut it, and putting an AppleTV in a TV isn't a revolutionary or clever idea.



    3) I played Dance Central on Xbox 360 this past weekend for the first time. The way you move your hands to interact with the data onscreen was interesting. It felt sloppy and crude much the way smartphones with single-touch resistive touch screens requiring a stylus were before the iPhone showed them the only viable way. While I have doubts about a TV for many reasons already discussed a camera in the bezel and a sensors running the frame of the set could allow for a very sensitive and advance interface that can utilize their well in-use face recognition software.



    4) I wish AI would hire there own graphics editor. Besides not liking to see the same image over-and-over I think it would help the site if they could be the go-to site for finding renderings based on rumours. I think it could get then a lot more page hits.



    I agree.
  • Reply 15 of 125
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    1) I wouldn't be surprised if Ives has several Apple prototypes and one-off designs he helped create for personal use, but that doesn't mean these will come to market.



    2) Again, we're still talking about how to you overcome or integrate into the world's most closed and effective entertainment ecosystem? Not putting any ports input ports on the TV, as Ireland suggests, isn't going to cut it, and putting an AppleTV in a TV isn't a revolutionary or clever idea.



    3) I played Dance Central on Xbox 360 this past weekend for the first time. The way you move your hands to interact with the data onscreen was interesting. It felt sloppy and crude much the way smartphones with single-touch resistive touch screens requiring a stylus were before the iPhone showed them the only viable way. While I have doubts about a TV for many reasons already discussed a camera in the bezel and a sensors running the frame of the set could allow for a very sensitive and advance interface that can utilize their well in-use face recognition software.



    4) I wish AI would hire there own graphics editor. Besides not liking to see the same image over-and-over I think it would help the site if they could be the go-to site for finding renderings based on rumours. I think it could get then a lot more page hits.



    the current kinect hardware uses the x-box cpu for everything which is why they graphics are worse than non-kinect games and the way it's made it's better if you wear tight clothing. it will miss a lot of movement if you wear lose clothing.



    and i never use it to navigate since it's not very accurate in the x-box gui



    but it's a cool concept and will be a killer feature in the next x-box version.



    Roku has a cool concept. they allow dev access to the box and content providers build apps that stream data. you add any apps you want. there are 350 current apps and a lot more dev apps in testing.
  • Reply 16 of 125
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I'd like a 100" that 'rolls' up into a ceiling housing and drops down at the command to Siri.



    But Mr. Bond, you already HAVE such a TV. Also an Apple-built Aston Martin that runs on iced tea.
  • Reply 17 of 125
    Top to bottom redesigns of iPhone 5 & iPad 3 ....

    Ivy Bridge MacBook Airs ....

    An Apple HDTV ....

    2012 will be a legendary year for Apple.



    And, of course, Nature being what it is, Steve isn't here to bask in the accolades he so richly deserves ....
  • Reply 18 of 125
    I think the TV area is one where people pay more attention to cost. If a 50" Apple HDTV goes for the price of an 70" LED 3D TV, that isn't going to sell well.
  • Reply 19 of 125
    cory bauercory bauer Posts: 1,286member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Rumors have suggested Apple wants to be able to offer customers customized channel lineups with its anticipated television set. Such a plan could offer customers the ability to choose whichever channels or shows they want for a monthly subscription fee.



    But content providers are said to have resisted Apple's offers for subscription-based plans. Networks similarly turned a cold shoulder to Apple's plans for 99 cent TV show rentals, which were discontinued on iTunes last August.



    Rumors of an Apple-built HDTV began to pick up steam earlier this year, when it was revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his biographer that he had "cracked' the secret to building an integrated, easy-to-use television set. He said the device "will have the simplest user interface you could imagine."



    I point out again, all of this can be achieved with an upgraded Apple TV set-top box, so why sell a full tv at all? What's Apple going to bring to the tv itself that can't be achieved with a box?
  • Reply 20 of 125
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    ... making a TV without any inputs, as Ireland suggests, isn't going to cut it ....



    I keep hearing this sentiment, but I never hear any justification for it.



    "Ireland" has been dead wrong about so many things I'm not sure why you mention his name.



    It doesn't have to be a TV for every conceivable customer, it could easily start off as a luxury item for those of us that are already on the bleeding edge. Obviously Jane and Joe Average are still going to want cable, they want their TVs cheap cheap cheap, and they won't care that Apple's screen has a better colour reproduction than the average POS. Those folks will buy Google's mess or stick to what they have.



    IMO an Apple branded TV with (maybe) an optical slot on the side like an iMac and no inputs other than wireless would be just fine. I know it's pretty much exactly what I want and need and I know I'm not alone. A lot of folks just want a slab to hang on the wall that "just works" and a huge number of people under 40 or so don't watch cable TV at all and don't have a giant wall of DVDs or BluRays like the over 50's tend to have.



    Apple TV, Neteflix, Vimeo, YouTube and a few other channels/apps streaming over the Internet is really all a lot of folks want now. No commercials, no PVR, no bother about schedules and times, no censorship, lesser barriers between countries for content. It's a win-win-win-win to have no inputs other than WiFi AFAIKS.
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