“Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray on Thursday reiterated his long-held stance that Apple is working on its own full-fledged television set, rather than just a set-top box like the current Apple TV,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.
“He said the forthcoming iCloud service would make an Apple-branded television even more plausible,” Hughes reports. “‘Apple’s iCloud service for media storage makes it easier to own multiple devices and share content among them,’ he said in a note to investors. ‘At first the only media iCloud will store is music and pictures, but we believe Apple may add movies and TV shows purchased or rented in iTunes to the iCloud service, which could be viewed on a TV.'”
Hughes reports, “In fact, last month it was said that Apple was in negotiations with movie and television studios, in an effort to allow customers to re-download purchased content on multiple devices.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote on Tuesday:
Apple TV is wonderful. If you don’t have one, you should get one. Building it into TV sets makes sense. Everyone who sees Apple TV in action wants one (just imagine if Apple actually advertised it to TV audiences on *gasp* TV!) Wait until Apple turns on the apps, releases the SDK to developers, and adds TV Shows and movies to iCloud – the sky’s the limit! If Apple unveils Apple-branded televisions, they will be a huge hit.
One thing’s for sure: If Apple does enter the TV business, Gene Munster will be grinning.
Related articles:
Apple patent reveals enhanced TV widget paradigm for HDTV – June 23, 2011
Apple to enter TV business later this year, says former executive – June 21, 2011
Apple said to be racing to ink film, TV show deals for iCloud – May 31, 2011
Analyst: 2nd-gen Apple TV unit sales top 2 million, 820K sold last quarter – April 19, 2011
Apps to run on new iOS device? Mystery placeholder name appears on Apple’s App Store – April 14, 2011
Analyst: Apple to debut ‘Smart HDTV’ this year – April 13, 2011
iOS 4.3 beta code strongly points to Apple TV support for App Store, online gaming – February 10, 2011
Rush Limbaugh: Apple TV and AirPlay are cool – January 07, 2011
Gartenberg: Apple TV quickly going from hobby to serious business – December 27, 2010
Frommer: Get ready for the Apple TV App Store – December 21, 2010
Apple sells one million Apple TV units in first 90 days – December 21, 2010
Gear Live reviews Apple TV: Small, fast, inexpensive; AirPlay will make people sit up and notice – October 12, 2010
Computerworld reviews Apple TV: Well-executed, cost-effective, and easy to recommend – October 08, 2010
Businessweek reviews Apple TV: Apple gets serious about TV – October 08, 2010
MacNewsWorld reviews Apple TV: Priced to sell at just $99 – October 07, 2010
Hobby turns hit: Apple TV on pace to sell 1 million units per quarter – October 06, 2010
Ars Technica reviews Apple TV: ‘The potential for AirPlay is huge’ – October 04, 2010
Apps are coming to Apple TV one way or another – October 01, 2010
CNET reviews Apple TV: Pitch-perfect design and user interface; AirPlay has game-changing potential – October 01, 2010
Apple TV a ticking time bomb for cable and satellite TV providers – October 01, 2010
Apple TV’s hidden features could shake up the television industry – October 01, 2010
Apple TV teardown reveals iPad inside(s) – September 30, 2010
Engadget reviews new Apple TV: Video clarity is impressive; audio quality is also superb – September 29, 2010
Apple TV unboxing photos and video – September 29, 2010
TIME’s Techland reviews Apple TV: ‘Incredibly convenient’ – September 29, 2010
PC Magazine reviews new Apple TV: ‘Our new Editors’ Choice media hub’ – September 29, 2010
Apple TV’s digital revolution will kill these studios – if they don’t wise up in time – September 27, 2010
Apple TV now shipping – September 27, 2010
Gartenberg: Google overshoots for input 1 on your TV while Apple TV smartly targets input 2 – September 07, 2010
Wired hands-on with Apple’s new $99 Apple TV: It’s a cool device; snappy and fast – September 01, 2010
Apple gets aggressive with new tiny, low-priced Apple TV – September 01, 2010
Apple premieres all-new Apple TV for just $99; commercial-free HD TV show rentals for only 99-cents – September 01, 2010
Not so sure about MDN’s take. I own one and it’s nothing special, still. Very little movie content and I don’t buy much myself, so I don’t use it very much. Add gaming and apps, then we can talk.
Apps and games are already there!!!!
Use your iPad and use mirroring.
Wait until iOS5, you will be able to mirror EVERYTHING from your iPad to your HDTV wirelessly.
HOOOOOOOOOOO ‘NAP!! ITS ON NOW… WHATCHOO GONNA DO MDN!?
A product that does 20 things should not be denigrated by focusing on one. Apple TV is far more than a movie rental machine. It’s a special product when you use its full capabilities.
AppleTV — yes, but I do not see exactly why Apple would enter TV set business:
1) there is no way Steven Jobs would agree to release a product line with lower than Apple’s typical 40% margin, what is twice higher than this industry’s average;
2) while integrated AppleTV+actual TV set would definitely interest many buyers because of convenience and services added, it can not be big-scale popular business — unless Apple would offer something exceptionally unique.
I know that if I say “The is going to explode,” I will be eventually right. But I won’t be as happy as Gene.
TV bought to you by iCloud.
Apple should have offered all new student purchases an AppleTV rather than a gift voucher.
Apple says sorry, but they can only offer things to consumers that will drive hardware SALES. Giving away hardware is counter-productive to increasing hardware sales.
Do you have English comprehension problems? Perhaps you should be put through the Eric Schmidt English remedial class.
Hey stupid he wasn’t referring to Apple giving away hardware for free but Apple giving an incentive to students buying back to school Macs by giving Apple TV costing $99, as an option instead of Mac App Store vouchers amounting to $100.
Hey” Balmer’s Left Nut”: There’s no excuse for being such an inconsiderate prick on MDN. People are all different, and have different levels of understanding. And yes, some readers are not native English speakers.
Really? Then why did Apple give away iPod touches the last four years with the purchase of a Mac for college students?
I love my Apple TV. I have a lot of media on my Mac that we stream over to watch. That being said, Apps are what Apple TV needs to take it to the next level.
I don’t think building software into the TV necessarily makes sense. When you think about it, people update their TVs once every 5-10 years. In order for the Apple TV software to remain up-to-date, an Apple television set would have to support software updates at least five years out. People’s TV-purchasing habits just don’t line up with how often Apple wants people to update devices (every 2-4 years for mobile devices, 3-6 for Macs).
I would still want to hook up other devices (XBox, Playstation, Wii) to the TV, so if the combined set can’t do that, I would still rather have my AppleTV separate from the television itself. I’ll wait and see. 🙂
This is idiotic. There is nothing Apple can bring to TVs that they are not already doing with AppleTV. ANd an AppleTV costs 130 bucks here in Canada. A 55″ LCD is still 1200 to 200 depending on features.
I’m sure that if they do this, they will still offer the set-top box in addition to it.
TVs are essentially commodities, with little differentiation beyond price and that can be misleading. My VISIO has a better picture than my Sony Bravia, a simpler UI and a remote that doesn’t try to lock you into a slew of companion products. Apple doesn’t do commodities.