MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Apple visionary Steve Jobs had “finally cracked” the concept of an Apple television set before his death, extracts from his authorised biography reveal.
“I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,” Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson.
The long-rumoured ‘iTV’ would feature “the simplest user interface you could imagine,” the technology magnate was quoted as saying.
Isaacson wrote that Jobs “very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant”.
Jobs said the iTV “would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud”.
The electronics giant currently sells a puck-sized set-top box – called Apple TV – that allows users to play App Store items, movies, photos and music on their home televisions.
However, it is claimed that company officials have labelled the product a “hobby” that hasn’t captured the market in the same manner that iPhones and iPads have.
Apple has been the subject of rampant speculation across the games and technology industries, with many claiming the company will eventually unveil an Apple television. The company has not made any public statements on the matter.
Recently, Valve president Gabe Newell said he “suspects Apple will launch a living room product that redefines people’s expectations”.
Though he claimed to have no solid information on the device, Newell said “the notion of a separate console platform will disappear” if Apple launched such a product.
Steve Jobs passed away this month in his Palo Alto home, after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
It was said that the Apple co-founder had crafted a four-year product roadmap for his company to follow after his death.
British newspaper The Times recently claimed the next iPhone, apparently due in late 2012 or early 2013, will be a Jobs "legacy device". The report also stated that Jobs had been working on the iCloud project in his final months, but his fingerprints will be on a new line of products to be rolled out over the next two to three years.
‘Don’t follow me’
But it has emerged that the Apple founder asked its new CEO, Tim Cook, to not be distracted by Jobs’s legacy.
At a star-studded memorial service held at Apple’s California headquarters, Cook said Jobs told him "to never ask what he would do, just do what’s right."
Disney fell apart after its founder Walt Disney passed away, Jobs warned Cook, because the company was too preoccupied with doing what they hoped Walt would have wanted.
“He did not want this to occur at Apple," Cook said.
"He loved Apple so much, probably only a shade less than he loved his family.”
