The Apple Television set is better known by its official name, “iTV”. The first prototype was designed in 2002 but has seen more than 100 revisions since the first concept.
iTV has a 108” curved OLED 8K super high definition display. According to Apple’s internal training document for employees, “the iTV is designed to be the digital hub of your automated home”. iTV will allow users to instantly purchase products, sign up for subscriptions, and learn more about the products being advertised in commercials with just a single tap on any of their iDevices. Your iTV will be controlled by your iPhone, iPad, and iWatch, and will come with its own App Store similar to the one on the aforementioned 3 products. More than 17 iTV specific Apps have already been developed by companies such as EA, Amazon, Skype, and Pandora, allowing users to easily play games, shop, chat, and listen to music.
In its recent earnings report, Apple is expecting iTV sales to contribute $8 billion of revenue in Fiscal Year 2016 from hardware sales alone.
The device is set to go on sale in Mid-2015 at a starting price of $2,999. Apple has announced preorders will begin January 2, 2015. For more information about iTV, please visit apple.com.
Edan Carignan