Television

Here’s an iTV concept Jony Ive would approve of

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Resident Apple mockup artist Martin Hajek is on a roll lately. Just a day following his publication of the traditional iWatch concept which adorns the April 2013 cover of the MacUser magazine, he's back at it with a new Apple television mockup that has Jony Ive written all over it. The beautiful renderings are based on the familiar iMac look and sport the sinister black design, with details reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Go past the fold for the full awesomeness...

Vevo wants to become the next MTV, launches always-on broadcast channel

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2013

Today at SXSW, Vevo announced a 24/7 channel coming to your traditional television via the Roku set-top box and the Xbox gaming console, but also to the Vevo web site and mobile platforms like Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone. As you know, Vevo streams official music videos licensed from record labels, both through its web site and via a dedicated YouTube channel, where most of its 52 million monthly uniques come from.

Vevo's mobile apps will be updated with an around-the-clock curated experience of original programming, including live concerts and television shows. The experience is being described as multicast, meaning everyone gets to watch the same programming at the exact same time, regardless of the platform they're accessing it from. Vevo TV will even feature a 24-hour schedule of static programming blocks, just like your regular dumb-ified tube...

Gullible analyst says no iTV this year because Apple finds 4K display too costly

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2013

An analyst with a terrible track record wrote in a note to clients issued Tuesday that Apple won't release a standalone HD TV set in 2013 after all. As much as Apple wanted to, the report has it, the company has allegedly found ultra high-resolution 4K panels to be prohibitively expensive.

You should take this particular analyst's observations with a healthy dose of skepticism: the same guy called for an Apple-branded HD TV announcement at last year's WWDC, later mulling full iTV production for August 2012. He repeatedly said iTV was "imminent" (calling it the iPanel), having also missed with an Apple TV related media event (and a bunch of other things that never came to be)...

What if iWatch isn’t actually an Apple smart watch, but an aptly named TV?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2013

As we entered 2013, the rumor mill has been increasingly churning out speculative reports regarding Apple's rumored TV set and smart watch projects, almost on a daily basis. Even Bloomberg joined the frenzy with claims that Apple has as many as a hundred product designers working on a wearable smart watch-like computer that "may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad." But here's the kicker: what if this group is instead working on a television set - fittingly referred to as an iWatch?

iTV could use LG Display’s OLED panels

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

LG Display, a major Apple supplier that makes high-resolution screens for the iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and redesigned iMacs, plans to allocate more than 706 billion won, or approximately $656.7 million, toward building organic light emitting diode (OLED) screens for high-definition television sets by the end of June 2014, according to The Wall Street Journal. The investment will allow LG Display to make some 26,000 sheets per month for customers seeking 55-inch or larger television screens.

It was recently revealed that Apple hired LG Display's OLED expert Dr. Jueng Jil Lee. Another clue: Apple already holds several patents involving flexible OLEDs, OLED based BLUs for LCDs, OLED control schemes and others...

Apple seeking someone to help deliver next-gen Apple TV features

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 15, 2013

An interesting new Apple job listing has been spotted, indicating that Apple has "high-priority" next-generation Apple TV features in development. That's an interesting choice of words considering Apple continuously refers to its $99 set-top box as a hobby business. And with recent talk of Apple about to update the Apple TV platform this fall with a software development kit for third-party apps and games, all of the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall nicely in place...

Apple (again) mentioned in a rumored Loewe takeover bid

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g19rj1gTcjQ

In a déjà vu moment, Reuters this morning reported that shares of the German luxury TV maker Loewe surged 33 percent on renewed talk of a possible acquisition by Apple. The news gathering organization quotes a trader who claims Apple supposedly wants to bid 4 euros a share for Loewe, or approximately $5,28 a share, a 40 percent premium above the company's closing price on Tuesday.

Loewe's current market cap sits at 53 million euros, or about $71 million. With its $137 billion cash mountain, Apple could buy Loewe outright without blinking. Nearly one-third of Loewe, or 28 percent, is owned by Sharp, an Apple supplier that was involved in the Apple television rumor last summer...

Analyst sees Apple TV media event in March (update: nope)

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

Apple could be holding an Apple TV-related media event next month, according to Jeffries analyst Peter Misek. Despite the mounting rumors that Apple is working on a standalone television set, channel checks led the analyst to believe that the assumed event will serve as a launchpad for a software development kit allowing programmers to write third-party applications for Apple's $99 set-top box, something a lot of people have been clamoring for...

Intel VP confirms it’s working on new set-top box and TV service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

If Apple is really planning on revolutionizing the TV business, it may want to hurry up and do so before Intel beats it to the punch. Confirming rumors from earlier this year, the company's Media VP Erik Huggers said today that it's working on a set-top box.

But that's not all. In addition to the new hardware, Huggers says that Intel is also working with 'the entire industry' to bring a new Internet TV service—an all-in-one solution that will incorporate live TV, catch-up TV and on-demand TV—to the market...

Californian tech industry insiders claim summer iTV launch is ‘a certainty’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Watchers and analysts alike are increasingly expecting that Apple will reveal its cards at its upcoming developers conference, WWDC, this summer. First, a set of dubious images made rounds this morning, allegedly depicting the iPhone 5S on an assembly line and hinting at a likely summer launch.

However, eagle-eyed bloggers were quick to point out a few glaring inconsistencies, eventually debunking these spy shots as depicting an iPhone knock-off. Then an analyst said a cheaper iPhone model was due in June and now another report claims an Apple-branded television set is coming this summer...

Munster (again) sees Apple shipping iTV and new remote in 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

You gotta give it to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, arguably for years the most vocal proponent of a full-fledged Apple television set. Speaking to Bloomberg today, Munster re-iterated his belief Apple is working on releasing a standalone television set in 2013. His thinking is apparently based in checks with Apple's suppliers and he also sees the Cupertino firm shipping an intelligent remote that, in his mind, should be an important part of the rumored iTV...

Surprise, Intel faces roadblocks in securing content for its Apple TV contender

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 2, 2013

Yesterday, news broke that chip giant Intel, frustrated with “everyone doing a half-assed Google TV", is prepping its own set-top box and cable service for an introduction at the CES show, which runs January 8-11 (iDB will be there!). The report noted Intel “has a plan to overcome licensing hurdles” by rolling out the TV service gradually, on a city-by-city basis.

Today, The Wall Street Journal throws its proverbial credibility behind the rumor, but also explains that Intel, just like Apple, has found that Hollywood is proving to be a much tougher nut to crack...