Reputable analyst agrees with rumors that Apple has postponed iTV launch plans

Nov 13, 2013 14:14 GMT  ·  By

Chatter in the IT industry this week suggests that Apple has postponed its plans to deploy a full-fledged television product in favor of releasing its rumored iWatch. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, while not mentioning the iWatch, seems to agree.

Working with investment firm KGI Securities, Kuo knows his stuff. He’s proved it on a number of occasions, and while not all of his predictions have panned out, he’s been far more accurate than most fellow analysts regarding Apple’s unreleased products.

Kuo’s thinking is that, because of several hurdles incurred by Apple in the development of a big-screen TV, the Cupertino giant will end up releasing another spec bump of the current Apple TV set-top box next year.

Only in 2015 or 2016 can we expect the full-blown iTV, and only if the company strikes more deals with cable operators. There are quite a few ifs in the equation, as you’ll notice.

Kuo writes in a research note released to investors this week, “We expect Apple to launch a new version of the Apple TV with an A7 processor in 2014, and we forecast 2014 shipments to total 8.2mn units.”

“Shipment growth will be limited unless Apple is able to integrate more TV content, services and its App Store, in our view,” he adds.

“We believe the slowdown in Apple TV shipments suggests Apple faces challenges in integrating TV content and services,” says the analyst.

“If Apple wants to launch iTV, the challenges of integrating content and service are more difficult considering the different TV content ecosystems (e.g. cable operators) in various countries.”

There’s also a matter of having a reliable supply chain for the product. Imagine the troubles Apple could run into if a supplier doesn’t deliver, say, enough 4K screens.

“Moreover, establishing an iTV supply chain is very costly. Thus we believe iTV launch will be delayed to end-2015 or early 2016 at the earliest,” writes Kuo.