The frenzy surrounding Apple possibly entering the television market has been something of a constant, ever since Walter Isaacson revealed in Jobs’ biography that the late CEO claimed he’d “finally cracked” the concept – and that buzz only grew louder last night, as Apple CEO Tim Cook stated in an interview at the D11 conference that television is still a strong area of interest for Apple.
9to5Mac captures Cook’s statement in a direct quote from the interview:
This business has found many, many more customers that love the Apple TV experience. Great for customers and very good for an Apple learning point of view. Lots of us would agree that the TV space could be improved. I don’t want to go into more detail on this. There is a “very grand” vision for TV. I have nothing to announce, but it is an area of incredible interest.
[…] I don’t want to go into technical details. TV remains an area of great interest to us. The work we’ve done on current Apple TV provides more knowledge than what we would have without that product. The popularity of the Apple TV has been greater than expected. It is encouraging. The TV experience is not an experience that many people love. It’s not an experience that you would say has been brought to date for this decade. It is like the experience from 10, 20 years and go.
Tim Cook has been vocal about his fondness for the current Apple TV box on numerous occasions, although he also downloads the Apple TV as nothing more than a hobby for Apple – but given the growing popularity of the Apple TV, and the fact that the television market is absolutely ripe for disruption, how long can it remain a mere hobby?
Saying that Apple has a “grand vision” for television seems to be a bit stronger statement than calling the Apple TV a hobby, right? It’s not just me?
