Rumor: Apple said to have full television in the works

By Andrew Couts June 22, 2011

apple-television-ios

In addition to all the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 rumors swirling around this morning, another report says that Apple has a full television set in the works that will run on its mobile operating system, iOS. That rumor comes via Daily Tech, who spoke with a “former executive” of Apple on a condition of anonymity.

Apple plans to “blow Netflix and all those other guys away,” says the source, with its own television set that combines Apple TV with iTunes. The device will be made in conjunction with a “major supplier” of televisions, says Jason Mick in Daily Tech, who guesses that partner will be Samsung.

Related Videos

Rumors of an Apple-branded television have been around for ages; the company does, after all, create beautiful computer monitors. So the leap to dedicated TV sets doesn’t seem like such a big leap. As Business Insider points out, some industry analysts — Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, to be specific — has been championing the idea of an Apple television for some time now. According to Munster, Apple could generate $2.6 billion in revenue in 2012 just from selling TVs.

Be that as it may, some say that an Apple television is about as unlikely as finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

“I don’t have much on this information beyond common sense. But that doesn’t mean I have no knowledge either,” says MG Siegler in TechCrunch. “With that in mind, I don’t have any problem going out on a limb and saying this isn’t happening.”

While there are a variety of thin reasons to believe the Apple television news, Siegler says that the most glaring detail that makes this whole rumor smell like bunk is that Apple will partner with another company to make the TV sets. And we have to agree — if Apple plans to jump into an entirely new industry, they’ll do so on their own terms, in their own way, and with a product that is 100 percent Apple.

Also, the moderate success of Apple TV — the set-top box that already exists — doesn’t make it seem as though enough people are out there clamoring to bring Apple into their living rooms to warrant the creation of an entirely new (and expensive to manufacture) product.

Of course, few people on the planet can say what Apple does and does not have in store. So, who knows? Maybe the rumor is true and we’ll all be parsing an iTV here sometime soon. (Daily Tech‘s source says end of this this year or next year for release.) Or we won’t. Which, at this time, seems to us far more likely.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Audio / Video

Apple Music Sing brings karaoke singalongs to iPhones, Apple TV

Apple Music Sing.

Apple wants you to sing like everyone's listening with its new Apple Music Sing feature, a karaoke mode that works with the music streaming service's popular lyrics experience.

Available later this month on iPhone (11 and later), iPads (third-gen and later), and the 2022 model of Apple TV 4K (not earlier models, for some reason) to really max out the karaoke experience in living rooms, Apple Music Sing will be incorporated right into the Apple Music app, giving you the option to use a slider to control the volume of the vocals in Apple Music's song library so you can sing along. With the slider, you can tweak the volume to either blend your voice with the singer's or drop them out completely to go solo. Background vocals are also viewable independently from the main vocals for budding backup singers to follow more easily, and a Duet view separates multiple singers' lyrics on opposite sides of the screen.

Audio / Video

Best streaming devices for 2023: Apple TV, Roku, and more

Apple TV 4K.

There now are so many ways for you to get all the shows and movies you want on all your favorite streaming services, be it Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+. But the most popular choice by far is still a streaming device, such as a set-top box or streaming stick that you connect to your TV with a simple but effective HDMI input.

But the major players in the streaming device game — Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV, Roku — are all fighting for your money, so we're here to make sure you throw it at the right streaming device for you and your budget, which typically ranges from as low as $30 to as high as $200.

Deals

You can get an Apple TV for $59 for Cyber Monday if you’re quick

An Apple TV 4K sits on a media stand.

If you don't mind buying older tech, we've found one of the best Cyber Monday deals for streaming fans. Right now, you can buy the Apple TV HD 32GB for just $59 at Walmart. Usually priced at $99, you save $40 which makes this older streaming device super tempting. While it's not a great bet for anyone with a 4K TV, it's ideal for adding to other setups. Super cheap, we're not counting on this deal sticking around for long, so here's a quick look at why it's worth it.

Why you should buy the Apple TV HD 32GB
The Apple TV range often features among the best streaming devices thanks to being so versatile and easy to use. Apple TV is great tech for both anyone who knows what they're doing and more inexperienced members of your household. In the case of the Apple TV HD 32GB, you can use it to stream 1080p HD high-quality video via a multitude of streaming apps including your favorites, as well as by renting shows and movies through Apple's online service.