14 DAY TRIAL // Industry analysts have been forecasting that Apple will launch a TV set for years, but so far, the company has failed to bring such a product to the market and continued to focus on its popular line of mobile devices.
There have been multiple speculations on why Apple stalled the rollout of its first TV set, but rumors came and went, and while some rekindled hopes, others put them to rest.
It’s the case of the report we’re going to talk about in what follows. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple axed its plans of producing a 4K television set more than a year ago.
Apple wanted to make its TV set special, but it wasn't easy
Sources familiar with the matter were cited saying that the Cupertino tech giant had been hoping to introduce a bunch of cutting-edge features into the new set, including a camera that would allow users to make FaceTime calls through the device.
Furthermore, Apple also experimented with laser-power transparent displays in the mid-2000s before reaching the conclusion that cost and image quality compromises would be too high. So the company skipped over this phase as well.
The current report also confirms earlier rumors that Apple was poised to introduce a new version of the Apple TV set-top box alongside an Internet TV service during the Worldwide Developer Conference scheduled to take place next month.
The TV box was expected to be slimmer and arrive with new software on the inside, plus an updated remote said to be using touch controls.
So, it appears that Apple will not be going into the TV-producing business after all. And the decision might as well be the right one, given that other players in the industry like Sony, Sharp, Panasonic and LG are struggling to maintain afloat.
There's still a bit of hope
However, at least one important Apple stockholder still expects the company to introduce an Apple TV next year. We’re talking about Carl Icahn, who has said that he expects the company to soon successfully control two new markets: televisions and automobiles.
Additionally, late Apple boss Steve Jobs was one of the key figures inside the company who was very interested in the Apple TV idea. His biography even states that, at some point, Jobs apparently “cracked it.”