Apple HDTV is Dead; Apple Ditched Plans 'More than a year ago'

dgstorm · May 19, 2015

We have some sad news to share for folks who were holding out hope for an Apple HDTV product. Apparently, Apple already shelved any plans to bring an Apple-branded HDTV product to market, and they did so more than a year ago. The Wall Street Journal recently shared this terrible revelation in a new piece which reveals the reasons why Apple chose to ditch the Apple TV Display idea. It turns out that they had very good, logical reasons for doing so.

First, let's talk about what Apple was planning. According to the intel revealed in the report,

In the mid-2000s, it created a prototype display that was transparent, like a pane of glass, when turned off but used lasers to display an image when turned on, according to a person familiar with the matter. That technology never made it past the research phase because it used an enormous amount of power and the image quality was poor.

There were several other reasons why Apple chose to abandon the project. Here's another quote with a few details,

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.

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.

When you consider that Apple's main business model relies on disrupting markets where there is already a lack of innovation, it actually makes sense that the Cupertino clan would skip the HDTV world. Apple was able to conquer the MP3 market, the smartphone market and the tablet market because the segment was relatively empty and devoid of fresh ideas and creative capabilities.

Trying to break into the HDTV hardware world would be an uphill battle for Apple because manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Sony and others already have a massive foothold and are on the cutting edge of technology constantly. TVs are also a very low margin industry, which is something that Apple tends to shy away from.

When analyzing things with these factors in mind, it's no wonder Apple decided to skip the idea. Perhaps something might change in the future, but we wouldn't hold our breath. If Apple did anything in this arena it might be the upcoming VR headset markets which are starting to catch a consumer foothold.

What do you think of Apple's decision to stay out of HDTVs?