Is Apple making a TV set?

Apple has already ventured into TV: Its Apple TV accessory lets customers stream TV shows and movies from iTunes to their television. But new evidence suggests that the company may soon be producing standalone sets — a move that could roil the lucrative TV market. On Friday, 9to5mac.com noted that Apple's website was advertising an opening for an "AC/DC Power Supply Design Engineer" to work with "notebook computers, desktop computers, servers, standalone displays, and TV." Apple's legions of fans are theorizing that the word "TV" implies a whole new line of products. Is Apple about to start making televisions?

Don't bet on it: It's unlikely Apple would reveal such a big step so clumsily, says Sara Yin at PC Mag. Plus, both Steve Jobs and successor Tim Cook have emphasized that Apple is first and foremost a "mobile company," which would preclude making televisions. And wouldn't the company fix problems with Apple TV "before making the giant leap" into manufacturing its own TV sets?

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This makes a lot of sense for Apple: Making and selling a TV isn't that big of a stretch for Apple, says Erica Ogg at CNET. The company already makes "some of the most well-regarded monitors on the market," and with Apple TV, the company has shown that it's "interested in being in the living room, not just the office, car, coffee shop, or your backpack or purse." Sure, the TV business is competitive, but so are the markets for mobile phones and computers — and Apple's done pretty well there.

"Apple could be working on television"

But why now? It's a tough time to break into the TV business, says Dean Takahashi at Venture Beat. With the rise of 3D and internet-connected sets, the TV market is in the midst of sweeping changes. It's always smarter to enter a market "before the disruptions take place, as Apple did with smartphones and tablets." Still, if Apple approaches things the right way, it could "disrupt yet another category of consumer electronics."

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