Once again, the rumors regarding the launch of some Apple products are true, but this time we are talking about the TV that was supposed to be developed by the company. It seems that Apple has already discussed with some US media companies about the launch of a television called iTV that would have an integrated control function using simple voice commands. The information comes from those from Wall Street Journal so there is some truth behind them, especially since Walter Isaacson would have declared a few months ago that Steve Jobs would have discovered, before he died, the secret of developing a "magical" television.
The Apple television set is said to be very reliant on the cloud, something we've heard before, in order to download (and likely stream) television shows, movies, and other content. There does not seem to be a large differentiating factor here from the $99 Apple TV set-top-box, but this content component is just the surface of the TV set.
Apple is looking at new forms of interaction with not only TV sets but with mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. These new ways of interacting with technology include voice and movements. The voice aspect (Siri) is something we've heard in reports before and movement is something that Apple has been prototyping for a while now. The Siri component would be used to change channels and search for content.
The new television designed by Apple would: allow watching movies, TV shows via iTunes (useless in Romania); allow users to control it using voice commands, iDevices as a remote control and gestures; allow users to use the AirPlay feature that would give anyone the ability to start watching a movie on a TV and continue watching it on an iDevice. Of course, the new TV from Apple will have many great functions, but in Romania half of them will be completely useless without the adjacent services of the company from Cupertino.
Apple is also said to be working on an enhanced version of AirPlay that allows a user to start watching video content on a television, for example, and pickup the video on their mobile device. This would be the opposite of the current AirPlay solution where someone starts watching content on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and continues via streaming to their Apple TV box. The WSJ says this may simply be an Apple TV box feature, not exclusive to the set.
The report also says late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been an advocate for controlling the Apple TV box with iOS devices (via the App Store Remote application), so we'll likely see the Apple TV set being controlled with iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches versus a standalone remote control.
Apple's iTV is real, the company is working on it and it is possible that in 2012 we will have it available on the market.
