Apple Looking to Launch Siri-Enabled Television Set by 2013

[gugy]

I promise you this TV is in the works. It makes complete business sense to me.

It's possible, but if it will have the same impact of and iPhone/iPad did with consumers is what I am curious about.
I for one think people will resist buying a full-fledged TV. Then Apple will fail to reach the masses like they want. They could to do it much easier with ATV box at a much lower price point.

 

[djepsilon]

yes, this is my main point as well.
It's easy to update a device every two years like ATV or iPhone, iPad, etc. TVs, people keep much longer because the picture quality is what matters at the end. If the set has a great picture why sell it?

Why are people comparing this TV to iPhone, iPad and ATV upgrade cycles? I sure as hell wouldn't upgrade everytime a new one came out! Wouldn't it be more similar (or longer) to a computers upgrade cycle of 5 years or so?

 

[Lepton]

That sounds great, and quite likely. But here is the problem I have with an Apple TV, and it's not Siri.

Suppose Apple comes out with a wonderful 42" LCD TV. Well, some people want a 50" TV. Some want a plasma. That's the problem, there are too many TV variations, monitor-wise.

Apple should enhance the AppleTV unit they have. Namely, add an HDMI in. Now, you can install the Apple TV between the Cable box and your TV set. Normally, the device just passes through the HDMI from your cable box, but it can break in and take over, or just overlay stuff on top of your cable TV program. This makes it much, much more useful than the current Apple TV. With the current TV, you have to switch your TV over to an Aux input just to see the darn Apple TV at all.

I believe HDMI can now carry data, and perhaps this will let it do the rest of what it needs - to see what show is playing and control the cable box. Alternately, perhaps the cable tuner can go into the Apple TV. That would get you the rest of the way to a great Apple TV, without Apple having to supply the TV monitor part itself.

 

[shaitan]

"Daddy, what is porn?"
"TV OFF!!! TV OFF!!!"

 

[djepsilon]

It's possible, but if it will have the same impact of and iPhone/iPad did with consumers is what I am curious about.
I for one think people will resist buying a full-fledged TV. Then Apple will fail to reach the masses like they want. They could to do it much easier with ATV box at a much lower price point.

I don't think you would see as an immediate impact as with the iPhone and iPad... but look at Apple's mac sales year over year (which would be a similar price point to a TV). They keep growing, and growing, and growing...

 

[bretm]

yes, this is my main point as well.
It's easy to update a device every two years like ATV or iPhone, iPad, etc. TVs, people keep much longer because the picture quality is what matters at the end. If the set has a great picture why sell it?

The revolution needs to be in the software/experience/UI/content/price structure and it all can happen on ATV rather than the display.

While I can see Apple releasing a TV just for the sake of having a presence there, i don't think it will be a game changer. So I don't expect it to happen.

If it happens on an external device then the user experience is completely compromised. Completely. I know darn well that I'll have to tell my wife how to get the AppleTV to show on the TV. "Is it Video In 1 or 2?" she'll say. "It's HDMI!" I'll scream from the other room. "Am I what?" She'll say. "H-D-M-I!" "What's that?" Argh. "Oh, here it is!" "Input 1,2,3, or 4?" "Hold on," I say. "Ok, where's the remote?" "Right here." "No the AppleTV remote." ...

Apple will do it right. Even the remote.

 

[gugy]

Why are people comparing this TV to iPhone, iPad and ATV upgrade cycles? I sure as hell wouldn't upgrade everytime a new one came out! Wouldn't it be more similar (or longer) to a computers upgrade cycle of 5 years or so?

well, keep in mind that the guts of such TV will have a hardware like ATV built into it. With maybe an A5 or by whenever it happens "A" something processor.
Apple has been updating such processors in a yearly basis. So here I have a TV set but the guts after two years are outdate.
The display "visual" tech might be fine but the hardware that process the "experience" will be outdate at much faster pace.

 

[djepsilon]

Suppose Apple comes out with a wonderful 42" LCD TV. Well, some people want a 50" TV. Some want a plasma. That's the problem, there are too many TV variations, monitor-wise.

Don't be silly. Does Apple make one sized screen MacBook Pro's? Or same type of screen for that matter?

 

[macnisse]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Interesting, love zapping on the remote though...

 

[rogan]

Considering the 27 inch display that they are currently selling is $999, I have a feeling that this TV is going to be at least $2,000. Maybe higher.

definately not true, there would be no need for a 32-42 inch tv with resolutions matching that size of monitors (going upwards from 2560x1440) so itd be 32+ panels with most likely 1080p resolution keeping the cost waaaaay down

obviously by way down i mean, it'll probobly cost 3x what a samsung or LG 1080p screen

 

[djepsilon]

well, keep in mind that the guts of such TV will have a hardware like ATV built into it. With maybe an A5 or by whenever it happens "A" something processor.
Apple has been updating such processors in a yearly basis. So here I have a TV set but the guts after two years are outdate.
The display "visual" tech might be fine but the hardware that process the "experience" will be outdate at much faster pace.

That's a good point actually... Although still no different to what we experience with our $1000+ Apple computers. Anyone with 1GB of RAM try to install Lion?

 

[M87]

As much as I love Apple, I can't even justify the $99 Apple TV. This would have ro do something much more interesting than play videos for me to be interested.

 

[Likemyi]

yep he finally cracked it...

 

[djepsilon]

If it happens on an external device then the user experience is completely compromised. Completely. I know darn well that I'll have to tell my wife how to get the AppleTV to show on the TV. "Is it Video In 1 or 2?" she'll say. "It's HDMI!" I'll scream from the other room. "Am I what?" She'll say. "H-D-M-I!" "What's that?" Argh. "Oh, here it is!" "Input 1,2,3, or 4?" "Hold on," I say. "Ok, where's the remote?" "Right here." "No the AppleTV remote." ...

Apple will do it right. Even the remote.

In the mean time, use this!: http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/remotes/universal-remotes/devices/6621

Seriously a life saver. My wife used to be the exact the same way! lol

 

[charlituna]

Shouting "SHOW ME PORN" through open windows at houses where they have an Apple television will then become my new hobby.

"I'm sorry but porn isn't allowed on the Apple TV. Might I suggest a nice history show."

 

[Popeye206]

That's a good point actually... Although still no different to what we experience with our $1000+ Apple computers. Anyone with 1GB of RAM try to install Lion?

Ahhh..... no different than any technology. Everything gets outdated at some point. I hate this argument when people bring it up... makes no sense.

On the TV thing... I love the idea of an Apple TV, but I think they would be better off doing it with a AppleTV box and not an entire TV. More market available if they can make it work with any high-def TV.

 

[The Captain]

This is a product ONLY for apple fan boys. No sane normal person I have meet likes to talk to inanimate objects. I can sit in most of my clients offices and regally hear some normal person frustratingly yelling at the stupid automated voice menu of some utility on the phone, and it usually drives them crazy within a minute. Yea, thats what people want their leisure time to be like.

Of course the members of the Church of Steve, will look down their noses and decry all those people as "Unclean", "Stupid", "Unworthy", or "Unsaved" for not seeing the light that Apple has shown them. But this product will be for a niche within a niche. The penance one will pay for this will probably be too high for those not already within the fold since they will see that a different path to TV salvation is cheaper, will probably have a better picture (such as the new super HD or whatever they are calling it), and won't require the church to approve of their television watching habits (because thy knows the church will only stream you what the church has approved of).

No this TV will sell well among the faithful, but just like every other religious concept it will foster contempt, fear, and hatred form it's followers towards those that believe differently, that you should speak to humans and not to machines, and that a television should be bought for the picture it gives you, not the gimmicks the church does.

 

[gugy]

That's a good point actually... Although still no different to what we experience with our $1000+ Apple computers. Anyone with 1GB of RAM try to install Lion?

Well computers and TV are two different beasts.
I update my computers every two to three years because professional reasons.
My current TV is 3 years old and has a fantastic picture. I want to keep it if no tech issues for another 5 years at least. My previous set was 12 years old and had a great picture but it was a CRT so, I only sold it and replace because of flat panel new tech.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I hate to break it to you, but Apple banks on its consumers to buy the Apple brand with all of their products!

Once again, it's like you're commenting to completely different points. I didn't say that consumers don't want to buy Apple branded stuff. What I did say is that in this case (with the software separate from the hardware and endorsed that way by Apple) would they still want to buy Apple-branded hardware?

I find no faults with Apple's hardware myself. It's not about that. It's about what's different here vs. ALL of Apple's other stuff. That difference is the concept that hardware & software could be decoupled here, meaning that if the same software experience can also be had in a next-gen TV box, are "we" (which is not just you) as enthusiastic to pay up for the Apple-branded hardware? This screen will not be made by Apple. They'll buy it from someone else who will probably put the EXACT same screen in their own-branded television case. Thus, we're not looking at superior (Apple) hardware vs. inferior (Samsung or LG or Sharp) hardware. We'd be looking at EXACTLY THE SAME screen.

Now, if the software is packaged in an TV, one could get the EXACT same software experience on any TV including the very same screen with someone else's brand on it. In exchange for the compromise of doing this with a little puck device attached to that TV, they probably save a lot of money, get to choose their own size, color, ports, type (LCD vs LED vs Plasma), etc.

For your perception of this to work means the TV as an alternative option must be exterminated OR that people want an TV built in so badly that they'll pay up (the Apple premium) for it instead of say- something like this: http://innovelis.com/totalmount_pictures.html, OR Apple will have significantly different software in the Television vs. what's in the TV.

Otherwise, I just don't see it... definitely not as "for certain" as you do.

 

[fithian]

Silicondust

Good luck finding a cable card TV anymore. There might be one in production. They all but disappeared a few years ago. A year ago Charter quit supporting the cable cards except for devices like TiVo. I had to get an adapter modem type thing to keep our TiVo HD working.

You can get a silicondust unit that holds either two or four cable cards. Unfortunately, these will not run on Mac OSX, only on Windoze, due to the protection/encryption issues missing in OSX.

So don't plan on cable cards in the Apple Real TV.

 

[Popeye206]

This is a product ONLY for apple fan boys. No sane normal person I have meet likes to talk to inanimate objects. I can sit in most of my clients offices and regally hear some normal person frustratingly yelling at the stupid automated voice menu of some utility on the phone, and it usually drives them crazy within a minute. Yea, thats what people want their leisure time to be like.

Of course the members of the Church of Steve, will look down their noses and decry all those people as "Unclean", "Stupid", "Unworthy", or "Unsaved" for not seeing the light that Apple has shown them. But this product will be for a niche within a niche. The penance one will pay for this will probably be too high for those not already within the fold since they will see that a different path to TV salvation is cheaper, will probably have a better picture 9such as the new super HD or whatever they are calling it), and won't require the church to approve of their television watching habits (because thy knows the church will only stream you what the church has approved of).

No this TV will sell well among the faithful, but just like every other religious concept it will foster contempt, fear, and hatred form it's followers towards those that believe differently, that you should speak to humans and not to machines, and that a television should be bought for the picture it gives you, not the gimmicks the church does.

ROFL! One of the funniest posts I've seen in a while! Good one!

Yeah.... Apple is nothing but a bunch of morons! LOL!

 

[kas23]

I doubt it will be an entire TV. A TV is a much bigger investment than the offerings that have made Apple what it is today; namely the iPod, iPhone (smartphone), and iPad. No one owned any of these products (with the argument of owning a smartphone) and all of these products could be had for less than $500. It was the perfect storm.

I would venture to say that the majority of people already own a very good TV. So, right there a TV would not fit into Apple's business model. Would a TV be less than $500. Another strike. The third strike would be longevity of present TVs. People usually buy a new TV every 5-10 years. People are not going to want to replace a TV they just paid $2,000 for.

Now, Siri. How exactly is Siri going to differentiate what the viewer is saying, vs. people talking in the room vs. what is being said on the TV? My bet is that the next Apple TV will be a $100-$200 remote, one of the most neglected products in one's house.

 

[fpnc]

"...It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when."
But, of course, "when" can still be effectively never.

...My bet is that the next Apple TV will be a $100-$200 remote, one of the most neglected products in one's house.

I think you are talking about the iPod touch. No real need for a new device.

 

[Aeolius]

This is a product ONLY for apple fan boys. No sane normal person I have meet likes to talk to inanimate objects.

What about those with disabilities which prevent them from easily using a standard remote control, then?

Granted, "sane" and "normal" are fightin' words, around here...

 

[Amadeo]

Yeah I don't understand it either. The Siri feature could be installed in the set-top box just as easy as it could be installed in the guts of a big LCD screen.

With the hardware upgrade cycles people have become used to with the ipods, iphones, ipads, and macs, when we think of Apple we think of wanting to refresh our hardware on 1-5 year time scales (on average). Unless a TV breaks, there's no reason to replace it for ~10+ years, as long as it is just a dumb screen. In my household, our bedroom TV is a 27" Sharp CRT I got in 2000, and I've never had any problems with it and will keep using it until it breaks. I even got a $50 HDMI-to-RCA converter so I could use the new ATV2 with it, avoiding having to spend many hundreds more on a new set just for the HDMI capability. Our living room TV is a 37 inch Sharp LCD we got in 2007. I don't foresee replacing that for many years unless it breaks.

I'd much prefer Apple stick with the "tiny box" setup, and let the TV keep being the dumb screen. I don't have a problem with upgrading my $100 Apple TV set-top box every couple years. But when they release the Apple TV SET and then the next year come out with one that has X additional features that require new hardware (faster processor, more RAM, additional ports, whatever), people are going to get annoyed.

Also, what about Apple's traditional "walled garden"? Would an Apple TV set have some sort of restriction against plugging a Google TV set top box, or Microsoft Xbox, for example?

I'm at the same place here. I have an Apple TV, and I don't see what the immense benefit is of having an Apple branded television set. Sure, perhaps the visual fidelity may be better than the standard TV. But what if you have a high end television? A high fidelity television with interesting features and iTunes connectivity is not dramatically different than plugging an Apple TV into my television.

But even then, I'm not sure having built-in voice control is really the solution to the "problem of television". Steve Jobs cited the balkanization of content providers and sources as the problem. A new television set, in and of itself, is not a solution. It merely adds to the wall at Best Buy.

What I'm hoping is actually the case, is that Apple is working on developing an alternative distribution model for content. Something that can erode the cable television model. Something a la carte.

We'll see. I just hope that they're doing something bigger than simply creating a new television with nifty features.