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Tim Cook at D11: Apple Television - There is a Grand Vision

Tuesday May 28, 2013 6:40 pm PDT by Juli Clover
apple_tv_interface_2012 At the D11: All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher sat down with Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask him questions on a number of topics. The discussion unsurprisingly included the much rumored Apple branded television set and the overall TV experience, which Cook said "could be better."

When questioned about whether or not content deals were holding up the possibility of an Apple television, Cook declined to comment, but he did reiterate that television is an area of intense interest for Apple.
I don't want to go into detail, but it continues to be an area of great interest for us. The product and relationships we've built provide a lot more knowledge than we would have otherwise. And popularity has been larger than we thought, and we aren't marketing it.
Cook again declined to comment when pressed once more about Apple's future television plans, but he did confirm that there is a "grand vision" in place.

After Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was published with a passage on Jobs' desire to revolutionize the television industry, speculation about a possible Apple "iTV" ramped up.

Rumors flew about the iTV throughout 2012, but slowed down towards the end of the year as no solid hints about the product materialized, and few additional details have emerged. Most recently, an April rumor suggested that a 60-inch iTV might launch in late 2013.

During the interview Cook also revealed that interest in the current Apple TV remains strong, with 13 million total set top boxes sold all together. Cook's full commentary can be found in our coverage, available here.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12, tvOS 13
Tags: Tim Cook, Apple TV Guide
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
[ 81 comments ]


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iisdan
80 months ago

.

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch. All Apple can do is get a couple network deals and lay their UI on the TV experience. If they are allowed to BE the cable provider, it will be an improvement over the xbox and will be amazing, but we know that is not happening.

:apple:

I seriously hope we are not forced to buy a new TV either.


Microsoft never "beat them to the punch" they simply have fast switching between things. Cable/Satellite is outdated, I canceled my subscription 3 years ago, I don't want the hassle of having to watch things when they want to play it. The winner will be who can easily get to and play content the fastest & easiest
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
MacFan782040
80 months ago
Apps, apps, apps...
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
irDigital0l
80 months ago

I agree with Cook - I really like my :apple:TV, but I don't love it, not the way I love iOS devices or macs. It's a good product, but the interface could be better (gotta drill down like 6 menus to get to a netflix show you want to watch), and, of course, it's still an auxiliary product, not a replacement for the TV interface provided by a cable provider. Good start, long way to go.


Xbox One is just like Google TV in regards to the TV portion.

Its not what people want.
Rating: 5 Votes
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ctyrider
80 months ago

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch.


Xbox didn't "beat" anyone to anything. Xbox was and still is a lousy TV platform - it is still controlling your Cable/Sat box with IR repeaters, like it's 2002. And it has no visibility to your DVR recording. This is not the future of TV, it's the past.
Rating: 5 Votes
Avatar
iChrist
80 months ago
.

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch. All Apple can do is get a couple network deals and lay their UI on the TV experience. If they are allowed to BE the cable provider, it will be an improvement over the xbox and will be amazing, but we know that is not happening.

:apple:

I seriously hope we are not forced to buy a new TV either.
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
maxosx
80 months ago
Well at least Cook is using new words to hype products.

"Grand Vision" is a refreshing change from "Magical & Revolutionary"
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
xionxiox
80 months ago

.

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch. All Apple can do is get a couple network deals and lay their UI on the TV experience. If they are allowed to BE the cable provider, it will be an improvement over the xbox and will be amazing, but we know that is not happening.

:apple:

I seriously hope we are not forced to buy a new TV either.


I'm pretty sure the Xbox One is one of the most publicly hated announcements in Microsoft's history...
Rating: 4 Votes
Avatar
rizzo41999
80 months ago
Cook, you're so lame. Only iPad/iPhone updates, and one computer update (iMac) for the past two years. You're making Apple stale. Stop talking and more doing please.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
Renzatic
80 months ago

I'm pretty sure the Xbox One is one of the most publicly hated announcements in Microsoft's history...


Everything MS does is hated these days. They'll announce something new, people will proclaim it as crap on messageboards, and you'll see tons of 10 page writeups as to why MS is no longer relevant on various tech blogs.

Then word of mouth kicks in, and things start moving. It sells slowly at first, then picks up momentum, and after all is said and done, they've sold millions of the thing.

It's the way the tech world works. MS is the company who can do no right. Apple...well...they used to be the company who could do no wrong, but recently people have been beating on them almost as much as MS. Now Google is the new golden child. Pretty soon, MS'll do something neat enough to really get everyone's attention, and will be the heralded as the scrappy billion dollar underdog.
Rating: 3 Votes
Avatar
osofast240sx
80 months ago
I can't remember the last time I turned my cable box on. Right now Hulu and Netflix is all I need.
Rating: 2 Votes

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