A few months ago rumors started circulating on the Internet that Apple was working on a new product that would merge its iOS operating system inside a television. Now Venture Beat reports via unnamed sources that the Apple television project is still ongoing but that the actual product launch won't happen until sometime in late 2012 or even early 2013. This is in contrast to previous rumors that had the Apple television coming out as early as this fall.
Apple has previously released the AppleTV set-top box which streams iTunes purchased videos of TV shows and movies to a TV along with Netflix streaming support and more. However that product has never been a huge sales success for Apple and is considered to be a "hobby" for the company. The Apple television project, on the other hand, is more ambitious. The article says that a TV with iOS installed inside would do more than just show video. It would also be able to things like run iOS apps, check your ongoing schedule, play games and more. Venture capitalist Stewart Alsop speculates that one of the reasons why an iOS-based TV hasn't launched yet is due to the current high costs of LCD screens.
Google has already tried to launch a similar project with Google TV with television makers like Sony releasing TVs with the Google TV operating system inside as well as inside set-top boxes. However so far the public hasn't embraced the Google TV concept. Recently Google announced that it will release an update to Google TV that would make it compatible with its Android operating system and allow app makers to create programs specifically for Google TV.
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