It’s not exactly a secret that Apple has explored the possibility of building a television. Before his death in 2011, co-founder Steve Jobs famously told biographer Walter Isaacson that he’d “finally cracked it,” but no full-fledged Apple TV (as opposed to the Apple TV set-top box) has emerged in the years since.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple went as far as building full-scale prototypes with a large display that could also serve as a touchscreen Mac or iPad. But Apple eventually halted the project after examining the TV market and deciding not to compete in a low-margin business where consumers rarely buy new products. Also an issue: high costs.
The company reportedly considered the TV idea again in 2019, as it was considering paths forward for Apple TV, but it decided instead to bring its app and streaming subscription to televisions made by other companies.
Now, with the company developing a number of smart home devices (including a wall-mounted tablet), Gurman reports that a full-fledged Apple TV is once again on the table — though executives could be dissuaded once again by those same market and cost factors.