Next up for Apple: HDTV?

Following its successes with iPhones and iPads, the next product Apple might try is an Internet-connected HDTV, PCMag.com reported.

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Ben White told investors in a note Wednesday that at an electronics show in China, he found “data points” suggesting Apple’s plans to launch a “Smart TV” by the end of this year.

Although many have speculated about a possible Apple TV for years, White stated that the company “now appears to be moving down this path at a faster pace than the market expected,” the Financial Post quoted. “This Smart TV would go well beyond the miniature $99 second-generation Apple TV that the company released last fall and provide a full-blown TV product for consumers.”

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has long said that Apple will unveil an Internet-connected HDTV, forecasting many times that the company will launch it in coming years, at a price of about US$2,000, according to Apple Insider.

Earlier this year, Apple stated that it invested $3.9 billion in cash reserves in buying key components for products, which Munster said is more evidence of a soon-to-come Apple HDTV.

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