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Will Apple Make a TV? What to Know as Rumors Resurface

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Between 2011 and 2014, there were a glut of rumors suggesting that Apple was working on an Apple-branded television set, which would disrupt the TV industry. No such product ever emerged, but now the TV rumors are back.


Apple 'Evaluating' a TV

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is "evaluating" the "idea of making an Apple-branded TV" set as part of its new smart home push. Apple is investing resources into the smart home as it looks for new ways to generate revenue, and if some of the first smart home products are successful, it's possible a TV could be on the roadmap.

Apple's Smart Home Command Center

As soon as March 2025, Apple will launch a smart home hub or "command center" that will serve as its first dedicated smart home control product. The Apple TV and HomePod can already be added to HomeKit and used as Home Hubs, but the new device is aimed specifically at managing HomeKit and Matter devices.

Apple-AI-Command-Center-Concept-Mock-3.jpg

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the smart home device will have a six-inch square display. It's said to be similar in design to an iPad, but not rectangular. There are thick bezels around the edges, a rechargeable battery, and built-in speakers, along with a camera at the top that can be used for FaceTime.

Apple is planning to allow users to mount the device on a wall or on a desktop with a dock, and customers will have the option to have them in multiple rooms. Along with controlling smart home products, the hub will be used as a sort of life management device with Apple Intelligence and Siri integration, widgets that display important information, and apps like Calendar, Photos, Home, Apple News, Apple Music, and Notes.

Sensors inside the hub will determine whether a person is in the room and if so how close, with information on the screen tailored based on the person's position. That kind of presence sensing could also be used in various HomeKit automations.

If the product ends up being successful, it could potentially spawn a line of Apple-designed in-homeproducts, including a TV set.

Other Smart Home Product Rumors

Apple is considering a range of smart home accessories, such as smart home cameras. As of right now, Apple makes the Apple TV and HomePod, but cameras, smart plugs, smart lights, and other devices come from third-party manufacturers.

homekit-showdown-redux.jpg

Rumors suggest that Apple is designing a smart home camera that will be manufactured in 2026. Apple could sell "tens of millions" of the devices over the long term, leaning on its privacy policies to provide an alternative to cameras from companies like Ring and Nest.

If Apple does end up seeing success with the hub and subsequent products like cameras, it's not hard to imagine a future where a TV set could finally make sense.

The Original TV Set Rumors

Rumors about an Apple TV set have dated back to 2006, but picked up in 2011 after a former Apple executive claimed that Apple had inked a deal with a TV manufacturer. Later that same year, a quote from Steve Jobs in Walter Isaacson's biography about him made headlines.

"I finally cracked it," Jobs allegedly said in reference to a TV set. "I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use," he is said to have told Isaacson. The TV "would be seamlessly synced" with devices and iCloud, and users would not "have to fiddle with complex remotes."

That quote kept TV set rumors going for years, but in 2014 and 2015, it started becoming clear no TV was coming.

In 2014, a new Steve Jobs book suggested Jobs told employees that no TV was in the works in 2010. "TV is a terrible business," Jobs said. "They don't turn over, and the margins suck." In 2015, The Wall Street Journal said that Apple nixed plans for an Apple-branded TV set "more than a year ago." At the time, the report said that Apple searched for breakthrough features that would give it an edge in the television market, but it could not find new features that were compelling enough to compete against existing big TV manufacturers.

In 2016, reporter and longtime Jobs friend Walt Mossberg said that Jobs planned to reinvent the television industry after stepping down as Apple's CEO in August 2011, but he ended up passing away from pancreatic cancer less than two months later in October 2011.

"I think we figured out a way to do it, and it's going to be fantastic. I want you to come out, in a few months, and I want to show it to you," Jobs told Mossberg.

After TV set rumors died down, focus instead turned to Apple's work to create a TV streaming service with support for bundles of channels from participating content providers. Apple wanted to offer a range of content from third-party companies, but with its own interface. The company's plans had to be scaled back several times, and Apple wasn't ever able to establish the content deals that would have been needed for that original idea at the time.

How Things Have Changed

Since those initial TV set rumors, Apple has made inroads in the television industry. By 2017, rumors were starting to focus on Apple's plan to create original content... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Will Apple Make a TV? What to Know as Rumors Resurface
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/apple-tv-set/
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  • Haha
Reactions: SFjohn
> I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use

A great idea. The menus for TVs are really confusing. Though I see new Samsungs seem to gather all the streaming services installed on it and display them all like the Apple TV app does, it even shows you live TV as if it were a streaming app with custom TV show art and such.
 
  • Wow
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Why would they? A state if the art OLED 65 can be had right now for around $1500, maybe even a bit less - an ASD can be had for that price, not mentioning the XDR.
There is little margin in that business and competition is fierce, hence the low prices.
While some folks would buy it, you’re only going to make money thru volume…
So I call this rumor off, YMMV
 
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They haven't yet figured out how to get the youtube app on the Apple TV working correctly - I doubt they could produce a TV that would be competitive.
 
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No way this happens - Apple missed the boat and now whatever Steve Jobs had 'cracked' is likely not relevant as traditional broadcast television is slowly dying to be replaced by streaming. In theory, the Apple TV app should have been the answer, but it relies on streaming apps integrating with it, which I believe Netflix refuses to do. Now streaming services are having to resort to ad-funded models I can't imagine they will be thrilled by the idea of a general app that can show content from any service as they would rather you watch more content (and therefore more ads) from their service.

In the UK, we have just had the launch of a new service called Freely which uses the internet for free-to-air television - it is the IP equivalent of Freeview (aerial) and Freesat (satellite) - which sounds like it would be a perfect app for an Apple TV (sadly it doesn't sound like there are any plans to launch an iOS/TvOS app yet).

Another idea for Apple in this space is similar to Car Play 2, where an Apple TV can control various functions of the TV (settings, picture modes etc) using an Apple-designed UI. Again, I can't see TV manufacturers particularly keen to hand over control to Apple and sacrifice all the advertising revenue that Smart TVs can dish out. I see the little known, but very successful advertising company TheTradeDesk has just announed an OS for smartTVs that is more likely to attract SmartTV makers than Apple...
 
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the main reason they would be looking at it again is tv OSes are getting good enough and you almost need to be there to convert customers to your platform or keep them from going elsewhere.

If I didn't have ATVs and HomePods for tv speakers already when I bought an LG OLED a year ago, the LG tv OS would be good enough for my streaming needs.
 
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What if they made an Apple TV box that had like six HDMI 2.1 input ports on it, so it acts as a receiver, and a TV tuner built in. So it can act as a total replacement for the whole TV. Then again, Apple already removed the TOSlink port, so they are moving away from this direction rather than towards it.
 
It really doesn't make sense. They'd be better off sticking an M3 or M4 in the TV and trying to push Metal mainstream into the console gaming market. Besides their backlog of intellectual property, I think the fact that the Nintendo Switch is still going strong is a sign people love a casual gaming console. I think Apple could really make a splash if they wanted to.
 
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jz0309 said:
Why would they? A state if the art OLED 65 can be had right now for around $1500, maybe even a bit less - an ASD can be had for that price, not mentioning the XDR.
There is little margin in that business and competition is fierce, hence the low prices.
While some folks would buy it, you’re only going to make money thru volume…
So I call this rumor off, YMMV
Click to expand...
Exactly. That would require effort on Apple's part.

The most we've gotten out of Apple over the last 15 years are AirPods, a watch, and a half-baked VR set nobody has.
 
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ImAlwaysRight said:
Nope, Apple will never make a TV. Too many dominant players already in that space.
Click to expand...
The best they could do is what they done with the Apple TV 4K, its where this digital streaming receiver can remedy the problems a lot of people have with a older TV that that needs a more modern interface to utilize with up to date apps for all the mainstream streaming VoD providers. They already tackled another aspect which is their own TV productions/movies via Apple TV plus service. Neither of these would disrupt the TV industry as this article leads with. Just gives consumers more choices to utilize. :D
 
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jz0309 said:
Why would they? A state if the art OLED 65 can be had right now for around $1500, maybe even a bit less - an ASD can be had for that price, not mentioning the XDR.
There is little margin in that business and competition is fierce, hence the low prices.
While some folks would buy it, you’re only going to make money thru volume…
So I call this rumor off, YMMV
Click to expand...
They would also make money selling things on it; Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, apps, ect
 
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I don’t know… they might be looking to get into something new that regular consumers would have a chance at buying. While I’m sure they would be expensive, a lot of people would shell out the money anyways… just because.
 
Arytonsenna said:
Who wants an overpriced TV that’s no longer supported after 5 years? My 10 year old Samsung still gets the latest versions of Max, Disney+, etc.
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I have a hard time believing that. Samsung TVs never receive Tizen upgrades, and they seem to release a new version every year. I have a 2016 4K model (with the darker UI, before it went all white) that a lot of apps have already dropped support for.
 
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Apple has already demonstrated it doesn't have much steam in the display space. They've released some beloved products, but sold few, pulled out again, and left it to competitors at points. They have a display once again, but it's pro-level, minimal market share. They typically take the pros for granted and let the products languish without updates for years. They don't want to fight for it.

I know display monitors are a slightly different market, but, there's still lessons here.
 
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AppleTO said:
I have a hard time believing that. Samsung TVs never receive Tizen upgrades, and they seem to release a new version every year. I have a 2016 4K model (with the darker UI, before it went all white) that a lot of apps have already dropped support for.
Click to expand...
I had the same experiences, add more misery with switching inputs within the Tizen GUI instead of something like push a button on the remote. No more Samsung now, life is so much better with OLEDs. ;)
 
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