Is Apple Working on a Smart TV?
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One section in Steve Jobs’ newly released biography reveals that he was extremely interested in creating an easy-to-use smart TV, which would be integrated with all iDevices and iCloud. In Jobs’ vision, the TV’s simple design would do away with the need for several different remotes and would feature an incredibly user friendly interface.
That smart TV, which was a personal obsession for Jobs, may not be far from reality. Rumors about an Apple branded TV have been circulating for quite some time, and if a report by Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White is accurate, Apple’s upcoming TV is already in early production.
The Cupertino-based company has had its Apple TV set-top box in production for several years now, but the product has faced underwhelming sales and a lack of real interest. An actual Apple television could be significantly more successful, representing a $100 billion opportunity for the company.
According to White, the “TV experience is in need of greater simplicity and innovation, providing Apple with opportunity to yet reinvent another product category and develop even closer ties with its customers,” which is a sentiment that Jobs shared.
Jobs was hoping to revolutionize the television experience, and if anyone could produce a better design, more interactivity (with features like Siri, FaceTime, Apps, and iTunes), and a stellar interface, he could. White believes that an Apple TV could potentially be priced at two to three times more than other TVs on the market. While an Apple TV seems likely, that price point sounds high, especially given Apple’s recent foray into lower priced products, such as the $499 iPad and the $999 MacBook Air. These are prices competitors have had trouble matching.
Whatever its price, there’s no doubt that an Apple smart TV would be an instant hit with Apple enthusiasts and consumers looking for a superior home entertainment solution. If an Apple TV is indeed in early production, we could see it as soon as late 2012 or early 2013.
[via BGR]
