Tim Cook’s 'One more thing': Apple TV rumor-stoker
Nebulous product refuses to die ... or live
Apple CEO Tim Cook has dropped the tiniest of hints about the company’s ongoing interest in televisions.
Cook gave an interview to NBC's Brian Williams, portions of which can be seen here, in which he reportedly says, "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," adding "It's an area of intense interest. I can't say more than that." The full interview will air a few hours after The Reg clicks Publish on this article.
The tease comes after Apple, as we noted earlier today, announced that it will make some Macs in the USA. That decision, which will cost Cupertino $100m – pocket change, given that it's sitting on a cash mountain billions of dollars high – is placed in context during the interview as Williams explores familiar memes of American businesses having a duty to nourish the nation that birthed them, rather than using cheaper offshore manufacturers.
Cook deflects those arguments by pointing out that plenty of iParts are made in iMerica America, and paints Apple as being as American as hamburgers pizza apple pie.
Whether an Apple TV will enjoy that status is of course entirely unknowable, as is whether Apple really wants to make one or just enjoys playing with the minds of TV manufacturers, fanbois, and securities analysts wondering just how the company will continue to grow at the manic pace it has achieved over the last few years.
One thing that is certain is that by even mentioning Apple's interest in televisions, Cook has given those who like nothing more than circulating Apple rumors reason to start calling obscure east Asian factories, diving into Cupertino dumpsters, and rifling through patent filings.
It's an area of intense interest. The Reg can say no more than that. ®
COMMENTS
Re: What would I do if I was running Apple's TV project
Quote: 'tuners (too much localisation work) so input by HDMI'
Yeah HDMI I'm certain that apple wont ditch that for their own proprietary connection then sell you a $100 adapter.
Re: As American as...
Pumpkin pie!
As American as pumpkin pie.
Has the right sort of ring to it, seems fitting and is actually factually accurate... although not being a pie at all of course it also conveys profound stupidity... perfect?
Re: As American as...
Indeed, the apple isn't even native to the Americas: it was brought over by European colonists. There are documented recipes for apple pie in England that date back to around 1390, years before the Americas were originally colonised. So neither the apple, nor the pie, are even remotely "American".
Ironically, the Chicago-style "deep dish pizza" is an American invention. You will not find such pizzas in Italy. It's the Chicken Tikka Masala of pizzas.
"As American as pizza pie" would therefore be better than the utterly bizarre "...apple pie" version, but I can't help thinking that "As American as corn flakes" is better. (The more generic "breakfast cereal" doesn't work, thanks to the existence of both Scotland and porridge.)
Why?
Normal people buy a TV maybe once every ten or so years. There are a lot of players in that market, and margins are wafer thin. Also, TVs are not personal devices: nobody knows or cares what brand of TV you have at home.
This is not Apple's normal playground, and I wonder if they know the rules.
