Purported spy shots of an Apple-made TV set have surfaced on social media
Unverified photos of what appears to be a 60-inch Apple TV set are being passed around on Wednesday.
They were posted by iPhone concept drawing designer and Apple fan Benjamin Geskin, who cited a Chinese-language post on Weibo as his source.
The four photos, which are unusually blurry, appear to show a large display with squared-off edges. According to the original Weibo post, the device has cameras, too.
The photo shows a TV set with an Apple logo that appears to be going through wireless verification testing, which is typically one of the last steps before a device is released to the public.
Apple has not released a TV display for decades. A few years ago, an all-in-one Apple TV set was regularly rumored, partially due to a passage in Walter Issacson's biography of late CEO Steve Jobs as well as persistent industry chatter.
"Apple didn't officially kill the project to make televisions, according to people familiar with the matter. The team was disbanded with members sent off to work with different product areas, they said."
Instead, Apple's focused on its set-top box strategy, which it has called a "hobby." Apple has also been working on bankrolling high-quality TV shows, according to the Wall Street Journal. It may spend as much as $1 billion per year on original content.
Meanwhile, Apple's closest manufacturing partner, Foxconn, recently announced a plant in Wisconsin that will build high-resolution LCD screens, which are expected to go into Sharp-branded TV sets. Apple has never been officially linked to the announced factory, but President Donald Trump has hinted that Apple was involved when he said that CEO Tim Cook had promised him "three big plants."
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