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Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster finally admits he got it wrong on the Apple television

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Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who has confidently predicted the imminent arrival of a fully-fledged Apple television year after year, has finally admitted he was just making wild guesses mistaken in his analysis.

Faced with the WSJ‘s report that Apple had considered launching its own TV set but had dropped its plans a full year ago, Munster has issued a note entitled Facing The Reality of No Apple Television, reports Business Insider.

“Given how adamant we have been about the reality of an Apple television, it’s hard to accept the reality of no Apple television,” says Munster in his note. “Our latest thinking prior to this story was that Apple would launch a television in 2016. Based on this report, we no longer expect a television to launch indefinitely.”

We’ve been tracking Munster’s predictions that Apple would launch a television set either “this year” or “within a year” since early 2011, with repeats later that year, early 2012, late 2012, early 2013, a bit later in 2013 and – slightly more cautiously – late 2014. I’ve probably missed a few.

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Comments

  1. rgbfoundry - 9 years ago

    Toldyaso. As expensive as they are, TV screens are a commodity. Selling different sizes and features would be a nightmare, and so would lugging one into the Genius Bar for warranty support.

    • o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

      You do know they’re making a car right? Haha none of your reasons are why they didn’t make one. They didn’t make one because they couldn’t change it, they couldn’t move it much, they couldn’t change many peoples’ lives. With an Apple TV box, they can do that. It can be purchased and immediately transform any TV set into their vision of the 21st century living room, meaning they can change nearly everyone’s lives.

    • acslater017 - 9 years ago

      The commodity thing is probably accurate (although Apple could differentiate somewhat on content, UI, and design).

      With respect, the rest of that doesn’t stand up though. They already sell and service large items like the 21/27-inch iMac, Cinema Display, and old Mac Pro tower. Heck, people wheel their iMacs in on a cart just for a One to One training session. Inventorying multiple SKUs and handling large items isn’t really the issue.

  2. Steffen Baensch - 9 years ago

    I’ll be there at WWDC next month. Too much denial is suspicious.

  3. Luis Alejandro Masanti - 9 years ago

    Just the day after Icahn says that Apple will release a TV set on 2016… Munster admits he was wrong?
    What is happening here?
    Icahn is bullying on Apple? Of course, but with the TV (2016) and the car (2020)?

  4. Its great to hear that he admitted he was wrong and that he was just guessing, but i have been looking forward to an actual TV from Apple for years. Its the only reason i have not gotten a new TV. I don’t need a new TV yet, thankfully i was able to fix my TV when it broke about a year and a half ago and then again about 9 months ago, but i have had a feeling that its going to break and be unfixable eventually. Its a Sony Bravia from 2008 or 2009, so its not that old, but i’m hoping that Apple will have a TV out within the next few years, i don’t care about the size as long as its 32 inches or bigger, i just want all of my stuff to work together, including my TV, and hopefully i won’t need a cable box with this TV if it becomes a reality!

  5. Steve Grenier - 9 years ago

    It’s a cold day in hell.

  6. sunhou - 9 years ago

    It’d be pretty funny if now that Muster has backed off, Apple finally releases a TV this year.

  7. Guy Clapperton - 9 years ago

    Thing is, all you have to do is hook up your iPad to a modern TV’s USB port or link an Apple TV box to the TV set (or anything with the right input) and you have an Apple television. Therefore they don’t need one.

    • o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

      An iPad hooked up to a TV does nothing to change TV. This new Apple TV will change TV, and take it into the future.

    • acslater017 - 9 years ago

      Apparently Apple did decide not to pull the trigger, but I think that’s a bit unimaginative to say iPad + TV = everything an Apple TV could be. Maybe comparable to “I have a cell phone and a iPod, why would I want an Apple phone?” in 2005.

      I can think of tons of ways an Apple TV set could be differentiated. I bet the R&D labs have too. Whether or not it’s economical is a whole other question.

  8. francoborgo - 9 years ago

    I just wish that News Websites would not have told us in the first place. I Really dont like when rumours turn out true and 9to5 says” “WE told you so many years ago” but when they turn out to be wrong, 9to5 just says: “THEY were wrong”

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      Have a click on the links, Franco – it’s not like we were saying we believed him before …

      • francoborgo - 9 years ago

        For something you dont believe in, you talk a lot about it :-) Have you wrote about Apple building an airplane, No, because you dont believe it, Have you wrote about Apple building a car, you did, because you do believe it.

        A solution would be to have a list on the side of the main page, with prediction and the date of the prediction (and not changing it afterward) and the date expected to be announced. This way, if there is a rumours you don’t believe in, it will not be in the list and I will save time and won’t read about it.

  9. George Pollen - 9 years ago

    How Munster can be expected to do a good job following Apple /and/ star in a hit TV series (Modern Family) at the same time, I don’t know.

  10. vkd108 - 9 years ago

    wot a twot

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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