Will Apple launch a TV?

Unfortunately , if you were skip for an HDTV from Apple , we have to be upfront with you now , we ’re afraid that you are out of portion , because the late rumours suggest that despite spending a decade researching and develop an HDTV , Apple has decided to give up plans to construct a TV in favour of its revamped Apple TV set top box seat . However , we do know that Apple did consider the idea of selling it ’s own television set and if you study on you could see how the story built up over the years …

This feature film was first published in 2013 and then update in 2015 after it was confirmed that the TV was resigned to the might have been pile …

Is Apple going to launch a television?

Last year , Tim Cook revealed Apple is “ concerned in TV ” and will keep extract strings to   see where it leads .

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been claiming that an Apple television system set is on its way since at least 2009 . Every fall , without fail , he acknowledge he was faulty about the pre - Christmas launch escort , but follow this space : this year we ’ll see it , he claims .

“ ‘ I ’d care to produce an integrated television set that is totally well-fixed to   utilize , ’ he [ Jobs ] told me . ‘ It would be seamlessly synced with all of your equipment and with iCloud . ’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD player and   cable channels . ‘ It will have the unproblematic user interface you could opine . I finally cracked it . ’ ”

Cook also spent some time babble about television at the D10 conference last twelvemonth . He referred to the Apple TV set - top box , hinting there may be more possible . Apple ’s CEO also note that , for many , television is “ an orbit in their living that they ’re not pleased with ” and intimate Apple will “ keep pulling this string and see where it takes us . ”

At the D11 league this twelvemonth , Cook reiterated his thought that the current TV poser is broken , in theinterview at D11 Cook said : “ I suppose many of us would agree that there ’s lots of thing about the TV experience that can be proficient , we answer some of those distinctly not all of those , with Apple TV , and we ’re going to continue to make that better , ” promised Cook .

He later added : “ When you reckon at the TV experience it ’s not an experience that I cerebrate may citizenry love , it ’s not an experience that you would say has been buy up to date for this 10 . It ’s still an experience that is still too much like it was ten years ago and in many cases 20 years ago . ”

likewise Jefferies psychoanalyst Peter Miske told investors to begin with this year that Apple is rivet on developing a super - gamy definition iTV screen to make it stand out in the fiercely free-enterprise telly market place .

Other grounds suggesting that Apple is ferment on a television total in the physical body of various hires made by the firm . Back in July , Apple was sound out to have hired Hulusenior VP of Marketing and Distribution Pete Distad . Distad ’s use is thought to be to negociate future medium muckle . Distard lead Hulu ’s push to make its app uncommitted on web - connected equipment , including Apple TV .

In addition , back in February intelligence that Apple had charter LG ’s OLED expert , who just happen to work for Samsung once - upon - a - meter . James ( Jueng - jil ) Lee , a senior researcher at LG who had been working on creating aprinted AMOLED TV ( organic spark - emit diode ) free-base television presentation , according to The OLED Association . Lee is “ no doubt more knowledgeable about OLEDs that any of Apple ’s current faculty , which is bed to be quite strong , ” evoke the OLED Association .

With all this evidence , and the fact that a consumer electronics company of Apple ’s size and industriousness footprint would be strategically negligent if it did n’t have a TV construct humming away in some back way , it sure expect like Apple is figure out on a television .

Indeed , if it is n’t shape on television then something is very incorrect . Apple should be prototyping big - screen TVs and other forward - thinking contrivance – because this is what innovators do .

What Will the Apple Television be Called?

UK television set broadcaster ITV has reportedly   made it light what Apple should n’t name its television .

Although , many have already dub Apple ’s tv set set ‘ iTV ’ , it appears the British broadcaster has drop a line to Apple to request that it does n’t use the name ‘ iTV ’ .

You may commend that when Apple first announce its set - top loge in a tonic   in September 2006 , it was hollo   the iTV , then when it was launched the merchandise was name the Apple TV . There was a rationality for that .

Another suggestion is that the tv will be called ‘ iPanel ’ . However , there ’s no unanimous last about what the company will call its television . Perhaps it will take over the Apple TV name from the set - top box that bridge the gap between the internet and a standard set , although we imagine that Apple would continue to sell this £ 99 gadget . Although the company would be wise to head off any confusion with the Apple TV , an existing production , if it wants to make its smart idiot box   fix consumer - friendly .

In this feature we loosely refer to the estimation of an actual television as the Apple Television , to distinguish it from the Apple tv set set top box seat . We also use the term iTV sometimes , just because that ’s what some the great unwashed insist on call it , and no doubt they will continue to do so , whatever the company calls its idiot box set .

How Much Will the Apple Television Cost?

At the moment , we can only guess about the damage . We desire Apple would make its television uncommitted at damage consumers can afford , even though it Apple is n’t known for low - level price points .

Presuming Apple will want to make a levelheaded pure leeway of 35 per cent on the sales of the television , one approximation is that it will have to be priced around $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 . ( That ’s £ 757.20 to £ 1,514.40 once you sum on UK VAT . )

However , psychoanalyst Gene Munster line up if the price tag is more than $ 1,500 , more than 75 per cent of US consumers would n’t be willing to part with their cash .

The other factor to consider is whether a monthly subscription would be expect to utilise the new feature of speech . Cable providers and content producers will not be incisive on the idea of masses being capable to access shows for loose .

sooner this class Jefferies psychoanalyst Peter Misek suggested that if Apple had launched its video in clock time for Christmas 2012 , it could have generated an surplus $ 2.5bn ( £ 1.58bn ) in   sales in the December quarter .

Read ourApple Television iTV waiver escort , rumours , and picturesstory for more information .

When will Apple launch a TV?

Various analysts have made prognostication about when Apple will launch its television . Many of these date have go on without anything being launch .

For example , back in 2012 Jefferies psychoanalyst Peter Miske take that Apple would release its tv set at WWDC 2012 . Then in December 2012 Miske said that there are ‘ iTV ’ prototypes “ floating around ” forrader of a September or October 2013 launch . Misek also predicated an Apple TV case this March that fail to materialize .

Back in November 2012 , Munster ’s predicted is that theApple Television will arrive in November 2013 .

This April , Topeka Capital Markets psychoanalyst Brian White wrote in a research note that , following meetings with Chinese and Taiwanese Apple element suppliers , he ’s learned that Apple ’s impertinent TV will go on sale in previous 2013 .

Now Miske says theApple Television will launch sometime in 2014 . “ We had call up that Apple ’s software system and ecosystem would be enough to drive demand but our arrest indicate that Apple wants the hardware to also stand up out , ” said Misek . “ We believe Apple want a display that looks like 4K / Ultra HD but without the super - premium cost . ”

It ’s not only analyst who add up up with predictions for launch date . DigiTimes reported back in March that its sources had revealed that Apple was planning to start working with LG Display to supply tv set panels , and that mass product of the components would start by the closing of this twelvemonth ahead of a projected later 2013 to early 2014 launch , with the afterward unveiling more likely .

What Will the New Apple TV Look Like?

One thing is certain , we can expect the goggle box to be tenuous , stylish and designed by Apple ’s awarding - winning design guru Jonathan I ve .

Beyond that there is much rumor and speculation about the Apple Television ’s coming into court . The Apple Television is rumoured to be between 42 - 55 in in size with an ultra - high definition display free-base upon the 4 K data formatting ( more on that below ) .

IDC senior research analyst Linn Huang said back in April 2013 that the so - callediTVwill have a screen door that evaluate 60 inch diagonally , but there could also be 50- and 55 in translation of the television available .

There are also some more leftfield suggestions about the form that an Apple Television might take . Topeka Capital Market ’s Brian White claims that the iTV will come with tablet - corresponding “ mini iTVs ” the size of Apple ’s 9.7 in iPad . The main iTV will be able to wirelessly stream medium to these small-scale screens , which exploiter could place around their home .

This is a similar theory to one that reported in July 2012 . An Israeli - free-base TV provider purchased by Cisco system was researching an estimate for the next - generation television . The idea was that consumer could purchasing single ’ tiles ’ and slot them together on a rampart . Thesescreens could be 6 - 8 in squares ( without bezel ) so they can be paired together and expatiate into a screen that suits your size . You would make it bigger by slot together fresh low screen ( cheesy than corrupt a whole new display ) . These can be as big as you like ( all the way up to the sizing of a wall ) and place all over the theatre . Such a stage set up could be capable of streaming television shows , and also exhibit unlike types of content at the same time , and in dissimilar sizing . You might want to watch the newsworthiness in a small screen , and the latest feature film across the whole bulwark . This suit rumour that Apple is working on edge - to - edge screens .

A report from earlier in 2012 also paint a picture that rather than create an Apple tv set set , Apple will betray transparent screens with a trash bezelthat you could define to the wall in every way of your house .

The want of leak range of components for the Apple Television has n’t intercept people creating their own renders of how a television might look . A flying flavour on Google ikon hunt brings up a collection of Apple - esque covert .

We based our own idea of how the Apple telly might look on its Cinema Display and iMac . Malus pumila product feature glass and aluminum , with fateful boarders , so we ’d expect the television set to follow those lines .

Alternatively , the design could be akin to a giant iPad ,   with a beautiful blind that can be check with an iPad or iPhone from your couch .

What Kind of Screen Will the Television Have?

There are more pixels on an iPad than on an HDTV .

The iTV is expected to have a screen firmness that meets the 4 K UHD ( Ultra HD ) monetary standard . This standard , used by Peter Jackson for filmingThe Hobbitis four meter bang-up than mellow - Definition video at 3,840 - by-2,160 . Current HDTV displays which extend 1,920 x 1,080 pixels , and the iPad with Retina display ’s 2,048 x 1,536 ( 264 pixels per inch ) . This means 4 K would enable Apple to trademark the Apple Television as a Retina display equipment , as tends to be the movement with all Apple equipment .

The 4 K UHD monetary standard uses the HEVC ( High Efficiency Video Coding ) data formatting , ) which in January received first phase approval as an industry measure . It ’s the successor to H.264 .

The suggestion is that while Apple will espouse a 4 KiB resolution it is unlikely to offer 3D. IDC elderly research analyst Linn Huang say : “ A 4 K solving would be a logical body-build choice , whereas 3-D would probably not be , ” IDC senior research psychoanalyst Linn Huang

Apple is aver to be stag for an IGZO ( Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide ) display for its television . These displays admit for resolutions higher than the current harvest of HDTV display , and crucially deliver enough pixels for you to watch shows communicate in Ultra HD . ( by the way , these displays also reply to refer . )

The company wo n’t be the first to premise such a presentation . At Ce 2013 , Sharp introduce two new TVs using this IGZO technology , while Sony and Panasonic both demonstrate their own 4 K video recording technologies . However , for now , the televisions that support HEVC remain prohibitively expensive – the displays Samsung ’s launch at CES price tens of chiliad of dollars . It ’s unconvincing that any television receiver manufacturer will implement support for HEVC until there ’s a requirement for set that can display video encoded in this format .

It is the disbursement of these screen that may be slow up the process . Indeed , this is the understanding analyst Peter Misek gave when he moved his launching appointment prediction to next year . “ We had thought that Apple ’s software and ecosystem would be enough to drive requirement but our tick argue that Apple wants the hardware to also stand out , ” said Misek . “ We believe Apple wants a display that reckon like 4K / Ultra HD but without the super - premium cost . ”

Apple is said to be seem to make a manufacturing deal with LG Display or Sharp to supply 55 in and 65 in Ultra HD TV panels for a succeeding Apple television set set . According toDigiTimes , Apple is still in the summons of testing display technology , so has yet to add up to an understanding with either supplier .

There ’s another companionship that Apple could be looking to do a hatful with in this area . A spry look at Corning ’s web site indicate that that company is necessitate in TV : “ By supporting the silklike , ultra - thin unlined designs that are a democratic trend in today ’s LCD idiot box industriousness , Corning Gorilla Glass is literally modify the face of LCD telly , ” it say .

“ With its pristine surface enabling a snappy , clear regard experience , Gorilla Glass helps have on the hope of gamey definition and 3D TV , ” it adds .

This is pregnant because of Apple ’s existing relationship with Corning ( which provides the Gorilla Glass used on the iPhone ) .

What sort of user interface will the Apple Television have?

“ It ’s the software system , unintelligent ”

Apple is different to other technology companies because it make the ironware and the computer software . This is a fact that it has used to emphasize why it is thanks to the software that it has become so successful . “ It ’s the software package , dazed , ” is often quote .

Though he was speaking about the iPhone , Jobs explained exactly this stop to analysts in a conference call back in 2008 : “ As software system becomes the differentiating technology of this product category , multitude rule that a hundred [ hardware ] variation presented to software system developers is not very enticing . And most companies in this telephone business organisation do not have much experience in a software program platform occupation . So we ’re extremely well-fixed with our product strategy going forwards , and we approach it as a software platform ship’s company , which is pretty different than most of our competition . ”

As a package ( and hardware ) companionship , few would differ that Apple could make a better user interface for boob tube subject matter than the cable companies . Indeed , it can likely create a in effect interface than the TV manufacturers if reports that people with new smart boob tube are n’t using many of the feature article , as they can not navigate the complex interface , are true .

The winder to Apple ’s resolution to goggle box will be a simple to navigate interface that let users find the TV contentedness they are looking for .

IDC senior inquiry analyst Linn Huang said : “ People let the cat out of the bag about Apple trying to replace the TV experience , but that ’s apparently not where they ’re going . They are not trying to interchange a TV with a idiot box . They ’re trying to get their TV on the mantle to take this rich depicted object experience that has not been available in a home sustenance room surroundings before . ”

In an indication that the company is working on such an interface , Apple has acquired video discovery start - up Matcha.tv . Matcha.tv was an iOS app that aimed to help user discover content by providing an overview of everything that is uncommitted to watch across a variety of service including Netflix , iTunes , Amazon Prime and more .

Matcha.tv also had a societal aspect , which allows you to see what your friends have been watching , a testimonial religious service and the power to manage the content you ’ve been watch from a universal queue .

Matcha ’s service could offer a valuable addition to the current Apple TV set - top box seat .

If Apple can serve consumers identify which of the many internet site can stream or sell them the show they want to watch , Apple ’s survive Apple telecasting from being just another television accessory towards becoming an entry portal for video wasting disease . This will becomes ever more necessary asmore networks and content provider appear on the Apple TV , and the power system - of - icons interface becomes more and more unmanageable for would - be watchers .

How will we control the Apple Television?

Apple has been granted a patent for a 3D remote control

It ’s likely that if you have a boob tube , DVD musician , Apple TV , Sky satellite dish and a DVR , you believably have five remotes with around 230 push .

With the controller for the Apple TV , Apple ’s reception was to come up with a   remote that only has a handful of push . Apple ’s theory was that a few button is mere to pilot . The trouble is that using the   Apple TV remote palpate restrictive rather than free . The defective experience with the Apple TV has to be   scrolling through the first principle , select one letter at a time when you   want to search for something in your iTunes program library or on YouTube .

Earlier this class , Apple answer our entreaty on this topic by updating the Apple goggle box software program to make the use of a Bluetooth keyboard potential . As well as   making it easier to add text . The ability to use a keyboard with the Apple   TV should also make seafaring of the iTunes Store and YouTube much easier .

Another advantage of Bluetooth connectivity , is that it could direct to a raft of third - party remote .

There is , of course , another equipment that have a great substitute remote ascendance : the iPhone or iPad . you’re able to download the Remote app from the App Store and control your Apple TV with a tap of your finger .

These may not be the only resolution Apple put up for navigate the interface on the Apple Television . Back in April , IDC senior research analyst Linn portend that the Apple TV will come with a modest ‘ iRing ’ equipment that fits onto the users ’ finger’s breadth to allow them to control the blind by manoeuvre and using gestures .

Could Apple use Siri on the Apple Television?

Another suggestion is that Apple ’s vox - activated personal supporter Siri could be utilise , so that Apple TV owner just speak their instruction manual to the unit .

Siri may well emerge as a substitute for the age remote , though perhaps not completely – nobody wants to have a shouting mate   with their idiot box set at 2 am – but certainly for most everyday uses , release the complex hierarchy of on - screen menus into a uncomplicated command - free-base interface that anybody can comprehend .

It ’s believed that the wide-eyed user interface Jobs bring up to in Isaacson ’s biography will be base around voice controls , similar to Siri .

Apple would n’t be the first to introduce voice ascendency features , last twelvemonth LG , Samsung and Lenovo all depart to premise interactive features to their televisions , allowing user to search for show and applications with voice commands .

The Bluetooth connected remote control mentioned above could also include a mic for Siri input , reserve users to curb the Apple TV via speech . Users could utter to their Apple idiot box , requesting that it plays the installment of The Big Bang Theory where Raj has a crush on Siri .

Could Apple use motion detection on the Apple Television?

Samsung has also build gesture - sense software , like that of Microsoft ’s Xbox Kinect , into its televisions . Given the fact that Apple ’s patronizing - rival has made such a move , it ’s   not surprising that report have appeared suggesting that an Apple Television with gesture control feature   is in yield .

The suggestion that user could expend hand gestures to control the television , in a similar fashion to the mode we use Microsoft ’s Kinect , gained impulse back in July when account claimed that Apple was in negotiation to corrupt PrimeSense , the Israeli caller behind the 3D detector technology in Microsoft ’s Kinect . Israeli paper Calcalist exact that Apple has offered $ 280 million for the acquisition of PrimeSense , after senior Apple engineering managers that specialise in optical hardware visited the company earlier this month . The skill of PrimeSense could open up up newfangled possibilities if its 3D sensor applied science was used to enable users to interact with the set - top box seat using gesture .

Whether this sale goes ahead or not , Apple has already been award a letters patent that covers advanced tactile feedback technology , practical reality gloves , and a unique touch signature tune that could be used to start a car . This patent of invention also brood sensors that could be used to determine human or physical object locating . These detector could be ramp up into a tv readiness to allow human interaction , and are not circumscribe to one aim or just the overall localisation of an object , but could be expanded to observe gestures and movements .

The substance abuser may use “ information gloves ” that can bring home the bacon the computer with finger and joint positions . This can turn on the human to circumvolve objects shown on a screen by using gestures , says Apple ’s patent .

What other new technologies will on the Apple television feature?

The Apple Television could offer 802.11ac networking , case recognition and centre tracking

The other element in the handiness of   this high - def content is the infrastructure necessary to substantiate it .   The screen is one thing , but video transmission in the new 4 K standard will also have an   impact on wideband networks . Can   the networks bear out it ? Can they   ensure no data drops ? Can Apple ’s   TV gyration be pullulate ?

Adding 802.11ac networking to the gimmick will be one step in the right direction . Sometimes come to to as ‘ Gig Wi - Fi ’ 802.11ac is the heir to 802.11n . As yet it ’s unratified by the IEEE , but Apple has already implemented the criterion in its MacBook Air and Airport Extreme . 802.11ac has the capacitance to wirelessly web a idiot box , DVR , smart phone and phone system , and let entree through an net - connected twist .

We can also wait to see some interesting audio recording features . In a patent software published back in February , Apple describes a sound system that could be launched as part of Apple ’s iTV . The sound system could find out where a drug user is in a room , and if they are not within the optimal range , the mainframe could modify the audio output , suppose the software . It could also adjust based on which way the substance abuser is facing , and the environment that the user is in . Apple says that the innovation could take the word form of asystem for bring home the bacon an enhanced audio frequency experience for laptop , tablet , smartphone , and televisionusers , for example .

Apple ’s patent also explains that an mental image processing unit within the audio system could use cheek recognition and centre tracking to also facilitate improve audio quality during FaceTime calls , enabling the microphone to be directed towards the speaker ’s mouth mechanically .

Jeremy Allaire , chief operating officer of the on-line TV publishing platformBrightcoveblogged in June that he expects that the Apple Television will include an A7 quad - core CPU for graphics and gaming , front - facing movement sensors and photographic camera , and enough warehousing for games , apps , content , and recorded TV .

He also expects it to have a couple of Lightning port wine – one for power and the other for a “ coax dongle ” that would conciliate your cable system or satellite feed , and erase the need for a set - top box from your service provider .

Will I be Able to Access my Apps on the Apple TV?

It you take a look at the current Apple TV layout it ’s easy to guess other icons like those on your iPhone : Calendar , Weather , Reminders , FaceTime , Facebook , Twitter , restaurant booking apps , locomotion apps , game and more . We ’d love to see an app for BBC iPlayer , another for Channel 4OD , and so on , filling up space in the   grid .

Imagine what admittance to the App Store via the Apple TV could bring , not just to users but also to Apple : the ability to purchase and download barren apps from an Apple TV   App Store would be yet another revenue stream for Apple .

Ideally , the companionship should allow exploiter to manage those sources and apps : which ones appear , which are hidden , and how they ’re arranged .

Hinting that such a feature could be in the grapevine , ‘ Apps & Games ’ appeared as a   vacation - themed class on the Apple TV port back in December last class , fuel speculation that the company could be plan to get apps and games to the Apple boob tube go under - top boxwood .

Will I be Able to Play Games on the Apple TV?

Topeka Capital Market ’s Brian White predicted in June 2013 : “ The iTV would do much more than today ’s high-definition television . It would bring the Apple play experience to the living room , as well as FaceTime video chat and iTunes music . ”

“ Apple TV is the equipment they can turn into a console table , and they have essentially the same goals as Microsoft – to grow Apple idiot box into an amusement and net hub , ” he argue .

While the Mac has traditionally been see as a hapless equipment for play ( although this is change ) , there can be no doubt about Apple ’s gaming prowess when it comes to the iPhone and the iPad . The latter ’s technical competence is incredible when you look at its svelte form , and the Retina video display hints at an   impressive future for   gaming on the twist . Even before the Retina display , telling iOS title like Infinity Blade were given an additional layer of detail that near the variety of   lavish imagination we ’re   wonted to on   the Xbox 360 and   PlayStation 3 .

We think it ’s probable that the Apple TV and Apple ’s television will offer play , not least because Apple has   examine just how lucrative a market gambling on the iPad and iPhone is . The current coevals of iOS play is arguably giving Nintendo ’s Wii a run for its money in graphical term . What if Apple was to foretell a cabinet ground on the A6X CPU that power the iPad ?

Read ourreviews of the best iOS plot

Will the iPlayer and other TV apps ever be available via Apple TV?

Traditionally , a tv set is a box in the living way that ’s hooked up to a planet dish or aerial . These days your tv could be a laptop computer , iPhone or iPad . A few year ago , the thought that we could watch alive TV on our phone while sitting on the bus would have seemed impossible , and yet this has becomes another means by which people watch sporting events , peculiarly with the advent of LTE 4G.

The fashion we access subject matter has change over the past few year . While there are many who still sit in front of the goggle box all evening , there are also those who never look out TV at the time a programme is circularize , preferring to catch shows via on - demand websites and apps , and enjoy them when the time is right for them on the equipment that suits .

Apple already offers depicted object for these viewers to follow when they want , include older sequence of television shows , although at a cost , unlike the pop On need services that are usable via the internet .

Of these On Demand service , the only one that can presently play on the Apple TV is iPlayer , and that ’s only via a workaround that ’s probably too complicated for the majority of masses . It ’s possible to beam iPlayer to your television from your iPad or iPhone via   the Apple TV by tapping on the Apple TV ikon that ( should ) appear when you double wiretap the menage clit and swipe from left to right . It   works most of the time ( we have problem with our internet at rest home and the icon often disappears ) . Even when it does solve , it ’s not Apple ’s usual seamless fashion of doing things . As for the other on - need apps on your iOS gimmick , it ’s not potential to shine them via Apple TV as they have n’t license AirPlay from Apple , so the phone will not toy from your tv hardening .

If these apps existed on the Apple TV ,   then presumably they would just work . Given that they are already available on the iOS , we ca n’t see any grounds why Apple would n’t be able to offer them on the Apple TV , dare the Apple TV was pass iOS .

Evidence that Apple is negotiating these types of deals with broadcasters and content supplier has add up in the form of the HBO app which has been made uncommitted for the Apple TV in what could be the first of many On need deals as well as the fact that the latest update to the Apple TV buy with approach to Sky News .

Not that it ’s been still move : Apple is articulate to have face a stand off with cable and artificial satellite troupe who decline to authenticate the new HBO Go app when Apple pushed to out on the Apple television set in America earlier this yr .

What content can we expect to see on the Apple Television?

The TV content usable via the Apple Television is improbable to be restricted to apps as we presently know them on the iPhone and iPad . However , report advise that Apple may have encountered difficulties trying to get the goggle box diligence to make with it .

In line to Apple ’s power to do wad with the euphony recording label when they were facing a downturn due to easy admission to pirated music , the broadcasters are not in quite such dire straits and are not so keen on handing over the rein to Apple .

Former Apple exec Jean - Louis Gassée notes that the obstacle is the “ tangled , encrusted business models that the Comcasts , CBSs and Disneys cling to out of fear that Apple will wrest   control of their content , that they ’ll be disintermediated à la iTunes or the iPhone / iPad App Store . ”

You might conceive of that Apple would be well - placed to make deals with these fellowship : Steve Jobs was one of Disney ’s biggest stockholder after it   buy Pixar from him ; plus Apple has old age of experience selling the same computer program via iTunes that these company spread on our TVs .   However , selling capacity on iTunes is   one matter , it ’s quite another affair to   do a deal with a internet such as CBS or cable provider like Comcast , or the BBC , Sky or Virgin . Why would Sky give up a revenue stream to Apple ?

And why , when the absolute majority of connection have join forces to offer OnDemand subject matter viaYouView , would they settle to allow Apple in on the deal ?

These companies are also likely to be put off by Apple ’s taste for render answer that are closed , proprietary , and only sour with Apple ’s own hardware and package . The telly industry is unlikely to   be well-chosen with anything that does n’t   offer an open ecosystem approachable by any gimmick . They may also   be concerned about losing their link to customers in the style Apple overhaul the relationship between mobile networks and their client after the iPhone debut .

This has n’t stopped Apple from judge . It would look that it has approached both CBS and Comcast . Last twelvemonth CBS chairman Les Moonves revealed to Bloomberg that he disapprove dissimilar Apple TV proposals ; while talks with Comcast , prior to the launch of the Apple TV , fell aside because the cable society would n’t allow Apple control the intact experience .

Comcast ’s Charlie Herrin said that while cable society have released applications for the iPhone and iPad , there ’s a reluctance to go further because : “ afford a third party too much   control may lessen the value of the bundles of TV , cyberspace and phone service that cable company sell . ”

Apple is said to be looking for a way around this , however . The recent slew with HBO Go suggests that Apple is targeting cable companies that will give it access to live broadcast medium without needing fresh content agreements . The strategy would allow Apple customer to get at a hardening of   communication channel , pay off for via a cable subscription , via its twist , instead of rent a specify - top box from wage - goggle box operators for a monthly fee .

paper towards the terminal of August suggest thatApple   has been talk terms straightaway with video content providers , rather than line company , as part of a new scheme that aims to activate the company to set in motion its wide mull over Apple Television product . Apple is said to be   speak with product studios and networks including ESPN , HBO , Viacom , Nickelodeon and Comedy Central , in a tender to convince them to provide content for an Apple television set curing that would emphasise apps over cable TV .

TV programmes as apps on the Apple TV

As an option to dealing with all the satellite and overseas telegram companies , Apple could extend content directly from the production companies , edit out the middleman . guess a scenario where the producer would be able-bodied to sell a series through Apple in the shape of an app that would always have the late subject . Apple would be pitched as a competitor to the cable and satellite companies , rather than working with them . You might think that ’s an unlikely scenario , but back in JanuaryApple bring home the bacon the sole probability to ‘ beam ’ the final three episodes ofDownton Abbeybefore they air in the US .

This solution could see Apple take on the broadcasters and satellite and cable length providers at their own game and would open up a raw taxation flow to production company .

In fact , the iTV might even make it easy for you to create and circularize your own shows .

It ’s unbelievable that the contentedness providers and television web will be exquisite to lose a revenue current , so perhaps Apple will let them deal subscriptions to   client via the App Store .

Jean - Louis Gassée write : “ Cook has   one thing right – the set - top corner experience does aim one back in time   by 20 to 30 year . The result ? Channels , shows , special event should   all be submit as apps . Click ,   give and play , with standard menu for free . Catch the 6 Prime Minister news when you   get home at 9.30 ; watch two programme side - by - side with Android 7 or iOS 9 , all on your projection screen of selection : smartphone , tablet , PC or TV ” .

by the bye , back in 2009 there was a paper claimed that Apple was working on a $ 30 per month television subscription service that you would get at via iTunes .

Will I be able to record TV on the Apple Television?

Apple is said to be in talks with cable companies in the US , hoping to make out to an concord that would allow the Apple TV to be used as a DVR ( digital video recorder ) . AWall Street Journalreport from last September claimed that the DVR version of the Apple TV will let customers lay in TV shows in iCloud to be observe when they wish .   It would also give up substance abuser to get at the tv set shows they had ‘ register ’ on the iPhone or iPad .

Such a facility would sprain the Apple television receiver into more than a mere cyclosis gadget and increase the message available to users . However , it ’s reported that subject matter providers are opposed to giving Apple permission to make their programming uncommitted in this room ; free , for example .

Nevertheless , since the ability to record is stock on most devices ( the Apple TV being the elision ) , it seems probable that Apple would offer up such a feature of speech . We can imagine a scenario where the transcription would take place in the swarm and be   useable to determine on any of your Apple equipment . Then again , is   it really necessary to ‘ record ’ something that ’s readily available to pelt at any time ?

One intellect to store the recording on your machine could be so you may follow the content offline , rather than streaming it . We lie with the BBC ’s iPlayer app , because we can download content and ( within a timeframe ) watch it offline .   This suit a gadget that is often offline , in the case of a television , however , it is likely that it could be always online .

Will I have to watch adverts on the Apple TV?

Apple is said to want to declare oneself a goggle box service that let people decamp adverts . Of course fast - promotion through advertizing is hardly a new matter . In fact , it was a lot easier to skip through adverts on onetime TV recorders than it is on unexampled DVRs and on OnDemand websites .

Last year Apple was granted a telecasting related letters patent that describes technology that could swap in a dissimilar stream of video during a commercial break . That patent describe a style for “ unseamed switching ” that would let exploiter switch between broadcast content and locally store medium when content that does n’t interest them is play . commercial are listed as one of these types of content that can be replaced by store culture medium . Using the patented engineering and other information , the gadget would be able to predict whether an “ upcoming broadcast segment or mass medium item is not of interest to the drug user ” and mechanically shift to on - gadget content .

Now Apple is say to be proposing a system by which it pays media companies when viewers skip commercials , accordingto the Wall Street Journal ’s Jessica Lessin . Apple ’s premium television religious service would be offered to customers at a price , while the networks would be recompense for those missed commercials .

What Apple is attempting to do with its ad - skipping programme , however , is bridge the deadlock : Do n’t check off off consumer by making them watch the eternal , plaguey ads that they ’re used to being able-bodied to decamp or invalidate and , at the same time , contrive the broadcast networks a bone in the form of some receipts . It ’s about analogous to what Apple triedwith its iTunes Match service : Sure , many users ended up with free , legitimate copy of songs that they ’d acquired through – ahem – alternative mean value , but at £ 25 - per - twelvemonth , the book party bring in money that they otherwise never would have learn .

Should Apple Launch a Television?

A television would eat up up a lot   of retail blank space in Apple ’s fund .

Last May , an analyst poured cold water on rumours of an Apple television . Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves ’ argued : “ An   Apple video would be a terrible exercise of retail space relative to iPhone , iPad or the Apple tv set set - top box . A 46 in Apple television would likely generate less than 1/200th the consummate net income   per three-dimensional foot as an iPhone at retail , and less than 1/50th the gross profit per cubic pes   of an iPad . ”

In other words , a television takes a lot more space up in store than an Apple television set correct top box , and that ’s space that could be used to sell other Apple Cartesian product .

There ’s another reason why an Apple television may be a drain on the companionship ’s profits . According to NDP DisplaySearch , TV sales have stagnate over the past two twelvemonth , and growth is expected to be tedious in the coming years . As proof of this , in 2012 Panasonic announced it was pulling out of the telly market , while in the beginning this twelvemonth Philips announced it was move out of the household consumer market .

Why Does Everyone Think it’s a Good Idea for Apple to Reinvent the Television?

overbold TVs are selling , but   we are n’t smart enough to use them .

Whether it turn out to be a moneymaking market or not , all oculus are on Apple to fix it , and if the company does n’t do anything relating to television this yr ,   it ’s probable to let down many and , perhaps unfairly , draw in criticism .

The fact is , a lot of people remember that Apple should reinvent the television . Back in September 2011 , Jean - Louis Gassée , a former president of Apple ’s products division , said that a television has “ fuck off to materialize ” .

The cause why everyone is looking to Apple is that telecasting involve fix , and we all know the company is well at   fixing useableness yield . Just take the way it revolutionised the smartphone and before that the MP3 actor . In an echo of the day before the iPod and the iPhone , consumers are purchasing Smart telecasting but they are n’t using the ‘ smart ’ characteristic . According to research group NPD , only 15 per cent of Smart TVs are being plugged immediately into the   internet , and barely any apps are being used via the TV .

Last September similar research , from Quixel Research , found that while about 30 per cent of those survey own cyberspace - enabled TVs , they seldom utilise this web connexion . “ Despite thousands of uncommitted apps , digital subject matter is only being stream by 50 per cent of these owners , on a daily or hebdomadary basis , and more than 80 per cent said this content was being used just for diddle movies , ” according to the company .

While fresh TV are sell , people are n’t using them to connect to the cyberspace . Most probably this is because the   user interfaces are so poor , and that ’s where many are hoping Apple will   come in . It ’s hoped that the fellowship ’s tradition of innovative design , innovative feature , simple user interface , convenient serviceability and easy   connectivity , will advance consumers to take the next stairs in access media from their tv set .

Another reason why consumers are not using their boob tube to their full potential drop may be the state of their wideband connection . AWall Street Journalreport last twelvemonth propose that “ dawdle investment in fix broadband , rather than the failure of Steve Jobs to   ‘ solve ’ video , is the real thing shore up up the existing boob tube model . ” In other words , the current model for tv obstetrical delivery has n’t changed because the substructure does n’t survive to hold it , not because Apple has n’t launched its own chic television .

Once broadband is sorted , “ expect the TV and broadband businesses to reorganise themselves overnight ” , write theWall Street Journal .

There ’s no doubt that there ’s a marketplace for television set . The question is , can Apple really do for television what it did for the medicine manufacture with the iPod ? And , if it retard , will someone else get there before it ?

Do People Really Want an Apple Television?

Macworld.co.uk survey

A resume by Quixel Research last September found that 88 per cent of Apple customers , and 80 per cent of all current insipid - jury TV proprietor , in the US would be interested in buying an Apple goggle box . It did n’t take into consideration how much it would cost , though .

However , a survey we carried out online at Macworld.co.uk found that 65.4 per cent of elector think Apple should update its set - top box , rather than make a tv set set . Of the 760 respondents , 38.3 per cent said they want a set - top boxful with apps , game , catch - up service and hot TV recording features . Of the individual features , the most popular was consolidation with snatch - up telly ( iPlayer , 4OD , and the comparable ) . Second in popularity was the comprehension of iOS Apps , and the ability to record live TV also forecast .

Should Apple update the Apple TV rather than make a television set?

Could Apple ’s advanced set - top boxwood erase the note between survive and on - demand television ?

Most of the excitement surround the estimate that Apple might have an factual television in the pipeline , however , many are muse that it might mean only to update the Apple TV set - top box in such a way that the company might be capable to translate television without even having to make   a television receiver of its own .

Read ourAppleTV reassessment .

However , there ’s a lot of evidence that points towards an actual Apple television set , so we can be fairly certain the company is at least considering launching something of the   sort . For example , during the summer of 2011 , a former Apple executive , who spoke on the condition that he remain anonymous , claimed that : “ The company ’s biggest coming Cartesian product launching ” would be its entryway into the 2-dimensional - concealment television mart , and would “ fuck up Netflix and all those other   guys aside ” .

There have also been account from the Far East claiming that there ’s a fully - fledged Apple television set already in   production .

However , in late August 2012 , theWall Street Journalsuggested that Apple has changed its mind about making a television set , and is instead focusing on accept over the animation elbow room   with an forward-looking set - top box that will “ wipe out the distinction between live and on - demand TV ” .

In the short term , it ’s probable that Apple   will role out newfangled features to its existing arrange - top box , and maybe enclose a revamped mannequin . In doing   so , it could test the H2O for its television stage set .

Of course , there ’s still one voice call out that Apple will announce a television this year . Gene Munster told Bloomberg : “ The core of the argument is an improved pose - top box … a ice hockey puck that tie to your telecasting , or an actual television .

“ base on our work , in   part , with taking to suppliers in Asia , to talking with multitude in the industry , we reckon it ’s   an existent television system . ”

Wouldn’t Apple be Wiser to Update the Apple TV?

There ’s a shoal of thought that Apple would be good off concentrating its movement on developing its current Apple TV machine , rather than quest after the melodic theme of an factual television .

However , some reputation paint a picture that even the Apple TV , for so many years identify by Apple as a hobby , is a dead end . The market for set - top boxwood   is a growing one , harmonize to IHS iSuppli , but it ’s still insignificant when compared to other market , such   as smartphones .

One reason for this is that more and more smart tv set have the functionality built in . So why buy a   separate box ?

However , in Apple ’s favor is the low Mary Leontyne Price of the Apple TV unit , which is a bargain at £ 99 .

Will This be Enough to Transform the Living Room?

The doubt is whether these unexampled features would be enough for Apple television   to transform television .

In August 2012 , ex - Apple CEO John Sculley said that the television set market is ‘ Apple ’s plot to lose , ’ and that the achiever of the iPhone , iPad and Mac will give the company an edge in render to take over the living room .

At least it can do a trial run with the Apple TV ; in fact it seems likely   that this is on the dot what the company has been doing since the equipment launch in 2007