Steve Jobs Told Employees in 2010 That Apple Would Not Release a Television

[WestonHarvey1]

There's only a few things Apple could do to a physical TV set that would be an improvement. Instant on, like monitors, and a more intuitive way to manage inputs.

Those aren't interesting enough to carry a whole product, and they don't fix the other issues with margins and turnover.

Most features are better handled by an external box.

 

[bushman4]

Only way Apple releases a TV. Is if they have content At this point in time that seems unlikely

 

[wigby]

Hate to play semantics but isn't it very easy to imagine Apple releasing an all in one flat panel Apple TV and claiming that this is not "television" as you know it? And it's true. Margins do suck on TV but margins used to suck on phones, tablet and PCs until Apple did them. Apple could release a premium 4k tv that would cost an arm and a leg but provide a premium TV experience that blows away any smart TV on e market. At $3000, they could easily sell 5 to 10 million worldwide. Now as for content, that is the only remaining issue as I see it. Hey could make a deal with networks to bundle live content or they could just expand the current app offerings to create thousands of app channels.

 

[pubwvj]

The era of "hardware that turns over" is about to end.

Firmware can be upgraded.

Screens are beyond the limits of the eye.

Power savings have grown by leaps and bounds.

Storage is tremendous and can be upgrade with externals.

Recreating and shipping hardware is ecologically unsound, ungreen.

Time to return to buying equipment that lasts. I don't want to be buying new hardware every year. They logically will provide upgrades via software, continue selling more hardware to penetrate market more deeply and Apple can make their money on the content plus subscriptions.

 

[IJ Reilly]

A local sports club called the LA Dodgers entered into an exclusive arrangement with a cable company to deliver the games. That leaves out not only free TV but all the other means people get TV signals.

Not quite. TWC paid for the broadcast rights to the Dodgers for the next 25 years, but TWC is in the process of selling licenses to those rights to other providers. If they fail to do so, they're going to lose money, big time.

I pick on this point because the rights to broadcast live pro sports is the perhaps the single greatest impediment to creating the a la carte system that most TV viewers seem to want. Nobody has come close to "cracking" that system yet. Nobody is even trying.

 

[Daalseth]

Told you so

I've been saying exactly the same thing ever since the first AppleTelevion rumours appeared. It never struck me as a good idea, quite the contrary, It's not a market Apple can revolutionize. It's not a market where Apple can drive innovation. It's not a market where Apple can make a huge profit. It IS a market where good enough is good enough, and people don't replace their TV until it dies because innovations don't make any difference until you have content and content doesn't appear until you have new model TVs out there. (The failure of 3DTV showed this and this will be repeated with 4kTV.)

The rumour always seemed like an analyst driven speculation without any basis.

 

[brendu]

The era of "hardware that turns over" is about to end.

Firmware can be upgraded.

Screens are beyond the limits of the eye.

Power savings have grown by leaps and bounds.

Storage is tremendous and can be upgrade with externals.

Recreating and shipping hardware is ecologically unsound, ungreen.

Time to return to buying equipment that lasts. I don't want to be buying new hardware every year. They logically will provide upgrades via software, continue selling more hardware to penetrate market more deeply and Apple can make their money on the content plus subscriptions.

I'm not sure you have see where apple makes money. It's services and software make apple a small percentage of their revenue. Apple makes money on hardware, specifically the iPhone. They have no interest in people keeping them for 5-10 years.

 

[2010mini]

Just let apple take over the whole cable experience. I don't mind paying the cable company top dollar for content, but their existing experience sucks. Much like the telephone companies did in 2006. I wouldn't mind signing a contract for a $650 apple tv. Also when I had issues with something I go to apple not Time Warner Cable. They just don't know anything about how to treat a customer. Additionally if I'm paying $8 for netflix and get so much different content. Then why then do I pay the cable company $150 and get nothing in return. Why can't I just say "man I haven't seen the goonies for years" and just bring it up and watch it right there. After all I'm paying such a premium price for cable.

It's not really the cable companies that prevent that. It's the content owners mostly that are resistant to change. Netflix is basically saving Hollywood's collective asses. They buy entire collections of content that otherwise would sit in vaults unwatched. Which makes Hollywood a lot of money.... But those idiots are at the same time fighting against netflix.

Dumb.

 

[iChrist]

Obviously.

All these people here touting and stating they can't wait for an Apple TV set are so freaking silly.

 

[JayCee842]

I don't see them releasing a TV. Their current Apple TV box is where its at.

 

[Reason077]

NO **** SHERLOCK!

You know what. I like your comment. I wish there were more commenters like you in the Internet. Thank you, sir.

 

[iRock1]

Now that everyone is talking about the hundreds of times when Steve Jobs said one thing and then he made another one totally different, remember the iPod Video story as well.

"No, video it's not cool on portable devices" (he even blamed the competition for doing so, while releasing the iPod Photo). Then one or two years later: the iPod 5G (aka iPod Video).

 

[samcraig]

I think it's interesting that some are debating whether or not Apple will release a TV. The first thing I got when I read his response was that Jobs, despite rumors and writing to otherwise was NOT only concerned with quality of his product/making only insanely great things. It's quite clear that profit WAS (and rightfully so) very much a part of the equation.

Might have to bookmark this article/thread when THAT argument comes up next time.

 

[proline]

So, when it is clear that you're wrong you can only insult others? That has a name.

I tried to explain the quote at your level of understanding. Instead of replying to the explanation, you've chosen an ad-hominem approach. Your loss.

 

[SockRolid]

"TV is a terrible business. They don't turn over and the margins suck," said Jobs.

Bingo. Sometimes we forget that one of Steve Jobs' greatest strengths was his acute understanding of business models. And not just in the computing and portable electronics markets.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think right now, thanks to the development of Ultra HD TV sets with 3840 x 2160 resolution screens, Apple may actually be on the verge of rolling its own branded television sets. Especially now that 1) Apple has access to Sharp's flat screen display factories and 2) the finalizing of the HDMI 2.0 standard means it will be very easy to connect future Ultra HD video sources such as the successor to the Blu-ray disc and cable/satellite set top boxes.

 

[samcraig]

I think right now, thanks to the development of Ultra HD TV sets with 3840 x 2160 resolution screens, Apple may actually be on the verge of rolling its own branded television sets. Especially now that 1) Apple has access to Sharp's flat screen display factories and 2) the finalizing of the HDMI 2.0 standard means it will be very easy to connect future Ultra HD video sources such as the successor to the Blu-ray disc and cable/satellite set top boxes.

I don't really think so - and I agree with Steve Jobs in this regard. For Apple to get into the TV market isn't a good idea. The TV market is NOT the phone or tablet market. I and others have said for a few years now that turnover for TVs (and profit margins) aren't remotely the same.

However - set top boxes or cable box integration + Apple's Software could be a low cost/high profit center for Apple.

 

[Rad99004]

I noticed that Samsung is going to be removing paid apps from their TV app store.

How about if they let Apple on their TV's, a way to bury the hatchet and write off the patent law suits?

OK I know that was a crazy thought.

I still think Apple will make deals with cable companies, Satellite and TV manufactures to get in the hardware and to also build their own box. They would still provide content to all of them through the cloud.

 

[TC03]

The problem with an Apple television would be the distribution of cost and value. Most costs would go into the screen, which doesn't offer a lot of value. The value of an Apple television would be the integration of hardware and software, which would be relatively cheap relative to the overall costs.

 

[bommai]

I think apple should work with third party tv makers to integrate AppleTV box that looks like a stick which can draw power and send /receive control signals. Similar to chromecast but with full integration with the TV remote and no need to plug power in separately.

There should be built in buttons in the remote that makes it easy to control the Apple TV. Uniform experience.

 

[SchneiderMan]

Well there you have it folks, the man has spoken....

A man that is no longer relevant, sadly. We all want Apple to release more products in other categories, as they should. They should get off that high horse they're riding.

 

[pacalis]

TV's every eight years? Maybe Apple could get it's act together and release a new display.

It's been nearly three years...

 

[bryanescuela]

So what, he's not among them anymore.... Sad but true. I suppose they can real ease a tv if they wanted to

 

[Jdshewman]

Anything to diminish the cable and dish companies. For what we actually watch we are getting screwed on pricing big time. At least with the internet there is no boundary to content just speed determines pricing. I have Directv, pay $90+ w/taxes and watch probably less than a dozen stations out of 215+. I like the NFL Network so I have to pay for the second highest package. Bamboozled.

 

[rexone]

"TV is a terrible business. They don't turn over and the margins suck,"

Well he was right there... a mate of mine works at Sony Aus/NZ and he told me that last financial year was the first year since Sony switched to an all LCD range that they had actually turned a profit globally...