Apple may give us a glimpse at the future of television (as the Cupertino company sees it) via a refresh to the iMac line which, according to Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair, will boast TV capabilities for the first time.Blair made his claims in a research note on Apple in which he asserted that the next version of the iMac, supposedly launching in the first half of 2012, will include new TV functionality.
According to Forbes’ Eric Savitz, who obtained a copy of the research note in question, this way the desktop Mac would act as a bridge to Apple’s ultimate goal of creating a full-fledged television - something also rumored by prominent Wall Street analysts for some time now.
The new iMacs would be even slimmer, and they would integrate Apple TV and iCloud features, according to the Wedge Partners analyst.
Blair specifically noted: “We think this makes sense because while we typically think about the newest TV’s hanging on the wall in large form factors, Apple could effectively start with what they already have on the manufacturing line and slowly push their offering from 27 inches and scale up from there to 32 inches and then move on to the 42, 50 and 55 inch market. In short, we believe the initial Apple TV is their iMac computer that can function as a TV, over the iCloud platform.”
In related news, an Australian newspaper recently reported that Apple’s Japanese partners have been
given the green light to start producing two new Apple TV models that would act as full-fledged solutions, as opposed to the current black-box offering labeled by Apple as its ‘hobby’.
Some say the Apple television is on track to launch early next year, others see it released only towards the end of 2012. Some researchers are betting on 2013.
Despite these inconsistencies in several analyst reports, most of them agree that Apple’s HD TV solution will integrate the company’s A-series of chips and Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant app, as the remote control.
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