Apple's rumored television is 'the elephant in the room' at CES 2012

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014


HDTV makers have shown increased innovation at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, spurred in part by fears that Apple is planning an entrance into the market with its own television set.



Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities noted the many different kinds of TVs shown at CES this year, including large OLED panels, 4K LED TVs with four times the resolution of 1080p, improved smart TVs, and 3D TV without the need for glasses. But weighing over it all at this year's show is what he called "the elephant in the room" at CES 2012: an Apple television.



In speaking with industry insiders on the show floor, White said it is generally believed that Sharp will supply the display panel for Apple's anticipated television set. No other details or potential features were provided.



White previously predicted that an Apple television running iOS and featuring Siri voice control and FaceTime video chat would be a major earner for Apple in a market expected to generate $102 billion in 2012. Last April, before rumors of an Apple television began to pick up steam, White said Apple was moving at a "faster pace than the market expected" to launch an HDTV. He incorrectly suggested Apple could launch a TV as quickly as the end of 2011.



As for Apple's competition, if it does enter the TV market, both Samsung and LG Electronics are expected to unveil large OLED TVs this year. OLED technology can offer thinner design, lower power consumption and superior picture quality versus an LCD TV.



Sony has taken a different path from OLED with its own Crystal LED. At this year's show, Sony showed off a 55-inch Crystal LED, which the company said offers higher contrast, superior viewing angles, better colors and a faster response time than current television sets.





Sony's prototype Crystal LED display was unveiled at CES this week.







White said Sharp appears to be the most aggressive of companies building 4K LED TVs. The Japanese TV maker is expected to have a 4K set reach the market this year, and the company is already working on an 8K ultra-high-definition HDTV.



And though 3D TV largely faltered in 2011, White noted that Toshiba is pressing forward and could be first to market with a new 3D set that does not require glasses. However, he said he found a glasses-free TV from China-based TCL Corporation to offer "a more compelling experience."



Finally, "smart TVs" have also had a major presence at this year's CES, as new models will feature integrated applications, voice and motion control, and some will even be upgradeable with replaceable hardware components. White noted that most leading vendors have chosen Google and its Android-based Google TV platform as their partner of choice.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 83
    This always happens. Always. First, the Apple Rumor Community starts on about a new product.



    Everyone else instantly panics and whacks each other with socks filled with batteries.



    Then Apple releases their product, it's absolutely nothing like what the rumors said or what others made, and they all play catch up by making either terrible knock-offs or directly stolen designs.



    Don't have to be a soothsayer to see it coming.



    Render unto TV makers that at which they're good: price wars and panels with less intelligence than tree moss and blacks deeper than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.



    Render unto Apple everything else.
  • Reply 2 of 83
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Zzzzzzzzzzzz
  • Reply 3 of 83
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    HDTV makers have shown increased innovation at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, spurred largely by fears that Apple is planning an entrance into the market with its own television set.

    <...>



    What a load of BS. TV makers have been competing fiercely with each other for years, but now the "phantom menace" from a made up Apple product should be the driving force? Please...
  • Reply 4 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DrDoppio View Post


    What a load of BS. TV makers have been competing fiercely with each other for years, but now the "phantom menace" from a made up Apple product should be the driving force? Please...



    Yup. CES has always been the place to see new TV tech. It has been like this for years. Apple really doesn't have anything to do with it.
  • Reply 5 of 83
    exactly what evidence does ai have that "HDTV makers have shown increased innovation at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, spurred largely by fears that Apple is planning an entrance into the market with its own television set.", as opposed to them showing new products that they've been developing for months/years, just like every other year?



    especially as it seems based solely upon comment from an analyst that the article notes "[He] incorrectly suggested Apple could launch a TV as quickly as the end of 2011."



    ffs they're spurred by the same thing as every other year, get press coverage for their new stuff, create demand, and strike deals to sell it
  • Reply 6 of 83
    mauszmausz Posts: 243member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by umumum View Post


    ffs they're spurred by the same thing as every other year, get press coverage for their new stuff, create demand, and strike deals to sell it



    Exactly, and let's not forget this year has the olympic games and the european soccer championship which are both events which trigger new tv technology as well..
  • Reply 7 of 83
    I don't care about 3D and all that hype. What I want is a TV that's transparent when it's not in use - like this one. Put it right over a big window. BAM, that's the one I'd buy.
  • Reply 8 of 83
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    I am wondering if maybe Apple won't have an Apple TV after all and Jobs was pulling one of his famous "redirects" for the last time so Cook and the gang can work on something totally under the radar because the competition is so focus on some phantom television set...
  • Reply 9 of 83
    I'd say that the tv manufacturers are just doing what they always do... competing like hell to find the next new feature that might give them an edge on the competition. The rumour of Apple's entrance into the market isn't influencing anything at this point.



    Google on the other hand...
  • Reply 10 of 83
    You've got to be joking. First of all, this segment is already one of the most competitive in the industry. Secondly, if the rumors are true the likes of a 32" competitor probably won't have anyone batting an eye. Fucking agenda pushing bs.
  • Reply 11 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post


    I don't care about 3D and all that hype. What I want is a TV that's transparent when it's not in use - like this one. Put it right over a big window. BAM, that's the one I'd buy.



    Samsung is at it again, slavishly copying Apple's non-existent TV. When will Samsung start innovating and stop copying over people's hard work?
  • Reply 12 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    This always happens. Always. First, the Apple Rumor Community starts on about a new product.



    Everyone else instantly panics and whacks each other with socks filled with batteries.




    You believe this? Apple announced a few months ago and you think other TV manufactures then decided to become competitive? I actually think they have been working on these for months and that the TV market has been a massive competitive market for decades and any TVs announced at CES had ZERO to do with Apple.
  • Reply 13 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    I am wondering if maybe Apple won't have an Apple TV after all and Jobs was pulling one of his famous "redirects" for the last time so Cook and the gang can work on something totally under the radar because the competition is so focus on some phantom television set...



    This I could see
  • Reply 14 of 83
    Weren't they 2K TVs?
  • Reply 15 of 83
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    CES is more about presenting future flops than successes
  • Reply 16 of 83
    "...and 3D TV without the need for glasses."

    That's the real news about TVs in CES IMHO.
  • Reply 17 of 83
    So Apple is working on an elephant purple monkey dishwasher? How do these rumors get started?
  • Reply 18 of 83
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    I am wondering if maybe Apple won't have an Apple TV after all and Jobs was pulling one of his famous "redirects" for the last time so Cook and the gang can work on something totally under the radar because the competition is so focus on some phantom television set...



    Misdirection by Jobs ... or by Isaacson? Given the general lack of meaningful revelations in the book, you'd think he and the publishers would have insisted on including the "I have cracked it" quote.
  • Reply 19 of 83
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bryanl View Post


    Yup. CES has always been the place to see new TV tech. It has been like this for years. Apple really doesn't have anything to do with it.



    True but the elephant in the room comment is correct in that, true or not, the industry is secretly cringing in fear Apple might be coming their way.. That is new at CES.
  • Reply 20 of 83
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    <...> work on something totally under the radar because the competition is so focus on some phantom television set...



    Only the competition isn't really "so focus on some phantom television set", no matter how much flame-bait pieces like this one may claim that it is.
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