Apple Evaluating Development of Its Own TV Set Alongside Upcoming Smart Home Devices: Mark Gurman

Apple is considering the development of its own TV set, according to details shared by Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman. The possibility of an Apple-branded TV set was mentioned in his weekly Power On newsletter, where he discussed Apple’s purported smart home hub, which is said to arrive as a wall-mounted device. The Apple TV box (with tvOS) competes with similar devices that run on Android TV OS and Fire OS, but the company is yet to introduce its own TV set.

Apple TV Set Could Compete With Offerings From Popular TV Manufacturers

Gurman writes that Apple is “evaluating” the development of an “Apple-branded TV set” in his newsletter, which suggests that the company is at a very early stage. However, MacRumors points out that this is not the first time that word of Apple’s plans to make its own TV have surfaced online — the company was rumoured to be developing its own TV as early as 2009.

Apple’s purported TV set would arrive as part of several smart devices being developed by the company, according to Gurman. The journalist previously revealed that the first of these devices would be a wall-mounted smart home hub that could control other devices and offer support for features like video calling.

However, Gurman says that if the smart home hub fails, Apple could “rethink its smart home ambitions once again”. The company is said to be working on a more advanced version of the smart home hub, equipped with a robotic arm, that could arrive with a higher $1,000 (roughly Rs. 84,400) price tag.

If the company is thinking of developing its own TV set, the company would face competition from several manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, LG, and Sharp — these firms offer a range of TVs across price models, while Apple can be expected to introduce a model with high-end specifications.

Apple’s TV set could also offer support for features available on its TV box that include Siri, HomeKit, and more. It’s currently unclear whether Apple will use the same operating system — tvOS — on the purported TV set.