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Apple’s coming plan to take over the TV business

Thursday, May 24, 2012 · 10:45 am · 22 Comments

“Here’s me putting on the record what I’ve been telling clients behind closed doors for over a year: Apple should sell the world’s first non-TV TV,” James McQuivey, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, writes for Forbes.

“Instead of selling a replacement for the TV you just bought, Apple should convince millions of Apple fans that they need a new screen in their lives,” McQuivey writes. “Call it the iHub, a 32-inch screen with touch, gesture, voice, and iPad control that can be hung on the wall wherever the family congregates for planning, talking, or eating — in more and more US homes, that room is the dining room or eat-in kitchen.”

McQuivey writes, “By pushing developers to create apps that serve as the hub of family life – complete with shared calendars, photo and video viewers, and FaceTime for chatting with grandma – this non-TV TV could take off, ultimately positioning Apple to replace your 60-inch set once it’s ready to retire.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Fred Mertz" for the heads up.]

Categories: News

Tags: Apple HDTV, Apple iTV, Apple television, apple tv, Apple TV set, television, TV set

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Comment Feed

22 Comments

Currentinterest

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 10:52 am · Reply

Nonsense.
- CitizenX
  
  Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:58 am · Reply
  
  I think it makes a lot of sense. iAD (information access devices) all over the house will complete the Apple takeover of the post PC era.
  I have processing power in my Mac and just need a way to access information in the rest of the house and a “display” device (combo TV, Apple TV, iOS device) would be ideal. Tap the screen and I can watch TV, a movie, run an App, look up an address or do facetime with the grandkids.
  
  This is the real post PC era where the computer disappears. I have an iPad and my GF has an iPad2. I will not get rid of them when I upgrade my next iPad. What I will do is wall mount the iPad next to the bed. The next one will be in the garage. I imagine that in 5 years I will have older iPads all over the house.
Briggs

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:01 am · Reply

First, who’s gonna replace a 60″ with a 32″ screen?
Second, who’s gonna need touch:
http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed/2012/05/23/test-video/?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo
- Ansel
  
  Friday, May 25, 2012 - 7:33 am · Reply
  
  No, he is not saying replace …. What he is saying is it will position Apple to introduce larger screen models but this is the first move towards ….
observerr

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:05 am · Reply

As odd/unbelievable/impractical as this rumour may be, in my mind I see a neat way of implementing it. The “TV” unit itself would essentially look like an iPad (black frame all the way around) and Apple would have docks that could either be wall-mounted or use a kickstand (as suggested in the article) that would resemble the bottom half of the iMac. It would be silver and span the entire width of the screen. You could have these in multiple rooms already mounted on the wall so that you wouldn’t have to mess around with power cords.
Seems silly to drag a monitor around (especially once they’re much larger) but I still think it’s a neat concept.
MacFreek

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:12 am · Reply

If Apple wants to revolutionize the TV industry it won’t come from offering another TV. I think the profit margins are too small. iTV provides the form and function of a device that is easilty integrateable and exclusively Apple. I would rather have Apple improve content delivery, and give the cable and satellite providers a run for the money.
MikeK

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:19 am · Reply

Plus, Apple’s current push is to detach the concept of a “hub” as a piece of hardware. Instead, the “hub” is in the cloud. The iCloud of course.
alent1234

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:21 am · Reply

if apple wants to sell a TV they have to make the cost of ownership cheaper.

sell a TV and and tiers of access to content so i can cancel cable and make it worth the cost
- Todd
  
  Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 12:18 pm · Reply
  
  No tiers please! I dumped my DirecTV last fall because of ridiculous tiers. I want ala carte!!
Coal Cracker

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:22 am · Reply

The concept of iHub would complete the circle.
- MacFreek
  
  Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:33 am · Reply
  
  I thought iTV was the iHub. Is Apple simply going to relabel and remarket iTV?
  - powpimp
    
    Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 12:09 pm · Reply
    
    ….
Mr J

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 11:33 am · Reply

60 inch iMac please.
Lordthree

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 12:50 pm · Reply

Nope. Glad I’m not one of THIS guys clients
Dave

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 1:06 pm · Reply

Let’s make sure to mention this guy’s cockamamie idea when Apple does finally reveal what they are going to do about the television experience.
progressiveagentprovocateur

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 1:29 pm · Reply

I’d settle for an Apple designed Tivo type device that uses a CableCard. Got a nice screen hooked to a Mac mini server (dual internal 500 GB HDs) with a MacBook Air USB DVD drive and an EyeTV HD.
radtech50001

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 1:30 pm · Reply

In my Opinion Apple should only consider making a TV if they go with OLED technology. Apple has the resources crush the competition through mass production even though OLED is still very expensive. Apple can change all that, I want to see Apple take away the TV business from Samdung!
dddd

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 2:23 pm · Reply

SONY/Google already failed in the 32″ category.
solid

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 2:31 pm · Reply

No way I am buying a 32″ Non-TV or iTV or whatever it is…

55″ diagonal minimum, preferably 60. Of course people’s needs will vary, but 32″? C’mon…
ken1w

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 2:56 pm · Reply

It won’t be an “iHub” because Apple wants iCloud to be the “hub” of the future, not anything that resides in the customer’s home. However, there is one redeeming point to this mostly dumb article…

One way Apple can help sell the rumored complete iTV, as well as the existing Apple TV box, is to make it an extension of the current iOS ecosystem. People say Apple TV should have its own “apps” and “voice/gesture/touch control.” I think the best way to give Apple TV apps is NOT to create apps that actually run on Apple TV…

The app should run on iPhone and iPad (and iPod touch), as a regular app. Apple can add a new display mode that allows the user to put the app’s output on the Apple TV’s screen, using a future version of AirPlay. The iOS device’s screen turns into a remote controller for the app. Developers can add this new display mode to their apps, if it makes sense for an app (such as a game) to have such functionality. But the app should still be useable as a “normal” app as well. AirPlay can already be used to wirelessly show content from an iOS device on an HDTV’s screen through an Apple TV; this is an extension of that capability.

Technically, the way it may work is for a portion of the app’s code to be sent from the iOS device to the Apple TV (when “AirPlay mode” is called). That portion of the app then runs on Apple TV. This eliminates the need for the iOS device to do the processing to render the “screen” and send it (frame by frame) over the network to the Apple TV. The Apple TV does most of the processing work, and the iOS device becomes just an input device. That will reduces drain on the iOS device’s battery, and even a lowly iPhone 3GS with a pre-A4 processor would be able to control something very complex happening on an Apple TV (with an A5 processor) and 1920×1080 screen.

Apple TV (including complete iTV) then become the ultimate “must have” accessory for someone with an iPad or iPhone. That’s a large audience. Developers would only be adding a new display mode to existing apps that work with or without an Apple TV, so there would be no need to create a whole new “market” for yet another new type of app. The audience for the app would therefore be the entire iOS ecosystem, not just someone who owns an Apple TV.
Jupit3r

Friday, May 25, 2012 - 12:22 am · Reply

I believe the article has merit, to some degree. Although I don’t think Apple will come up with a modern day version of the TV, I think their going to release a whole new thing together to replace the TV. Think about it, the iPod created a new and easy way to listen to music. The iPhone was a whole no class of smartphone. And lastly the iPad is overturning the PC as we speak.

Whose to say Apple won’t ‘Apple’ us again and unveil something we didn’t even know we needed.. It’s in their blood to do just that…
Cubert

Friday, May 25, 2012 - 10:03 pm · Reply

Sorry, but Apple isn’t offering a TV alternative; they are offering a new form of TV.