Steve Jobs on an Apple Television: No Need for 'All These Complicated Remote Controls'

bits applesiri blog480The New York Times publishes an interview with Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson which among other topics may touch a bit further on Apple's plans for a connected television set.

Isaacson had quoted Jobs in his biography as saying that he had "finally cracked" the difficulties in building an Apple television set, describing "the simplest user interface you could imagine" and iCloud integration for content. In the wake of the book's release, it was reported that Apple is indeed working on a Siri-enabled TV, an innovation that would fit with Jobs' description of his rethinking of the television.

The new interview with Isaacson suggests that input methods were indeed one of Jobs' primary concerns regarding a TV set, lending credence to the idea of a Siri-enabled device.

I didn’t go into details about these products in the book because it was implicitly Apple’s creations and it’s not fair to the company to reveal these details. But, he did talk about the television. He told me he’d “licked it” and once said, “There’s no reason you should have all these complicated remote controls.”

Essentially reiterating comments shared last week at a Fortune meeting, Isaacson notes that beyond television, Jobs was also working on textbooks and photography as his next areas of focus, but it remains to be seen whether and how Apple pursues those areas of exploration without Jobs at the helm.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
tvOS 18 Feature

Apple Releases tvOS 18.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.5, the latest version of the tvOS operating system. tvOS 18.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.5 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

WSJ: Apple Weighing Price Hikes for iPhone 17 Lineup Without Blaming Tariffs

Monday May 12, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
Apple is considering raising prices for its upcoming iPhone 17 models set to release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly aims to pair the potential price hikes with new features and design changes to justify the increased cost to consumers, rather than attributing them to U.S. tariffs on goods from China. The...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Expected This Week With These New Features

Monday May 12, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 18.5 to the general public this week. While the software update is relatively minor, it still includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.5. Pride Wallpaper Apple recently announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face,...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.5, the fifth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched last September. macOS Sequoia 15.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia 15.5‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run ...
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...

Top Rated Comments

KnightWRX Avatar
176 months ago
How does an Apple Siri based TV solve the "multiple" remote problem ? My TV only has 1 remote, the others are for the different boxes that hook up to the TV...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hastings101 Avatar
176 months ago
I must be one of the only people that thinks talking to my TV would be a lot more work than just pushing a button on a remote control lol
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
176 months ago
WHole point of this tv is to remove all said "different boxes". Just stop and think about it. A TV that would NEVER need anything attached other than ethernet.

So Apple is planning on giving me Blu-ray, PS3, Xbox360, a complete 7.1 DTS sound receiver with speaker hook-ups and HDMI switching in their Apple TV set ?

Talk about a nightmare... having to upgrade this 3000$ TV each time I wanted to upgrade one part of the setup.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
c3pa Avatar
176 months ago
Can HE just be revived, or cloned, or something?

Guys like JOBS should live 200 or 300 years at least.

THAT would be a game changer. Revolution every couple of years. Joy in products, technology dreams, great - INSANELY GREAT stuff.

Now imagine if we're left with only GATES and BALMERS.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eidorian Avatar
176 months ago
It's about time. Remote controls for TVs are very complicated, and there are so many of them (TV, DVR, cable, etc.).

What's complicated with pressing a power button the changing the channel or the volume. Talking to your t.v is dumb. "Change channel" "The increase volume" "The go to channel 434". What a joke.
The number is the problem and not the complexity.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
joneill55 Avatar
176 months ago
The downside with a Siri-enabled TV set is that it would need to be smart enough to realize when you are just talking while the show is going so that it will not do any unexpected commands. I'd also imagine that you'd need a quiet room in order to speak to the TV set. Even with dual-noise canceling microphones it would still be strained.


Somehow I gotta believe they've figured this one out :-)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)