Home Apple Will Not Build A TV, Says Former Exec Jean-Louis Gassee

Apple Will Not Build A TV, Says Former Exec Jean-Louis Gassee

Yes, TV as it exists today is awful. Yes, Apple could make it better. But Apple will not build a TV and the persistent rumors are nothing more than an “enduring fantasy.”

This is what former Apple executive and top Apple watcher Jean-Louis Gassee says in this week’s Monday Note.

Gassee argues that Apple has no intention of building an actual TV set and will simply create a successor to the Apple TV hockey puck or a set-top box — something separate from the TV itself.

His reasoning: “To realize the dream, as discussed previously, you need to put a computer — something like an Apple TV module — inside the set. Eighteen months later, as Moore’s Law dictates, the computer is obsolete but the screen is just fine. No problem, you’ll say, just make the computer module removable, easily replaced by a new one; more revenue for Apple … and you’re right back to today’s separate box arrangement.”

But maybe Apple fanatics would somehow rationalize the idea of buying an entirely new TV every three years or so and paying a few thousand bucks for it. 

There was a time, not so long ago, when nobody could imagine buying a new mobile phone every year, but now that happens all the time, especially among Apple fans. 

What do you think? Is Gassee right? Will Apple build an actual TV? If it doesn’t, what does this mean for Apple’s future?

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