Apple's TV set plans were reportedly shelved over a year ago

Apple's TV set plans were reportedly shelved over a year ago

<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p class="intro">The long-running saga of the unannounced but long-rumored Apple television may have met a quiet end a year ago.</p> <p>Apple's long been rumored (and pressured by certain investors and analysts) to enter the television market with a proper Apple Television. But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple shelved plans to put out their own camera-equipped UHD display more than a year ago, despite nearly a decade of research and development.</p>  <p>What reportedly led Apple to reportedly pull the plug (again, this is a project that's never been publicly confirmed or really even hinted at in anything other than oblique references to "new product categories" — which could be anything)? A lack of differentiating features and a cutthroat retail market:</p>

<p>Apple had searched for breakthrough features to justify building an Apple-branded television set, those people said. In addition to an ultra-high-definition display, Apple considered adding sensor-equipped cameras so viewers could make video calls through the set, they said.</p> <p>Ultimately, though, Apple executives didn't consider any of those features compelling enough to enter the highly competitive television market, led by Samsung Electronics Co. Apple typically likes to enter a new product area with innovative technology and easier-to-use software.</p>

<p>It's worth noting that even if Apple is done with television displays, there's no reason to expect that they're completely putting TV behind them. The Apple TV set-top box is one of the leading devices of its type, and Apple's iTunes television and movie stores lead the purchase model of content delivery and consumption. Late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs was quoted in the Walter Issacson biography that Apple had "finally cracked" the problems that plagued the smart TV interface (though we've yet to see a major rethink in TV interfaces from Apple or any other TV manufacturer since the 2011 publishing of that biography).</p> <p>Regardless, if the Wall Street Journal's sources pan out, it seems we're not likely to see an Apple TV set any time soon. But perhaps a new Apple TV box is waiting in the wings instead.</p> <p>Source: Wall Street Journal</p> </div></div></div><img width='1' height='1' src='