Apple could be producing the final prototypes of its smart TV in a factory in China.
A report from First Financial Daily suggests that Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory has received orders from Apple, and that the plant is currently carrying out a trial production run. A trial production run usually involves manufacturing high-quality prototypes for Apple to carry out its final tests on.
Earlier prototypes were also reportedly spotted in early May, with sources claiming that the television set closely resembles a larger Apple monitor. The report claimed that the HDTV will have a built in iSight camera for FaceTime, facial recognition, and the ability to follow users when they move around a room.
The Apple television set has been one of the most talked about unreleased products from the company of the past year, following the revelation in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs that the late Apple co-founder had been interested in an integrated television set. “It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine,” Isaacson quotes Jobs as saying. “I finally cracked it.”
On Monday, we reported that the Apple television set could feature seamless Siri integration, allowing users to control their TV via their iPhone from wherever they are.
Apple’s smart TV could also have an iTunes-integrated touchscreen remote control and a motion controlled games console.
As for a release date, it seems that it could be any time between now and 2014, according to various analysts.
However, earlier in May, Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves told clients that they should be sceptical about the Apple TV set, claiming that Apple wouldn’t waste the retail space, and that there is little chance of the company doing a deal with US broadcast and cable providers. So, perhaps the rumoured product won't be released at all.
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Aryugaetu said on Tue, 29 May 2012
I agree that none of it makes sense, especially for Apple. Unless they produce a break-through monitor, all they need is a revolutionary version of the existing Apple TV box. But for such an animal, they would need to circumvent all of the cable and lame video content providers with something nearing the equivalent of an independent satellite broadcast system.
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