Rumors that Apple was working on its own smart television have been circulating for quite some time, but found new life in recent months when reports that the company was working on the next-generation Apple TV streaming box started to come out. If a report from the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, however, Apple was definitely working on a smart television for a while there but ended up cancelling the project over a year ago.
Sure, Apple has a product called the Apple TV, but for years rumors have been rampant that an actual television would be coming out of Cupertino. It seems that while Apple was indeed working on a television, it dropped the idea over a year ago, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Apple was reportedly looking into a number of different technologies for use in televisions. For a time the company was considering laser-powered transparent displays, but decided that the cost was too high. Later in the process Apple was looking at using 4K panels, and even considered including a version of its FaceTime video chat that could direct cameras to focus on whoever was speaking at the moment. In the end, the company decided that even FaceTime wouldn’t do enough to differentiate its TVs from those of its competitors. Apple didn’t pull the plug on the project outright, however. Instead, the team dissolved as members were sent to work on other projects throughout the company.
