Why the Spotted 50 Inch Apple ‘iTV’ within Jony Ive’s Design Studio Sounds Unlikely

USA Today reports on increasing rumours of an upcoming Apple ‘iTV’, alluding to the possibility of something appearing at upcoming CES, which was rumoured before. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak chimed in about a possible TV:

“I do expect Apple to make an attempt…since I expect the living room to remain a center for family entertainment, and that touches on all areas of consumer products that Apple is already making.”

Within the story, it’s reported a 50″ TV has been spotted within Apple’s famed (and recently knighted) designer, Jony Ive, by an Apple employee:

Apple is said to be looking at a 42-inch or larger LCD TV with built-in Wi-Fi. Inside the locked-down studio of Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, there’s a slick 50-inch TV, according to the source who worked at Apple.

This sounds highly unlikely, especially if you’ve read the Steve Jobs biography. Within the section about Jony Ive (spoiler alert), author Walter Isaacson writes about the location and security of the design studio in question.

He mentions it is located on the ground floor of of Two Infinite Loop at Apple headquarters and is ‘shielded by tinted windows and a heavy clad, locked door’. Furthermore:

Just inside is a glass booth reception desk where two assistants guard access. Even high-level Apple employees are not allowed in without special permission.

The studio sounds like Fort Knox–how would some random employee get access, to the heart of Apple’s design secrets? I’m sure there is a TV being designed somewhere, but the chances of it being spotted and leaked doesn’t sound plausible. Isaacson was lucky enough to have been invited inside the studio for a brief one day tour last year.

The Apple ‘iTV’ has been rumoured to be powered by the next-generation A6 processor and include some sort voice controlled system possibly powered by Siri. As for content, that’s still up in the air, but Apple has reportedly been in talks with major media executives over their television plans.

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