Apple long held ambitions to make televisions, but the company ultimately gave up on those ambitions sometime in the last decade, deciding it simply wouldn’t be profitable enough to bother with.
But now, the company is reportedly rekindling its TV ambitions, according to a new report that suggests its “seriously reconsidering” its previous decision not to create an Apple-branded TV set.
The turnaround may seem surprising. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, there were endless rumours that Apple was developing its very own TV set. It was reportedly Steve Jobs himself who initiated the project, and he confirmed the plans were true in his authorised biography written by Walter Isaacson and published in 2011.
Many of the rumours from around those times suggested Apple was looking to build a television with an OLED display, and there were even lab photos published that appeared to confirm such a concept.
However, a concept was all that it would ever remain, for Apple ultimately decided not to build a TV, due to the extreme competitiveness in the industry. Instead, it launched the Apple TV media box, together with the tvOS operating system. Since then, it has also introduced its Apple TV+ streaming service and the AirPlay 2 wireless technology for mirroring content from Apple iPhones to TVs.
Now, Bloomberg says Apple is now “evaluating” once again whether or not to make a real television, as opposed to another Apple TV media box. That means the plans are not confirmed, but there are good reasons to think the company might decide to go ahead after all, and additional reasons to think the project won’t be abandoned this time around.
Few will doubt that Apple has the expertise needed to build its own television, but the question is why would it want to? And privacy could be the answer.
These days, privacy has become a rare thing on most televisions. It’s well known that most streaming services and TV operating system providers double as surveillance operations that monitor our viewing habits and record them all for purposes of advertising and targeted recommendations. Surveillance technology is staple in virtually every smart TV made today.
It used to be that you just bought a TV, and that was it. But these days, the consumer is the product, because once they purchase that TV they’re constantly farmed for their viewing data, which is then monetized by the company in question.
On the other hand, Apple has created a reputation for ensuring that its product buyers have their privacy, even go as far as to threaten Facebook’s business model with one of its most famous privacy-focused iPhone updates, which prevented the social media giant from tracking its users.
If Apple were to introduce a privacy-focused television, it would likely appeal to a lot of consumers.
Moreover, there’s a second advantage an Apple TV could provide. The company is known for supporting older devices for years to come, so if you did purchase an Apple television, you’ll probably receive software updates far longer than you would if you bought an Android TV set.
For instance, the Apple TV HD from 2015 recently received the latest tvOS version. How many other nine-year old TV devices are still receiving updates? We’d wager, very few.
On the other hand, consumers would probably have to pay a high price for an Apple television. The company only ever makes premium quality devices, so whatever TV it came up with would certainly have high-end, high-priced technology – perhaps a QD-OLED or even a MicroLED display, with all the latest bells and whistles on top, meaning it would almost certainly have a high price tag.
But then again, that hasn’t prevented Apple from enjoying enormous success in most other industries it competes in, with its iPhones, iPads and MacBooks consistently among the best-selling smartphones, tablets and personal computers.
