Agreed. It doesn't pass my basic test of rumored products. Would I buy it? The answer in this case is no. I have a relatively new 1080P TV which works just fine. It cost me less than $500. I don't think there's anything Apple could do that would entice me to replace it. This coming from someone who owns a wide variety of Apple hardware. If they can't convince me to buy one then we've got some serious problems.
I'm really starting to think the TV rumors are just total misdirection. I think Apple is happy to let everyone assume they are slaving away to compete with Samsung, Vizio, LG, etc when in reality they are preparing to compete with Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation. This won't just be a software update for the AppleTV. Has anyone else noticed the Mac Mini is absent in the rumors of updated Macs? Wouldn't surprise me if it's redesigned, renamed, and becomes the new iTV device running iOS6 with an entirely new TV UI to ship late this year. This will give Apple the horse power to really compete with high end console games in a box that is still quiet and small enough to be in your living room. In the short term there will be lots of iOS ports but by this time next year I think you'll start seeing some serious high end console games appear. (the existing AppleTV sticks around as basically an accessory to the iTV and iOS devices)
So MacMinis will definitely not be converted to be running iOS 6. They will need to stay Mac machines.
If you read my article then you will know that my hypothesis is rather for an embedded iOS on-a-chip that TV makers can license and through that enable any TV with the AppleTV software.
* They take up a lot of space in store. Having two large TVs set up takes away space from 2-3 iMacs or 4-5 MacBooks. That means only two individuals can enjoy that square footage instead of 4-5. Not to mention that enjoying the TVs actively takes away from the experience of others (A/V noise). How annoying is it when someone turns up one of those iPod docks at a store? Now imagine that happening all the time with two sets of audio clashing with each other.
* Getting them home from the store is a pain.
* "Normal" people would need installation services (wall mounting and/or discarding of an old TV set), requiring Apple to build out their own "Genius Squad".
* Repairs would be a pain. How do you lug a 42" TV to the Apple Store to be checked out by a Genius? Will Apple ship around huge empty boxes for you to pack your TV in to send it out to them? And then you have the trouble of getting it to the UPS guy and then getting it re-installed when it comes back. In-home repairs would be something new for Apple and again would require them to staff up a "Genius Squad".
* Apple hardware generally moves faster than TV refresh cycles. Want the software features of the 2015 Apple TV? Sorry, the A6 chip in your 2013 model can't handle it. Time to throw out that 30-pound piece of aluminum and glass and replace it with a new one.
If there will be a TV with Apple tech in it then this will be because the TV manufacturer has licensed a chip with iOS on it that runs the AppleTV flavor of iOS.
Or can you imagine people carrying home a 50" AppleTV TV from an Apple Store? If you cannot sell it in an Apple Store then Apple won't do it because Apple needs people to experience their devices in an Apple Store to allow them to fall in love it them.
