Is Apple working on a television? At least one financial analyst listed why he thought so in a five-point report to investors today.
Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst and noted Apple TV booster, has been touting the TV development for the last two years. His latest report stems from Steve Jobs' biography where Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted an integrated television set, according to Forbes.
A significant hurdle to a full-fledged Apple television set (as opposed to the Apple TV set-top box), Munster writes, is combining live television with shows previously captured on iCloud. "Perhaps this code is precisely what Jobs believed he has 'cracked,'" Munster suggests, adding that Apple could use the new Siri voice activated system "to bolster its TV offering and simplify the chore of inputting information like show titles, or actor names, into a TV."
Munster goes on to say that Apple could sell 1.4 million of these TV sets in 2012.
As stated before, Apple already has its set-top Apple TV, so why would it bother creating unnecessary hardware? It would make more sense to improve Apple TV.
Another reason is that there are already plenty of Internet-ready televisions out there and Apple would be competing with manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and LG, which are already established brands with factories and supply lines in place. If the TVs are already iOS-ready without Apple creating them, why would Apple waste time and money manufacturing one?