“Following sources’ claims that Samsung Electronics and Sharp will manufacture chips and displays, respectively, for the so-called Apple ‘iTV,’ others have suggested that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) have the potential to win orders for Apple’s smart TV,” Cage Chao and Jessie Shen report for DigiTimes.
“Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) likely will obtain assembly orders for the Apple smart TV, according to industry sources,” Chao and Shen report. “Apple’s new smart TVs will be rolled out by the end of 2012, the sources indicated.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
iCal’d people’s comments on MDN on whether Apple will release a TV by end of 2012:
Rvanward: “No, just no.”
_Bill_: “I could be wrong, but this seems way out of Apple’s interests.”
ChrissyOne: “No. To reiterate, no. And finally, in closing, no.”
MacDoc: “NO…what’s the point unless Apple comes out with Holgraphic 3DTV before anyone…no screen needed.”
h2a: “this is the most ridiculous thing i’ve ever heard.”
Dmitri: “To agree with many others here: No. Just no, no, no.”
Bizlaw: “This makes no sense. Apple wouldn’t have anything to bring to the TV industry that would fix some poor user experience that Apple TV doesn’t already handle.
Also, TV makers had a tough time selling TVs this year because so many people have bought new flat TVs in recent years. TVs simply aren’t frequent purchases. Apple is much better off sticking with and improving AppleTV than getting into TV sales.”
BiteanAAPL: “Gene Munster doesn’t have a clue. Apple will update the Apple TV for apps and possibly come out with a keyboard/trackpad for it for web use, but they ain’t bringing out an actual television set.”
macco: “with prices dropping daily, margins on TVs are shrinking like crazy. why would they enter this market? it makes no sense from a business standpoint, unless they market some sort of millimeter-thick OLED TV or something”
Dmitri: “I’m sorry to go on, but I have to say “no” about this some more. No, no, no. But what really pisses me off is that ANYONE called an EXPERT could suggest this. SOMEONE GOT PAID TO SAY SOMETHING THIS STUPID. I’ll stop the all caps and pause to let that sink in. Someone. Got. Paid. For. That. Drivel. RRRRRRRRR!!!!!! HULK SMASH!!!!!!”
MrMcLargeHuge: “But Sandwich Man said it would happen! Like 4 years ago! Sandwich Man is the reason I started reading this site all those years ago.”
Think: “Sorry but TVs are already idiot proof. Apple does not need to improve the TV user experience unless they have some ground breaking technology like holographic projection so the video looks like it is being performed on your coffee table as a stage.”
Seth: “I think Apple’s ultimate goal is for tablets to serve as primary content viewing devices, all connected to a households big screen for the occasional sharing of content. This wouldn’t require Apple to make a display, just a really cheap connected box (see Apple TV).”
Midwest Mac: “I don’t think there’s a significant amount of profit to be made in that commodity-driven industry — at least not by Apple’s standards. I already have an Apple TV. It’s called an Apple TV.”
hairbo: “Like others have said: NO! What I’d love to see Apple do is take a crack at the automobile. Shit, they could probably buy Ford outright.”
Steve516: “Apple will never sell a TV. They might sell a display that could work as a TV (something to replace the now defunct 30″ perhaps) with the right inputs, but I would seriously doubt it. Far too easy to connect any existing TV to a Mac or to an iPad or iPhone.”
Raymond in DC: “I agree with the consensus – it won’t happen. Apple doesn’t do low margins, and it must look at Sony’s failing “Google TV” with a “We knew that would happen” sense. Incorporating Apple TV into those made by one or more vendors is certainly doable, but those vendors won’t pay Apple what the latter gets in profit from their own set-top box.”
silverhawk: “No. Hell no!”
mossman: “All this to say Apple’s habit of not dropping product prices before releasing new ones would bite them badly, in a market where there’s already reasonably priced low end and premium units. I say no to the idea.”
silverhawk: “I bought a 40″ LCD 2 years ago for $2000. I just bought a 46″ of the same brand for $746. Apple will not get into the TV business, ever!”
hehe that was fun 🙂 We’ll see. (I was one of them that didn’t say “no”.) lol
I have said “no” to an integrated Apple television on several occasions based on its description – an HDTV with an AppleTV grafted internally. And I stand by that “no.” Such a device would be like the Pippin game console in the early 1990’s – doomed. Unless the TV part of this equation is something revolutionary, why would it make any sense to embed the AppleTV box into the TV, itself? The way it currently stands, Apple can sell AppleTV units to hundreds of millions of people regardless of the brand or size of HDTV they own. They just need a decent high-bandwidth connection to the internet. The primary issues standing in the way of expanding sales of the current AppleTV are the content providers and the content distribution pipelines. Those pipelines are already complaining about Netflix. Another, less important factor is 720p versus 1080p, although the pipelines are the bottleneck driving that engineering decision.
But I have been wrong before. I wasn’t all that excited about the iPod at first. I wanted Apple to focus on improving the Macintosh, which had stagnated with the G4 PPC. So I have to caveat my “no.”
*If* Apple finds a way to revolutionize the television aspect of this equation and also manages to pull the content and content distribution pieces of the puzzle together, then I am all for it. Apple has a way of developing and implementing solutions that are even better than I imagined. If the integrated AppleTV becomes a reality, I truly hope that it is one of those types of breakthroughs. Because I really despise the cable and satellite TV status quo.
I’m surprised you left me off that list. I’ve said pretty clearly now for the past couple of years that if BUTR vectors continue to escalate at current rates towards BUN, an Apple TV is inevitable by 2013.
I only plucked out the “no” people who at the time (January 4th 2011) were in the majority by a wide margin.
There was second category like myself, who said that while Apple TV is possible, if released, it will be either niche product or quite seriously different from all these fantasies which were published about this matter in the last years.
Lets see; for now, there is nothing more than rumours.
Actually for the past couple of years BUTR vectors have gone downhill from their peak at the top of the POTATO graph. The GRVY results have been much slower due to the CXR viscosity.
OTOH the BUN analysis has been TOST for a good six months. I’ll be looking for an improvement with the BAGL theory.
(-:
Sure, but I can’t help but wonder, if you adjusted TOST for PBAJ you could spare yourself the effort of BAGL. Still, point well taken.
If Apple does not do a TV they will be missing a HUGE opportunity to dominate the final market ripe go their kind of innovation… And they will own it within 2 years..,everything is in place… Cable and satellite tv are going to be the victims…. If I can order just the network channels and “cable” channels I want, add anything on iTunes…and have Siri and an iMac 50 inch … Done.
.
How will Apple deliver “just the network channels and “cable” channels I want, add anything on iTunes…and have Siri and an iMac 50 inch …” all of these goodies to your home? Apple doesn’t own a pipe to your home, the cable companies do. They will strangle the crap out of any company trying to take away the monopoly.
If Apple creates an iTV someone will be chosen to manufacture it. Story at 11
Just a thought. Apple intros an improved AppleTV and allows some tv vendors to sell an apple approved. The new circuit in the “apple approved” tv allows Atv to do all kinds of neat new things. Key is its Apple designed and approved so apple owned the tech but XXX makes the set for slightly more money.
Just a thought.
But the Apple circuit in the TV would enable firmware updates to improve functionality. Then TV makers would not be able to push a slightly upgraded design every couple of years. Apple is the rare company that truly believes in improving the performance of previously sold products in parallel to evolving functionality for new product releases.
…still don’t believe will ever make a standalone television set.