Rumors of an Apple-branded television set were revived earlier this year by a former Apple executive, and we've long seen similar claims in the past. The frequency of these rumors, however, seems to be increasing, now with Venturebeat pointing to multiple sources suggesting the same.
Venture capitalist Stewart Alsop who sits on the board of Sonos and was an early investor in TiVo told the site that "he has heard multiple sources throughout Silicon Valley that the Apple television project is underway."
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also cites component suppliers as well as an internal Apple source to suggest the same -- that Apple is planning on launching a television in the 2012/2013 timeframe. Munster isn't the only analyst who has predicted an Apple television, and we've heard whispers from others.
It seems that momentum is picking up for rumors that Apple is heading into the television marketplace. Yet as recently as 2010, now Apple CEO Tim Cook had said that Apple had no interest in the TV market, but did feel there is "something there" to the Apple TV, Apple's $99 set-top-box. Later that year, Steve Jobs had also outlined the challenges of infiltrating the television industry.
Jobs, of course, had also denied that Apple had any interest in producing an Apple cell phone back in 2003, four years prior to the launch of the original iPhone.
Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by Juli Clover
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week.
Past Launch Dates
Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC.
Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple.
Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...
Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop.
Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch.
According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by Tim Hardwick
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020.
If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 3:30 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic.
Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation,...
So what's the point? Just integrating an Apple TV in a TV? Given the rate of change of technology, I prefer my TV to just be a dumb display - it's easy enough to swap $99 external boxes as technology improves, and a lot harder to replace 50+" TV's every couple years.
I'd love to be wowed, but I just can't see where they'd go with this. As others have said, I don't want to replace my giant TV frequently to keep up with computing tech--and even if Apple puts what amounts to an iMac in the back of a big TV, there will always be something better next year.
What would really sell it would be a compelling alternative to the horror of existing TV distribution through cable/satellite and DVRs--but Apple could do that already through the Apple TV box. Again, as others have said, the problem there is completely unrelated to technology: It's destroying and rebuilding the video distribution business model.
I don't really need Angry Birds, Twitter or Facebook on my TV. I'm not sure how I'd control those apps with a seven-button remote anyway. From a couch potato's perspective, I'd want to sit down, open up my entertainment queue, and immediately start watching relevant shows. Apple doesn't need to build a TV to achieve this, they can do it right now with the existing Apple TV hardware.
This is idiotic. They're getting down in the dirt in a commodity business and their software advantage will be minimal. TVs are already simple enough to use.
Meh. I can't see Apple getting into the TV business just for the hell of it. If/when they do, they'd have to offer something that provides a compelling advantage to other TVs and fits in with their larger business model. A TV with a built-in Apple TV won't cut it.
Rumors of an Apple-branded television set were revived earlier this year by a former Apple executive, and we've long seen similar claims in the past. The frequency of these rumors, however, seems to be increasing, now with Venturebeat pointing to multiple sources suggesting the same. 
