However, "price is rarely the most important thing," according to Apple’s CEO

Feb 15, 2012 08:43 GMT  ·  By

Apple continues to label its TV product as a hobby, according to Tim Cook speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference yesterday. But that doesn’t mean a full-fledged television isn’t on their roadmap, and it’s likely to be expensive, according to the Apple CEO.

Cook cautioned that Apple doesn’t want to scare investors by dismissing any TV rumors.

The Cupertino giant is widely believed to be testing new hardware and seeking potential deals with content providers, to ultimately take over our living rooms with an amazing Apple-branded HD TV.

“We don't want to send a message to our shareholders that we think the market for it is the size of our other businesses,” Cook said during yesterday’s conference (webcast available here).

“The Mac, the iPad, the iPod, the iPhone. We don't want to send a signal that we think the length of that stool is equal to the others. That's why we call it a hobby.”

He continued to elaborate on the matter, saying that “Apple doesn't do hobbies as a general rule. We believe in focus and only working on a few things. So, with Apple TV however, despite the barriers in that market, for those of us who use it, we've always thought there was something there.”

But Cook stressed that, in order for Apple to fulfill this dream, the company needs “something that could go more main-market for it to be a serious category.”

“If we kept following our intuition and kept pulling the string, we might find something that was larger. For those people that have it right now, the customer satisfaction is off the chart,” said Cook.

Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope, who conducted the interview with Cook, pressed the Apple CEO to comment on the high price of the iPhone and other Apple products.

Cook replied insisting that although people are generally sold on bargains, they ultimately want something expensive that justifies the high price through value.

“Price is rarely the most important thing," he said. "A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it and the joy is gone,” Cook said.

“The joy is gone every day that they use it until they aren't using it anymore. You don't keep remembering, 'I got a good deal!' because you hate it,” he added.

In other words, don’t expect the Apple TV refresh to be a cheap one. Then again, don’t expect Apple to roll it out until it finally becomes something more than a “hobby.” After all, that’s why the small black box costs just $99.