Reports of 50" Apple Television in Jonathan Ive's Lab as Talk Heightens Ahead of CES

[arkitect]

And, for the record, even 50" is way too small.
I have a 52" in the living room now and a 120" projection in my theater room. There is no place for some tiny Apple televion, and the 50", while not tiny, would be a downgrade for a lot of normal people, much less Apple people.

Do bear in mind though that a large segment of Apple's target market do not live in Texas-sized houses…

I live in the UK in a decent sized house and believe me a 52" screen is really far too big. Not even talking about your lottery-winner style theatre room with 120" projection.

There is plenty of market for smaller sizes — outside the US.

 

[Wicked1]

All depends on the price how popular it will be...yes there will be those who just will not buy it because it is Apple, then there will be those willing to sell their soles to the Devil himself in order to own one.....finally where I fit it, if the price is decent to what it offers, I may get one, but I can see a 42", 46" or 50" Apple TV going for way over $1,000.00 in which case count me out.

 

[ramuman]

meh no thanks. i already have a cheap vizio hdtv with an acer revo htpc attached to it. XBMC + utorrent + RSS automatic downloader running on it is all i need.

You'll have the remarkable option to not buy one.

 

[palmerc]

You had to mention Samsung...

But there was little to no real competition in either of those markets for the sort/quality of device that Apple was producing. Even now, it's debatable whether or not there is.

This is not the case with televisions. There are well-established brands that will provide quality sets at relatively low prices that last.

I'm sure they'll look brilliant, but so do the Samsung LED Smart TVs with the razor thin aluminium bezel, and if the only real differentiating features are Siri and an HD FaceTime camera, then that, for me, isn't going to be worth the (likely) premium.

I completely disagree with the assertion that these sets are quality. I would say the Samsung TV I own looks good for a thin black monolith. However, the software on the so-called SmartTV is atrocious. Really, the only good thing about TVs today is that they are very good at putting HDMI on the screen. So in summary, as long as you treat the SmartTV like a monitor you'll love it.

 

[GuitarDTO]

Content is the key

The bottom line is, if Apple can secure the agreements to make ALL (or at least MOST) content available ala cart through presumably iTunes the same way they did with the music industry, then this iTV will be successful....otherwise it will be no different than Apple TV already is or what the Xbox 360 and PS3 already offer.

Until those agreements are in place, I think the Xbox is still the closest to achieving the crown "King of the living room". Unfortunately, I believe this is where Jobs will be missed the most. He had the salesman skills to negotiate these arrangements in the face of all resistance.

 

[Risco]

Pricing is absolutley essential if this is going to be success. The current market is highly competitive. With an iPhone and iPad people they can get away with large margins as the contracts will subsidize it. However with the credit crunch going on, people are not going to be able to easily afford a £1500+ television when they can get a very good one for under £500. Therefore Apple is going to have to be extremely aggressive at launch, possibly offering 0% interest finance deals and most certainly coming in under £1000.

It is going to be a hella lot harder for Apple to break this market than any other they have entered in to thus far.

 

[aperry]

So what have we learned here:
1. Apple's design lead has a conceptual product in his lab (wow!).
2. It's a TV with Wifi and apps and Siri (like we haven't heard this before).
2. Apple is having trouble getting the a la cart model that is 100% necessary to make this product worthwhile. Ouch.

 

[AppleDroid]

I just keep thinking, "How heavy will a 50" HDTV be with a piece of glass that big on it?"

 

[ganymedes13]

Apple is terrible at delivering media or publishing content. Apple TV rental have stagnated in terms of getting other stations on board, and their movie content is vastly inferior to most other competitors. It's the same for book and magazine content. The only thing they excel at in terms of media is music.

I somewhat disagree. The only place where I've seen better movie content is Netflix and most of their streaming content is subpar. I agree with you on books because Amazon still has a stranglehold on the market but that will eventually change with iPad sales. Magazines are a different story. The only suitable place to read it digitally is the iPad. Publishers are still making the adjustment from print to digital.

An Apple full TV will be successful no doubt because of crazy Apple fanboys rushing to everything they put out as well as excellent marketing, but as an inovative product it will be vastly inferior to existing products. Siri is useless on my phone and will be even more irritating on my TV. My PS3 is vastly superior to any iOS apps that will be on the Apple TV and my cable television and movie content will be vastly suprior to anything Apple can negotiate.

Right now every product out there is inferior to cable offerings which is why getting content deals are so important. There may be fanboys but I doubt there are many who will spend a ton of money for something they don't need.

They have enough market power to force this thing to be successful, and as such others will have to follow, but it will be DISRUPTIVE to the current advancement in TV's and content, as move it more in a sideways direction rather than pushing forward, I DO NOT welcome their entry into this marketplace.

Tony

Why wouldn't you welcome a competitor to the marketplace? Are you getting everything you want at a price that is acceptable? I'm willing to bet that most don't. I will welcome anyone who manages to break the cable monopoly.

 

[arkitect]

Pricing is absolutley essential if this is going to be success. The current market is highly competitive. With an iPhone and iPad people they can get away with large margins as the contracts will subsidize it. However with the credit crunch going on, people are not going to be able to easily afford a £1500+ television when they can get a very good one for under £500. Therefore Apple is going to have to be extremely aggressive at launch, possibly offering 0% interest finance deals and most certainly coming in under £1000.

It is going to be a hella lot harder for Apple to break this market than any other they have entered in to thus far.

That is well said.
This is going to be a tough sell.

 

[axual]

If I were Apple

Content is king ... if I were Apple, I'd be looking to create another entity and just go out and acquire a few major content providers.

ABC, Disney and Pixar are not an issue. Pick up another mainline studio, a few independents, a strong production oriented TV network or two, some educational networks (Discovery Networks would be a pick) and just do the content.

 

[akira2501]

awesome if.....

it was an international tv that allowed content anywhere in the world. I would buy it if i could watch news form my hometown nyc, japanese game shows, k-dramas, and idol from around the world. That would make me plunk over my cash. Oh yah and all of it all demand. That would be sweet

 

[diamond.g]

What's funny is I remember reading this exact argument when the iPhone was released and running up to the 2010 iPad release.

Those that argued the price was too high won. Note how the iPhone is subsidized (at least in the US). How many folks do you know would pay 499-599 for an iPhone (it was argued that price was subsidized as well too)?

I just keep thinking, "How heavy will a 50" HDTV be with a piece of glass that big on it?"

No heavier than the plasma tv's that use glass...

 

[tjcampbell]

I wouldn't buy a TV under 50".

 

[arkitect]

Content is king ... if I were Apple, I'd be looking to create another entity and just go out and acquire a few major content providers.

ABC, Disney and Pixar are not an issue. Pick up another mainline studio, a few independents, a strong production oriented TV network or two, some educational networks (Discovery Networks would be a pick) and just do the content.

If only it was as simple as that.

On a related note, now that Steve Jobs is out of the picture what happens to the Apple / Disney relationship?

 

[palmerc]

Assume no tuner

If this ever happens it better be ATSC (US HDTV right?) and DVB(-T2) compatible... like the iPhone the TV should be a world TV.

It is way more likely that you will have a number of HDMI and USB connectors, but I would assume no tuner. Broadcast TV is over. If a tuner was to be supported it would be through an external USB connection, but again, I would assume no tuner. The world of Broadcast and Cable TV, Analog and Digital, is so convoluted I'm willing to state here and now that there will never be an Apple TV with a tuner. If Apple decides to release a TV (Big If) it will be compelling for all the things that it does that nobody else is doing and a great user experience that will promise to change a broken industry, not for being able to support classic TV.

 

[nickgri]

Mac TV

O.K. Apple a Billion dollar idea for you-are you listening? Please send me a portion if you use this. SIMPLE -add a BOOKMARK for every TV ad -every advertiser has to pay you every time someone clicks their ad-send it to their computer or go to the web site to look further at the offering. FORGET all the other crap start with this simple (all content has meta-data now) action of allowing people to remember or go instantly to view the product offered. Why else are they spending all that money on ads- they want to get people to look at their stuff-DUH So get them that. And remember to cut me in. Thanks. zekeg1@me.com

 

[diamond.g]

Content is king ... if I were Apple, I'd be looking to create another entity and just go out and acquire a few major content providers.

ABC, Disney and Pixar are not an issue. Pick up another mainline studio, a few independents, a strong production oriented TV network or two, some educational networks (Discovery Networks would be a pick) and just do the content.

Like Sony...

I somewhat disagree. The only place where I've seen better movie content is Netflix and most of their streaming content is subpar. I agree with you on books because Amazon still has a stranglehold on the market but that will eventually change with iPad sales. Magazines are a different story. The only suitable place to read it digitally is the iPad. Publishers are still making the adjustment from print to digital.



Right now every product out there is inferior to cable offerings which is why getting content deals are so important. There may be fanboys but I doubt there are many who will spend a ton of money for something they don't need.



Why wouldn't you welcome a competitor to the marketplace? Are you getting everything you want at a price that is acceptable? I'm willing to bet that most don't. I will welcome anyone who manages to break the cable monopoly.

I would love an alternative to Cable, but I think that we will see some backlash on internet prices (in the US) as folks drop the TV portion of their bill. Plus I am curious to know how advertisers will react to losing eyeballs.

 

[YMark]

Most people I know have either satellite or cable and bypass their TVs user interface almost completely once set up. I would guess that a large number of these folks also use an external receiver / speaker setup.

I'm not sure what Apple can bring to the table (as far as a UI) that will even be used. Unless they can figure out how to let SIRI change the channels on my DVR. This Apple TV might be the next Newton.

 

[Gasu E.]

there will be those willing to sell their soles to the Devil himself in order to own one...

And they who sell their soles to the Devil shall go barefoot in Hell..

 

[Renzatic]

And they who sell their soles to the Devil shall go barefoot in Hell..

Thus Spake The Spork!

 

[gugy]

kind of surprise me so many rumors about a television.
Anyway, still believe this is a pipe dream and people just taking out of context Jobs words on his book.
Content distribution and an ATV box with surprising features makes more sense than a TV set itself.

 

[Nimrad]

The thing that is 100% sure is that this has been worked on. As Steve Jobs said: "cable companies have ruined the TV industry". I couldn't agree more. And we need Apple to fix it, not that Apple is God, but for those of us who read the Steve Jobs biography we can notice the resemblance with the birth of iTunes. Music companies making awful ways to try and digitalize music and Apple doing it in a beautiful a way, but music companies were sceptical to an a la carte instead of buying whole CDs. But Apple made it beautiful and refused to do it any other way then how Apple/Steve Jobs wanted to and it ended up being very successful!

Apple have done this before with music, let them do it with TV! Give us releases on TV-air dates for TV shows for an acceptable price please! Please, Apple, don't give up!

 

[davie18]

For me, 42" has to be the bear minimum that apple will offer as the maximum size. It It is just the size of TV that people want these days.

I think the sizes to go for would be: 32", 42" and 50".

 

[striker33]

It wont be called iTV or anything of the kind as they'd need to change the name of it for the UK.

Apple don't change the names of their products or services for different regions, its not how they operate.