DIGITIMES: Apple IS Working On A TV, And It Could Be Ready By Year End
Apple is still working on a TV, and it could be ready by the end of this year, though it's more likely to come at the start of 2014, say DigiTimes reporters Julian Ho and Alex Wolfgram.
According to their "industry supply chain sources" the TV "is likely" to support Ultra HD, or 4K, which is the next generation of high definition. They also hear it will have voice and motion controls.
Previously, Peter Misek at Jefferies reported Apple was looking to get TV panels that are close to 4K quality without the 4K cost.
We would be surprised if Apple actually did "4K" in its first TV. Remember, Apple didn't put Retina on its first iPad Mini. It was slow to add LTE, waiting for carriers to support it. There is very little 4K content right now.
Ho and Wolfgram say Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn are looking for a supplier. Most suppliers, they say, are busy making panels for other TV makers, so they won't be able to supply panels for Apple. However, Ho and Wolfgram say LG could be the supplier.
Most of the Apple product rumors so far this year have centered on a smart watch. It looked like Apple had set aside its TV ambitions.
The Apple television has been rumored for years. DigiTimes in particular has put out multiple reports on it. In December of 2011, DigiTimes said an Apple TV would be out in 2012. Then in 2012, it knocked down its own report saying Apple's suppliers weren't able to make TV panels.
And then, there's the analysts. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster said the Apple TV would be ready at the end of 2012. That didn't happen. Now he says it's coming at the end of 2013.
Peter Misek at Jefferies said last August that the Apple TV was in full production. Then a few months later, another Jefferies analyst said it was imminent. Now Misek says it won't be out this year.
DigiTimes tends to be early with its reporting, so it often looks wrong in retrospect, since company plans change. The truth of the matter is that when Apple really decides to build a TV, we're going to hear about it. There will be a reports from all over the place.
In this case, we'd classify this as early rumblings. Basically, Apple is still interested in the TV market, it just hasn't quite found what it's looking for yet.
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