Apple HDTV Next Year?

In Steve Jobs’ biography it was revealed that he had “cracked it”. “It” of course, being the TV interface that we’ve known our whole lives.

So, what could this mean for us?  Well I think that if Apple does go into the HDTV market it would change the way we use TV’s today.  No one can argue the impact Apple has had on just about every market they’ve entered.  The lone exception to this is their own Apple TV media box.  Competitors are definitely more feature-filled iwith the ability to playback files or view other forms on media on them.

iOS is the reason why our TV viewing will be changing if Apple goes into this market.  I love the iOS interface.  It just makes sense.  Anyone can pick up an iPhone or iPod Touch and use it, and that’s because you tell it what you want it to do with the touchscreen interface.  In the TV world, a touchscreen just wouldn’t make sense.  However, Apple has recently introduced us to Siri, our personal assistant to anyone who gets an iPhone 4S.  At the momnet, Siri can type messages and manage your calendar.  Imagine controlling your TV with a one-button only remote?  Think about how many people stare at a remote looking for the stupid power button.   With Siri you only need the one button to activate her.  From that point, it’s a matter of telling her what you want to watch or what volume to set the TV to.  Right now, in Siri’s beta form, you can ask Siri almost anything and she’ll understand it -or at least try to figure out what you mean by asking you some more questions.  It just works.  I think that is ultimately what Apple is bringing us with their devices.  They just work.

The only issue that I can see with them coming into the television market is their price.  Right now, they sell their 27″ or 30″ Cinema Displays for around $1,000.  If they enter the TV market, how many people would be able to afford getting this amazing product?  Much less than those who can afford to buy their PC products, thats for certain.  The high end TV market isn’t something that people get into.  Most are content with just picking up a cheaper $600 Vizio rather than its $1500 Samsung counterpart.  With the Apple HDTV, I’m expecting a $2,000 price range.  I don’t know of anyone who actually spends that on a TV.  That’s not saying that no one does, just that out of my entire circle of family and friends, no one does.

So would Apple go into a market that won’t sell extremely well?  They do with their Mac Pro desktop systems.  I would actually think that going into the high end TV business would be ok for them.  If they can get a 32 inch TV out for $1000, then maybe people would be enticed to get it over a $500 Vizio that doesn’t look nearly as nice.  Who knows.  Now, if they could get these TV’s out for $699…well then the whole TV market would have to change.  Of course Apple does some nice things with their technology, but they always stop just short of the point of hitting it perfectly.  I see that happening with the pricing.