Is Apple About to Launch a Television?
It was revealed earlier this week that Apple will be helping Foxconn, one of their main suppliers, upgrade their factory to provide employees with better working conditions.
One of the main problems was due to the surge in demand for labor caused when Apple launched a new product. So you can perhaps understand concern on behalf of Foxconn about the potential for new Apple product launches, but airing those beliefs in public is probably not what Apple would have chosen.
Yet that is what Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou allegedly did in the China Daily newspaper today. Apple Insider reveals that Gou told the newspaper that Foxconn are preparing their factories to build an Apple television.
Gou apparently said that his company was "making preparations" for an Apple TV, but no manufacturing has begun yet. The device was referred to as the "iTV", although it seems unlikely that this will be the official name as there is already a television station in Britain called ITV.
The rumors suggested that the TV will feature Siri as well as FaceTime video calling. The news is perhaps not that surprising as Foxconn recently took a 10% state in television maker Sharp for $808 million, with analysts believing the deal would allow both companies to manufacture television sets for Apple.
Specifically, it was suggested that Apple could be interested in using Sharp's technology to produce Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) panels for its forthcoming television set.
Rumors of an Apple TV have been rumbling for several months, since the late Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he had 'cracked' the secret to a television fit to carry the Apple name.
Analysts have been divided in speculating whether such a device will launch this year or at some point in the future.
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