Competitors Already 'Scrambling' to React to Apple's TV Plans

MacRumors · Nov 23, 2011

AllThingsD reports on a new research note from Jeffries analyst Peter Misek suggesting that manufacturers are already "scrambling" to react to claims that Apple is preparing to enter the television set market. And rather than innovating on their own, competitors are reportedly focused on trying to identify what Apple will do to revolutionize the industry.

"Based on our discussions, interestingly other TV manufacturers have begun a scrambling search to identify what iTV will be and do," says Misek. "They hope to avoid the fate of other industries and manufacturers who were caught flat footed by Apple."

Misek notes that Sharp appears to be retooling an LCD production line to suit Apple's needs, with mass production on the line reportedly targeted for February 2012. Such a development could put a product release sometime in the middle of the year. Previous rumors had claimed that Apple could announce its television set by late 2012 and launch the product by early 2013.

Whatever Apple's plans are, Misek suggests that competitors will almost certainly be six to twelve months behind with their own offerings, giving Apple a significant advantage in the marketplace if it truly does offer a revolutionary new product.

Sony has been the most visible company seeking to head off Apple's potential blockbuster entrance into the market, working to develop a "four screen" strategy across TVs, computers, tablets, and phones and investigating Web-based television services that would enable consumers to bypass traditional cable companies.

Apple has dabbled in television with its Apple TV set-top box and TV content available through the iTunes Store, but the company's ultimate plans are said to be much more ambitious, involving actual television sets incorporating Siri functionality that premiered in the iPhone 4S. The company has also reportedly developed a "new technology" for delivering content to TV sets and has expressed interest in offering "best of TV" bundles of shows, although content providers have yet to agree to such a plan.

Article Link: Competitors Already 'Scrambling' to React to Apple's TV Plans

MetalMoon · Nov 23, 2011

Everyone, get ready to copy what Apple does and lets make some Android TV's.

But seriously, I am interested in what Apple has planned in the TV world.

*LTD* · Nov 23, 2011

Business as usual from the also-rans.

Steve Jobs mentions something about doing a TV and then everyone suddenly claims to be working on it already.

Look to Apple, try to follow as closely as possible, rinse, repeat.

levitynyc · Nov 23, 2011

It sucks that Sharp makes lousy panels and Plasmas are better than LCDs, although I am interested to see what Apple does here.

TVs are so cheap now that I don't see why people would want to pay an Apple tax for a lousy Sharp television.

soco · Nov 23, 2011

I love this. Jobs, not Apple, says he's got an idea for a TV; The industry "scrambles" to catch up and in reality there's no product to speak of. For all we know, there's no R&D either.

The Jobs Effect will exist forever.

diamond.g · Nov 23, 2011

I actually wonder if Apples set would offer Cable Card again (as a way to get us away from the cable companies boxes).

jroadley · Nov 23, 2011

This thing won't be called iTV

We have a awful TV Station in the UK already called ITV

Checkout their website itv.com

Oletros · Nov 23, 2011

I want to be an analyst and be paid for saying anything I want, even the most silly thing.

coder12 · Nov 23, 2011

First thing I thought of after reading the article's title was this:

Time for breakfast!

Small White Car · Nov 23, 2011

Let's all bookmark this article for the next time someone says "Apple should stop being so secret and just tell us all their future plans. It'll raise sales since we'll all be excited longer!"

ArcaneDevice · Nov 23, 2011

There are no "significant advantages" in the television domain because nobody has them and Apple won't either.

To be the "best" television out there it would need to be cheap, having multiple streaming services, have a sleek design and most importantly have the best picture quality.

Right now every manufacturer fails or excels in a couple of areas and Apple will be the same. I don't care if a television can read my mind to change channels if the image quality has poor black levels, uniformity and small screen size it has no interest for me and a lot of people.

An Apple brand will not pull videophiles away from their equipment and an Apple price will not pull budget consumers away from their Vizios.

infloopno1 · Nov 23, 2011

too late

once I found out that apple was bringing a tv out i decided not to update my flat screen tv. whatever they bring out i'll buy. i won't buy any cheap copies done by sony, samsung, lg, etc. #fanboy

MovieCutter · Nov 23, 2011

And this is why I love Apple. They drive competition like no other company. I've got a Samsung 55" 3DTV and if it weren't for these rumors, the next TV I buy would still have a crappy interface...

If it weren't for Apple, we'd likely still have phones on the market with physical buttons and 2" screens.

Oletros · Nov 23, 2011

MovieCutter said:
If it weren't for Apple, we'd likely still have phones on the market with physical buttons and 2" screens.

Those things can't be said with a straight face

mactree · Nov 23, 2011

fantastic! that's the way it should be. But too bad it takes hearing Apple is doing something new in their market to push innovation.

southernpaws · Nov 23, 2011

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Apple has the most affordable ultrabook, a phone that is occasionally cheaper than some of their competitors, and the tablet that brought the industry to its knees trying to match the price.

The idea of an "apple tax" is quickly becoming a myth.

gnasher729 · Nov 23, 2011

MacRumors said:
Misek notes that Sharp appears to be retooling an LCD production line to suit Apple's needs, with mass production on the line reportedly targeted for February 2012. Such a development could put a product release sometime in the middle of the year.

40" and larger TVs are _big_, and Apple TV is _small_. It would be very easy to build a TV "made for Apple TV" with space on the back where you can slot in an Apple TV, and very short cables that connect the Apple TV HDMI output directly to the TV, and get power from the TV directly to the Apple TV.

MovieCutter said:
If it weren't for Apple, we'd likely still have phones on the market with physical buttons and 2" screens.

We do still have phones on the market with physical buttons and 2" screens. Most of them are actually quite cheap.

jroadley said:
This thing won't be called iTV

We have a awful TV Station in the UK already called ITV

Checkout their website itv.com

It's all a matter of money. For enough money changing hands, ITV wouldn't object if Apple calls a device iTV.

ed724 · Nov 23, 2011

Wow, and you thought the cell phone law suites were numerous. Wait until this cesspool cover gets removed !!!!!!!!

dethmaShine · Nov 23, 2011

iTunes Ecosystem wasn't built in a day.

It took years for Apple to sell iPods, iPhones, iPads and other devices to create a stage for iTunes. The logic applies the other way too. iTunes helped apple to create a stage to sell iDevices other apple products.

I have been using iTunes to buy music for the past 2 weeks and its unbelievably awesome. I am a collector person; I like buying vinyls, CDs, DVDs but I guess even I have to change with the world changing so fast.
iTunes is so awesomely integrated with all Apple devices and its so easy to buy and transfer music. It's just so seamless. And a lot of music is cheap too.

AppleTV is there and is coming sooner than we all thought and its going to change the way people see and listen to music, videos, movies, TV shows etc.
Other companies cannot just dream about all of this in a single day. Apple has everything in its playground. They just need to show it to us. These other companies don't even have a playground; they're just dreaming about it.

We will see where Apple stands.

diamond.g · Nov 23, 2011

ArcaneDevice said:
There are no "significant advantages" in the television domain because nobody has them and Apple won't either.

To be the "best" television out there it would need to be cheap, having multiple streaming services, have a sleek design and most importantly have the best picture quality.

Right now every manufacturer fails or excels in a couple of areas and Apple will be the same. I don't care if a television can read my mind to change channels if the image quality has poor black levels, uniformity and small screen size it has no interest for me and a lot of people.

An Apple brand will not pull videophiles away from their equipment and an Apple price will not pull budget consumers away from their Vizios.

Really I don't think the TV makers themselves may have a whole lot to worry about. Why? Cause from what it sounds like Apple would want to replace your Dish Receiver/Cable Box, TiVo with something that is IP based. I will be interested in seeing Apple be successful, because maybe then the FCC (in the US) will come to its senses and make ISP's separate from content networks (effectively making them dumb pipes) thus bringing prices down. Besides, no one else has been successful in breaking peoples reliance on Cable/Satellite TV in mass. Especially when dealing with live broadcasts (Sports, Local News).

Mr. Gates · Nov 23, 2011

I don't want to have to talk to my TV.

That would get irritating

Yvan256 · Nov 23, 2011

If Apple releases a complete TV set, count me out. I might be using a Mac mini and iPods but there's no way I'm ditching my current, new-from-last-year 23" widescreen monitor + :apple:

TV.

New firmware for my current second-generation :apple:

TV is alright.

An updated :apple:

TV box, at the current price, maybe if the services are worth it, i.e. low-cost monthly/yearly plans, and if my ISP doesn't lower my monthly cap which is currently at 35GB up+down. And no, I don't have any other alternative for high-speed internet where I live.

tjhenn · Nov 23, 2011

Apple developing an entire TV makes little sense to me. TVs are purchases that people expect to last 10+ years. I've had my current TV for 6 years and have no plans to replace it anytime soon. Apple's business plan is for users to upgrade their hardware every 2-4 years. People are not going to do that with a TV.

I think they have the right idea with the current Apple TV 2. A box that uses your TV (any HDMI TV you choose) as a monitor. If they would build that idea out a bit (thinking a few more apps) and maybe some streaming deals and allowing Siri like control via their Remote app, then you have everything that a full Apple TV could do in a little, relatively inexpensive box that can be upgraded every 2 years with out much hesitation from the user.

If Apple did build a TV, it would be gorgeous, nicely integrated into the Apple ecosystem, but it would likely cost upwards of $2000 or more and only come in one or two sizes, which may be a turnoff to the TV buying public.

ArcaneDevice · Nov 23, 2011

mactree said:
fantastic! that's the way it should be. But too bad it takes hearing Apple is doing something new in their market to push innovation.

Don't talk crap.

You think television design has been doing nothing since it was invented by Baird? Every couple of years new interfaces, features, display technologies and construction methods appear.

Apple had nothing to do with those.

----------

diamond.g said:
Really I don't think the TV makers themselves may have a whole lot to worry about. Why? Cause from what it sounds like Apple would want to replace your Dish Receiver/Cable Box, TiVo with something that is IP based.

That's not going to happen either despite our best wishes. Cablecos and providers would rather burn the US to the ground than allow their profits to drop by losing subscribers. So that means either massive increases in broadband pricing or data caps to compensate.

Apple can't even make a set top to work with the normal cable system without it guaranteed to be screwed by poor CableCARD support and the required idiocy of the SDV tuning adapter that cable companies forced on users.

I'm on Time Warner Cable and still can't watch HBO on mobile devices because Time Warner Cable still haven't reached a carriage agreement.

daveheinzel · Nov 23, 2011

The concept of Siri on a TV makes little sense to me. I prefer onscreen menus where I can see what media I have over a voice-controlled system that requires me to know specifically what I already have available. Also, the idea of talking to my TV or a Siri-enabled remote (or iPhone/iPod acting as remote) in the living room environment is much less appealing than how I use Siri on my iPhone. When I'm alone, Siri on the phone is ok. But I find it rude talking over guests or children to use Siri.

I know the TV would also likely have a traditional onscreen menu, but I just don't see Siri being a huge factor in whatever Apple is developing.

Competitors Already 'Scrambling' to React to Apple's TV Plans

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