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Foxconn Likely to Win Contract for Building Apple Television Set
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Samsung and Sharp are already bidding on the contracts. Apple's idea is that you don't need to own any of other boxes, like DVD/Blue-Ray. Didn't you see Macbook Air and iPad?
Perhaps the Apple TV Set is the new way to get content on the big screen (without using a broadcast provider - all stuff comes in via iTunes) and then separate Apple TV Boxes are used elsewhere in the house to then get that content on other sets. This way you only need to purchase one TV now. Then in a few years when you want a larger TV, you go buy a new Apple TV Set.
I bought a good LG tv last year for about 300-350 and it was 32". I'm just wondering, at 350 for 40", yes it's 1080P but seriously, how good is the quality? Are we talking Bestbuy's crap Dynamic or whatever they're called or are we talking nice Samsung/LG tv?
Not sure, but it would guess that the panel is made by LG. That said, i don't see any reason why they should choose the same manufacturer for the TV panel since that will in essence be a "different product"*.
* naturally, both are panels, but they are used differently with different demands on quality.
Hope you aren't talking about expanding the NBA.
Don't worry, they don't know, either.
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I just don't see any way this is a high end product. Apple tends towards high end, and if they intend to supply content, it won't be.
Except, you're still tied to a cable - and that cable is still controlled by a gatekeeper - who in every way will leverage that position and extract near-monopoly rents. Game never changes, only the players positions.
....What would be kind of cool though, and something that hasn't really been tested to date, is to loss-lead on content and charge hard on the set itself. Couple it with some nice exclusives and you might have something. Doubt its really doable though, but i haven't looked at the numbers so can't say for sure.
I half agree. I don't get it either, but then again the iPhone didn't make sense, the iPad didn't make sense. Until I can see their content and software offering, I'm going to hold off on judging right now. You have to realize too that apple doesn't go to the beat of anyones drum but their own. If they do usher in a new form of content consumption, you can bet that they'll hold to their our way or the highway mentality and simply say, to experience it, get a new tv. Your tv is old and stupid. Our tv is a revolution. That'll be their words, not mine.
I'm at least glad that analysts aren't judging quite yet. They did with the iPad and iPhone. Especially with the iPad they dragged it through the mud and now they are eating a whole humble pie so I think some may have learned their lesson.
Maybe a nice monitor
I am thinking 32 and 37 inch Thunderbolt monitors with Apple TV built in.
I am thinking 32 and 37 inch Thunderbolt monitors with Apple TV built in.
As I mentioned in another thread I think these 32'' and 37'' screens are just giant Thunderbolt monitors complimenting the current 27'' Thunderbolt display. They might have Apple TV functionality as an afterthought.
I fully agree"real" Apple TVs would make more sense in 40-60'' sizes - but I don't see a specific reason for Apple to produce giant displays with low margins. Just think of the logistics nightmare in Apple stores and shipping in general.
A simple Apple TV "hockey puck" upgrade (Apple TV 3 for $99) makes more sense for Apple and the customer. People can get the same experience with software, Siri and Wifi to idevices, maybe even a camera in the future "hockey puck".
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Since the source is supply chain, I assume there's a 42-inch iTV that will be built by someone else.
I hate how everyone is knocking the idea since it's a 32" or 37" TV. Calm down. We get it, you won't buy it. I'm honestly not convinced that they will do a TV just yet, but who knows.
If they do a 32" or 37" they will be fine. It's like the iPhone. 2G? $599? 4 GB? Same thing with the MacBook Air. Price? Space? They were all horrible and was a main reason I never bought one. The idea was nice but it didn't fit my needs.
However, 3 years later, I have an 11" MacBook Air and I love it. Speeds have improved, price has dropped and it's worth it IMO. Apples starts off small but eventually grows. I can personally see them starting off with a 32" or 37" but with software as the selling package. Certain people will buy, media will hype it up and it'll gain some traction. Eventually as production ramps up, they will grow to 40"+ and 50"+. I'm sure if it's a success people will buy it at that time.
If they do a 32" or 37" they will be fine. It's like the iPhone. 2G? $599? 4 GB? Same thing with the MacBook Air. Price? Space? They were all horrible and was a main reason I never bought one. The idea was nice but it didn't fit my needs.
However, 3 years later, I have an 11" MacBook Air and I love it. Speeds have improved, price has dropped and it's worth it IMO. Apples starts off small but eventually grows. I can personally see them starting off with a 32" or 37" but with software as the selling package. Certain people will buy, media will hype it up and it'll gain some traction. Eventually as production ramps up, they will grow to 40"+ and 50"+. I'm sure if it's a success people will buy it at that time.
Look at what Apple already does. Do you think they make any money on their software? Yes but hardly, it's all in the hardware, very opposite from amazon. iTunes store viewed at as more of a break even strategy to gain hardware. I think apple has it because software/content (book) is not very often updated so it's viewed at as a one time sale, but hardware is always getting better therefore people will buy newer hardware. This get tricky though with video content because it's always been subscription. So it could be viewed at as we'll charge you 700 for a 32", but content it $10-30 a month depending on how much you want. But at the end of the day, I have no idea and so does everyone here.
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32 & 37 inches? What the hell?
I won't change my current one 42" for smaller...
32 & 37 inches? What the hell?
I won't change my current one 42" for smaller...
Read Times article about TVs dropping in price by as much as 50% in just the last year alone. Article also predicted future large price cuts and low margins for the foreseeable future. Nice market for Apple to jump into.
But if Apple can provide an excellent TV, then it might just sell. Lots of people like their TV, so if you can make that better, then it is probably worth it to buy the best. I personally use a digital projector (100" screen for the win) and I don't use it a ton. But lots of people are in front of their TVs 50 hours a week. Any money spent improving that experience is probably worth it even for someone of modest means. And for the upper middle class which make up most of Apple's U.S. customers, spending a few hundred dollars more for a better TV experience is probably worth it, even if this means that Apple TVs will be double the price of the basic TVs.
Apple would have to continue to gimp the hockey puck though or else they will cap their premium at $99.
But if Apple can provide an excellent TV, then it might just sell. Lots of people like their TV, so if you can make that better, then it is probably worth it to buy the best. I personally use a digital projector (100" screen for the win) and I don't use it a ton. But lots of people are in front of their TVs 50 hours a week. Any money spent improving that experience is probably worth it even for someone of modest means. And for the upper middle class which make up most of Apple's U.S. customers, spending a few hundred dollars more for a better TV experience is probably worth it, even if this means that Apple TVs will be double the price of the basic TVs.
Apple would have to continue to gimp the hockey puck though or else they will cap their premium at $99.
Uh ? The iPhone made sense. There was no other way for Apple to enter the cellphone market without making a cellphone. The Motorola ROKR (you know, the first iTunes phone) was an abysmal failure and for Apple, tight integration of hardware and software made sense. The whole UIKit paradigm is driven by the touch input hardware. That's what makes the iPhone an iPhone.
For the iPad, it makes sense. To enter the tablet market, Apple needed to make a tablet... etc.. etc..
But TVs are not iPhones or iPads, they aren't cellphones or tablets, they're just monitors. The "smart" in TVs is like the "smart" in computers, it's in the hardware. Selling a monitor attached to the hardware is only limiting your market scope and unlike the computer monitor market (before you bring in the iMac), the TV market is quite huge and a large investment for people.
A 99$ set top box would reach tons more potential buyers. I know for one I won't be getting an Apple TV Set. If however the input/control/content makes sense, I might finally get a 99$ Apple TV.
But why not just start with what market shows are the most popular TV sizes to start with? Why not give us at least a 40"/46" and a 55" on day one? What have they got to prove by not doing that?
This whole report/article/rumour does not say 100% it's for a television set. It could be very well for the next generation TV or similar.
There has NOT been one rumour on MacRumors that has said "we think Apple will build a television set". All of them just say Apple have new ways to deliver content or have cracked the UI issue. Etc etc. Could be a television set or a new TV or something else.
I'm still waiting for a rumour that says Apple is or is not making a television set.
This screams to me TV. And delivering the content to a television.
There has NOT been one rumour on MacRumors that has said "we think Apple will build a television set". All of them just say Apple have new ways to deliver content or have cracked the UI issue. Etc etc. Could be a television set or a new TV or something else.
I'm still waiting for a rumour that says Apple is or is not making a television set.
I hate to say it but after getting a Roku for christmas and adding Plex to it, I'm pretty underwhelmed by how iTunes handles video. Not to mention the range of content/sources available. I hope this new stuff blows everything else away but it needs to be a giant improvement over what they're doing now.
Apple has always believed in the whole-package experience. Right now, Apple TV isn't a whole-package experience.
Good point. I honestly believe it's because buy-in is low to enter the game. They start off with smaller sizes so that they can not spend as much to enter the market. That way, if the device is a possible failure, worse case scenario it was just another "hobby".
YES. People who are still in the pre HDTV kind of state, back when a 30" standard definition was consider huge. Those TVs were heavy too. Like my cousin, they would see a cheap 32" HDTV for sale, buy it, and then get disappointing in how small it is. I'm sleepy, so I'm having trouble expressing my point.
