Television

Sharp to begin delivering cutting-edge iTV panels to Foxconn in Q3 2012

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2012

Back in May, a report quoted Foxconn CEO Terry Gou as saying his company was “making preparations” to assemble a full-blown television set for Apple. It proved bogus when Foxconn issued a statement claiming Gou “neither confirmed nor speculated about Foxconn’s involvement in the production of any product”, but such an ambiguously worded denial only added fuel to fire.

According to a new rumor by Chinese news site 21cbh.com (via AppleInsider), based on talks with a Sharp executive and other sources at the company, Sharp will begin delivering LCD television panels to Foxconn in the third quarter of this year, for the specific purpose of assembling Apple television sets...

Foxconn wants more Sharp shares, aims to beat Samsung displays on clearness

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2012

In another hint that Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known in the Western world as Foxconn, could be gearing up for mass production of a rumored Apple television set, Reuters now reports that Foxconn is in talks with the Japanese multinational corporation Sharp about increasing its stake.

This is interesting development as Foxconn in March bought an eleven percent stake in Sharp worth $844 million. The two companies now run Sharp’s cutting-edge display plant in Sakai, Osaka, leading some to speculate that Foxconn made the move on behalf of its biggest customer, Apple of California, which has long been rumored to be readying production of a full-blown television set, which Foxconn publicly denied...

Analyst: iTV to sport iPad-like touchscreen remote and motion detection

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2012

An analyst wrote in a research note today, based on his supply chain checks, that he expected Apple's rumored television set to feature a Kinect-like motion sensing and a new kind of remote that resembles the iPad and relies heavily on touch gestures.

He also believes Apple will launch an iPad mini in September, alongside the next iPhone...

Roundup: what’s on tap for WWDC 2012 tomorrow

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 15, 2024

With iOS 6 being the main theme of tomorrow's keynote, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, iOS boss Scott Forstall and marketing head honcho Phil Schiller (aka Mini-Me and Dr. No) will likely share stage time to announce the latest in Apple's mobile operating system powering the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Feeling excited yet?

We're also keeping our eyes peeled for the latest iPhone and Apple TV developments and are expecting shiny new commercials (hopefully they do better than latest celebrity adverts), plus the usual dose of Apple's trademark one-liners, superlatives and hyperbolas.

Here's what we're looking forward to, some of the stuff we've been keeping our fingers crossed for and what the rumor-mill predicted would go down tomorrow...

Apple TV SDK to launch at WWDC: apps finally coming to your telly

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2012

A new report published this morning claims that Apple will seed developers with a brand new Apple TV software development kit (SDK) as early as its annual developers conference which kicks off with a San Francisco keynote next Monday.

Conceivably, the goal of the SDK would be to foster growth of the third-party app ecosystem around the Apple TV, the $99 set-top box which remains closed to app developers (unless you jailbreak, that is)...

Apple to unveil its television set at WWDC next Monday, analyst predicts

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 7, 2012

After peering into his crystal ball, Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek conjured up a major prediction for Apple's rumored HD TV set which, according to Misek, will be announced during a keynote which will kick off Apple's annual developers conference in San Francisco next Monday at 10am PT.

Yes, this is the same guy who back in April said the iTV, as the media calls the rumored Apple-branded TV set, will be actually called the iPanel. We'll leave it up to you to draw conclusions...

Apple granted patent for magical television remote

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2012

An interesting patent grant surfaced in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's database this morning. Building upon a number of previously patented inventions, this latest filing describes an enhanced remote control that could include a touch-sensitive surface to control one or more on-screen objects...

AirPlay and apps will set iTV apart, says Brightcove CEO

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 4, 2012

Brightcove founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire shares some interesting observations regarding Apple's rumored full-blown television set that the industry is anxiously anticipating.

The biggest feature and key differentiating factor won't be the display nor industrial design for that matter. Instead, the iTV should be treated as yet another screen to run the enhanced iOS computing platform. Content?

Don't count on Apple beating cable companies to the programming punch. Instead, Allaire observes, the more than 500,000 apps and AirPlay technology are Apple's two key advantages that will help set iTV apart...

Munster on iTV: ‘if’ has been decided and now the question is ‘when’

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 1, 2012

Riding on his iTV predictions, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients today that a number of factors, including Tim Cook's D10 talk earlier this week, have led him to confidently assume that a full-fledged television set from Apple is a now a matter of 'when', not 'if'.

He is expecting iTV models ranging from 42 inches to 55 inches, costing between $1,500 and $2,000. Apple will announce its standalone television set later this year, he speculated, with general availability six months later...

Apple allegedly began assembly of iTV prototypes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

According to a report out today from Chinese-language China Business News based on "informed sources", Apple this month allegedly begun producing the first prototypes of its rumored HD TV set. As the first batch of iTVs get assembled, Cupertino is said to be ramping up production later this year...

Munster: Apple television in December, iPhone 5 in October

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2012

Piper Jaffray's resident Apple analyst Gene Munster is certainly the biggest proponent of a full-blown Apple television set and I guess you could say he's actually started the whole craze in the first place.

It's been a while since we last heard from him, but now Munster's back with some updates to both iTV and iPhone 5 memes.

He sees an Apple-branded television debuting in December of this year and hitting store shelves in 2013 (hopefully, it won't be a “terrible use of retail space”).

As for a sixth-generation iPhone, or the iPhone 5 as the press dubbed it, he agrees on the general consensus of an October timeframe, which also jives well with what iMore recently heard from sources, too...

iTV? Think iHub.

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

According to Forrester Research, the key competitive advantage of Apple's rumored television set - often referred to in media reports as the iTV - won't be the television part per se.

Instead, one analyst thinks Apple should sell the world’s first non-TV TV, which would entail convincing folks they need a new screen in their lives.

It should enable the ultimate portability in that one should be able to hang it on any wall where the family congregates for the usual activities and of course it would run apps and represent the ultimate realization of everything Apple stands for...