Tim Cook at D11: Apple Television - There is a Grand Vision

apple_tv_interface_2012 At the D11: All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher sat down with Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask him questions on a number of topics. The discussion unsurprisingly included the much rumored Apple branded television set and the overall TV experience, which Cook said "could be better."

When questioned about whether or not content deals were holding up the possibility of an Apple television, Cook declined to comment, but he did reiterate that television is an area of intense interest for Apple.

I don't want to go into detail, but it continues to be an area of great interest for us. The product and relationships we've built provide a lot more knowledge than we would have otherwise. And popularity has been larger than we thought, and we aren't marketing it.

Cook again declined to comment when pressed once more about Apple's future television plans, but he did confirm that there is a "grand vision" in place.

After Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was published with a passage on Jobs' desire to revolutionize the television industry, speculation about a possible Apple "iTV" ramped up.

Rumors flew about the iTV throughout 2012, but slowed down towards the end of the year as no solid hints about the product materialized, and few additional details have emerged. Most recently, an April rumor suggested that a 60-inch iTV might launch in late 2013.

During the interview Cook also revealed that interest in the current Apple TV remains strong, with 13 million total set top boxes sold all together. Cook's full commentary can be found in our coverage, available here.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....

Top Rated Comments

iisdan Avatar
164 months ago
.

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch. All Apple can do is get a couple network deals and lay their UI on the TV experience. If they are allowed to BE the cable provider, it will be an improvement over the xbox and will be amazing, but we know that is not happening.

:apple:

I seriously hope we are not forced to buy a new TV either.

Microsoft never "beat them to the punch" they simply have fast switching between things. Cable/Satellite is outdated, I canceled my subscription 3 years ago, I don't want the hassle of having to watch things when they want to play it. The winner will be who can easily get to and play content the fastest & easiest
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFan782040 Avatar
164 months ago
Apps, apps, apps...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ctyrider Avatar
164 months ago
Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch.

Xbox didn't "beat" anyone to anything. Xbox was and still is a lousy TV platform - it is still controlling your Cable/Sat box with IR repeaters, like it's 2002. And it has no visibility to your DVR recording. This is not the future of TV, it's the past.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
irDigital0l Avatar
164 months ago
I agree with Cook - I really like my :apple:TV, but I don't love it, not the way I love iOS devices or macs. It's a good product, but the interface could be better (gotta drill down like 6 menus to get to a netflix show you want to watch), and, of course, it's still an auxiliary product, not a replacement for the TV interface provided by a cable provider. Good start, long way to go.

Xbox One is just like Google TV in regards to the TV portion.

Its not what people want.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maxosx Avatar
164 months ago
Well at least Cook is using new words to hype products.

"Grand Vision" is a refreshing change from "Magical & Revolutionary"
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xionxiox Avatar
164 months ago
.

Unfortunately for Tim, xbox one beat them to the punch. All Apple can do is get a couple network deals and lay their UI on the TV experience. If they are allowed to BE the cable provider, it will be an improvement over the xbox and will be amazing, but we know that is not happening.

:apple:

I seriously hope we are not forced to buy a new TV either.
I'm pretty sure the Xbox One is one of the most publicly hated announcements in Microsoft's history...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)