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Apple Looking to Launch Siri-Enabled Television Set by 2013

I don't know how Apple is going to make money in the consumer TV biz, but then again in 2001 I didn't know how Apple was going to make money in the consumer music player biz.

One thing is true: current TVs/home theater systems are a mess from a usability perspective.
 
tctony said:
I think this would be totally stupid.
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I think your comment is totally stupid because you launch the easy ad-hominem rather than make an intelligent case why a Siri enable TV would be worthless.

If you can explain your reasoning, great. But, I'm guessing you can't.

Personally, it's seems like a brilliant idea because it accomplishes Apple's stated mission set out a decade ago, the creation of a digital hub. With Siri + iCloud plugged into nearly every major digital device (phone, TV, computer, iPad) you can literally start watching a show on TV, stop, and then resume later on a completely different devise. When an idea pops in your head while watching TV you can tell Siri to make a note of it and it will show up on your computer and iPhone. And Siri potentially could do away w/ the need for remotes. Just tell it to "record The Office," and done. Menu drill down days banished.
 
No need for a TV

This could all be done with just the AppleTV box and an iPhone/touch as the "remote". I should be able to use any display device I want.
 
something3153 said:
So would a social network for music. Life's easy when you cherry-pick examples, isn't it?
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You're comparing Ping to Apple's premiere projects that redefine major markets (iPhone, iPod, etc.) ? :confused:

May everyone boast such "failures", when the also-rans have witnessed entire platforms and software/hardware ecosystems destroyed over the last few years. Never mind that, Apple has forced more than a few of their competitors to reevaluate and reinvent their entire business. We're not talking about an iTunes feature here.

Comparatively, Ping is a paper-cut. Oh, and I guess you can add that other one . . . yup, a mouse. The hockey-puck mouse. And a gaming console from 1995. LOL, quite a list.
 
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iphone1105 said:
I'm 50/50, it'd prob be a grea TV.....but i bet :apple: would charge through the roof for it. Plus, I bet they'll do a new one every year cycle and really people can't by new TV's every year. Plus some flat screens can be had at some great prices! I'm mixed on this....
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yeah, i'm with you. Probably will be like the rest of Apple's line and become obsolete when the 3rd gen is released and you can no longer update it to the latest iOS
 
2013? That is a pretty awkward moment in the world of TV technology. I hope either this or the second generation comes with 4000p (4k). :) Obviously there'll be little or no content for such a level of definition and peoples bandwich won't be able to cope but hey...it's something to dream about. Maybe after 2015.
 
As long as it has a UK digital receiver in it then Im all for it.

No point in having a TV if I can't watch 'normal' channels as well as iTunes content. Having two TV's in one room is a big no no.
 
AAPLaday said:
Why not just expand the capabilities of the current Apple TV?
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Agreed,

knowing it runs iOS, makes it feel really crippled when I compare what I can do with my iPod touch, and iPhone.

Really think Apple is missing the mark not allowing people to use applications on their Apple TV hardware. So much potential in that device, and it gets so little attention.


stridemat said:
As long as it has a UK digital receiver in it then Im all for it.

No point in having a TV if I can't watch 'normal' channels as well as iTunes content. Having two TV's in one room is a big no no.
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What?

52 inch for your PS3, and a 32 inch for your TV viewing is the way to go ;) .
 
Wait, all the forum members who said Apple would never do something like this actually don't have any clue what Apple would or would not do?? Shocking!
 
I genuinely don’t see Siri existing anywhere but the iPhone and maybe the iPod touch and maybe the iPad. Siri is your personal assistant, not a personal assistant, it learns more about you the more you use it.

I think back to something Negroponte wrote in being digital, people don’t want 500 channels, they want 1 channel that shows them what they want, when they want it. Siri would be an ideal tool to get closer to this one channel future, but it would be hugely personal and on a communal device like the television would require user profiles and voice recognition, that seems too messy a solution for Apple.

Siri communicating with your other devices though, makes a lot of sense. Sure it requires every member of a family own an iPhone or potentially an iPod touch, but let’s face it a proper Apple TV is going to be comparatively expensive, that demographic won’t balk at having to buy iPhones/iPod touches. It also requires those devices to be carried at all time, but I know in our household our iPhones are always more accessible than the remote.
 
I'm mainly wondering if there's an AI kernel at the root of Siri, that's learning pronunciations and context from all its users. With it, Siri could become incredibly powerful at an accelerating rate. Without it, it'd seem like improvements would be laborious and slow.

Oh yea, & article is obvious enough speculation that countless MR posters also deducted from Siri's launch.
 
I been using voice controls more and more on my xbox, and it works well. Taking that the next level and adding Siri would be awesome.
 
MacTheSpoon said:
I don't really get what advantage it would be to build this into a TV set instead of making it a set-top box. Then people could choose the TV with the picture they like best instead of relying on Apple's choice.
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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?
 
Give me a break

"It’s the stuff of science fiction. You sit on your couch and rather than fumble with several remotes or use hand gestures, you simply talk: “Put on the last episode of Gossip Girl.” “Play the local news headlines.” “Play some Coldplay music videos.” Siri does the rest."

Umm... the Kinect and Xbox 360 already do this. But, I guess if Apple does it then it will "revolutionary". *sigh* Give me a break.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Kinect?xr=shellnav
 
Siri + iTunes + iCloud

MacRumors said:
[...] The TV, which will include extensive voice control courtesy of Siri, could be announced as soon as late 2012 with a consumer release in 2013. [...]
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No DVR recording feature needed. You get all you older content through iTunes. And Apple can stream live content like news, sports, concerts, etc. Of course, that will require major deals with content providers to get their shows and movies on iTunes. That's the hard part. The deals. And only Apple has the consumer electronics leverage and media delivery leverage to do those deals.

MacRumors said:
[...] Steve thinks the industry is totally broken [...]
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It is. Networks broadcasting over the air vs. cable companies vs. satellite companies vs. Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Sony vs. Apple TV vs. Samsung ad nauseam. It's like the MP3 player market back in 2001. Many feeble competitors all pecking away at each other. All trying to sell badly designed and hard-to-use technology.

You can also think of it in terms of the personal computer industry. Back in the early '80s, computer users were all typing away at DOS or CP/M or UNIX prompts. Typing instructions, using character-based displays. That's essentially the way we interact with TV sets now. Yes, TVs have graphical displays. But we're still typing. Punching buttons on remote controls and watching the results on the screen.

For decades, people have been wondering what the next-generation of TV controllers would be like. Siri could get rid of the physical controller entirely. I'm looking forward to that.
 
ThunderSkunk said:
I'm mainly wondering if there's an AI kernel at the root of Siri, that's learning pronunciations and context from all its users. With it, Siri could become incredibly powerful at an accelerating rate. Without it, it'd seem like improvements would be laborious and slow.

Oh yea, & article is obvious enough speculation that countless MR posters also deducted from Siri's launch.
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I thought I read somewhere that Siri "learns" your voice and over time works better and better on your voice...
 
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