Even though iPhone and iPad stories have powered the Apple rumour mill for quite some time, a completely new device is set to fuel even more speculation. A new report claims that Apple is currently in the process of building a prototype television set which could launch as early as late 2012.
Hearsay regarding an Apple TV set has been circling for some time but nothing substantial has ever come to fruition. However, details from Steve Jobs' authorised biography, various analyst notes and sources close to Asian component suppliers suggest a prototype is 'in the works'.
Author of Jobs' book Walter Isaacson said Apple's co-founder told him: “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.”
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Fortune also revealed that Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray disclosed a note to investors in September that sub-contractors were busy working on a test model. “We believe Apple is investing in manufacturing facilities and securing supply for LCD displays. These displays could range from 3.5" mobile displays to 50" television displays,” said Munster. “More recently, in Sept-11 we met with a contact close to an Asian component supplier who indicated that prototypes of an Apple television are in the works.”
Munster believes that the potential set would be released late 2012 and would add around three percent to Apple's revenue the following year. A predicted 220 million flat panel TVs will be sold in 2012, around 48 percent of these connected to the Internet, and Munster claims Apple will contribute to this figure with 1.4 million television sets.
Obviously nothing is confirmed yet, but a possible Apple television set featuring Siri voice control to search and manage for content in addition to iCloud services is a very exciting prospect.
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