Apple Testing TV Designs, Says Wall Street Journal
Don't jump out of your seats just yet - you're not going to be watching movies and videos on an HDTV made by Apple anytime soon, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Cupertino-based company is "moving closer to making" a TV set.
According to the report, Apple is working with suppliers in Asia on high-definition television designs. But - well, there are a few buts. "It isn't a formal project yet. It is still in the early stage of testing," a source told the Wall Street Journal's Lorraine Luk and Jessica Lessin. Additionally, they have evidence that Apple has been testing TV prototypes for "several years."
All that said, just last week Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is looking at the category of televisions with "intense interest." In an interview with NBC News, Cook said, "When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years. It's an area of intense interest. I can't say more than that." Apple declined to comment on today's Wall Street Journal's report.
It's no secret that Steve Jobs had his sights set on the living room and creating a new type of television set - one beyond the Apple TV box, which the company currently offers for $99.
"The only way this is going to change is if you start from scratch, tear up the box, redesign and get it to the consumer in a way that they want to buy it," Jobs said in 2008 at the AllThingsD conference.
And then from Walter Issacson's biography of Jobs: "It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."
From Cook's words and the recent reports, it certainly looks like Apple is working on putting those plans into action. Just don't expect it to arrive today or tomorrow.