Apple Television: Are They Aiming Too High?

In the recently published bio of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson described the ambitious future plans for an Apple-branded television. For several years now, Apple has been producing the Apple TV entertainment device. Considering their focus on consumer products, it’s a good strategic move but the real question is should they actually build and sell a television.

Apple is famous for reinventing the wheel and making a killing doing it. The plan to use the Siri technology from the iPhone 4S is a great decision. It’s still new, and will have some growing pains. But the ability to speak in plain English to your video entertainment device is a big step. Before VCRs went extinct, there were plenty of people that couldn’t get the display to stop flashing 12:00. Reducing the complexity of using an entertainment system is a major step forward.

The displays that Apple uses in its products are excellent. The Apple Cinema displays are stunning. But they’re also quite expensive. You can buy a similar monitor from a competing manufacturer for less than half the price. Unless Apple provides some amazing incentive in terms of features and service, it’s possible that an overpriced TV product from them will not sell very well–especially not in an over-stressed economy.