14 DAY TRIAL // A report from the Far East says Apple’s supply chain is gearing up to ship the ‘materials’ needed for the next generation television product with screen sizes ranging between 32- and 37-inches.
The usual industry sources quoted by Taiwan’s trade publication Digitimes say Apple has given the order to its supply chain partners to “start preparing materials for iTV sets in the first quarter of 2012.”
The schedule is supposedly to accommodate a Q2 / Q3 launch of the TV sets.
The sources specifically said that these are not set-top boxes (STB), but full-fledged television sets with screens ranging from 32-inches to 37-inches sizes “initially”, suggesting Apple is testing the waters for now.
Citing Korean media reports, the industry paper names Samsung Electronics as the supplier of the chips inside the new, bigger TV set.
The chips are either A-series SoCs that are also present in the company’s current Apple TV product (as well as iPhones and iPads), or a different breed of processors specifically tailored for the unique ‘iTV’ product.
As for the displays, they will be manufactured by Japan-based Sharp, the sources added.
According to other people who supposedly have deep knowledge of Apple’s overseas affairs, the STB Apple TV will not be discontinued once the Cupertino, California-based giant rolls out the brand new televisions.
The ‘black box’, as some people call it, would be refreshed, other sources said.
According to these people, “Apple may continue to launch its next-generation STB-like Apple TVs in 2012.”
However, these secondary sources don’t seem to bring any evidence to the table, other than Amazon.com lowering the price of the current version of Apple TVs listed in its inventory by 9%.