Apple TV is not going to happen in the near future. At least that’s what Andy Hargreaves, analyst for Pacific Crest, brought up in an update from his recent chat with a couple of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) executives.
His recent chat included Peter Oppeinheimer (Apple’s chief financial officer) and Eddy Cue (senior vice president for internet services and software).
The report stated “Relative to the television market. Eddy Cue, Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services, reiterated the company’s mantra that it will enter markets where it feels it can create great customer experiences and address key problems. The key problems in the television market are the poor quality of the user interface and the forced bundling of pay TV content, in our view.”
Hargreaves added, “Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could almost certainly create a better user interface. Cue’s commentary suggested that this would be an incomplete solution from Apple’s perspective unless it could deliver content in a way that is different from the current multichannel pay TV model.”
This report isn’t really surprising as we’ve speculated that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is more likely to create a new way to deliver a content ecosystem.
Contrary to Hargreaves statements, other analysts still think Apple television is a real possibility. Gene Munster and Douglas J. Clinton from Piper Jaffray are confident that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release their television set somewhere between the middle to the end of 2013. They predict the TV could be anywhere from a 42 inch to 55 inch model, and could retail anywhere between $1,500 to $2,000.
A week or so ago, it was reported that Apple was in talks with cable provides to create an Apple brand box-set, which would let them watch television and stream content. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that cable companies would agree to such a box, as it would likely entice customers to stream more content and use less pay-per-view services.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may release a television set one day, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon. The good news is that Apple probably wants to enhance their current Apple TV box. The possibilities are endless, but I predict they will eventually find a way to merge iPad technology with Apple TV for a simplistic executive.
