Apple Television Has A Chipmaker, Say Reports

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For a product that doesn’t officially exist yet, it’s getting more than a little surprising how much information’s coming out around it. And now we even know who will be supplying the LED chips to Sharp so that they can manufacture the panels said to be going into Apple’s hopefully upcoming television.

The current word says that Genesis Photronics is set to be the ones putting LED chips into Sharp’s hands so that the LCD panel maker can get the full panel together. Sharp doesn’t usually work with Genesis Photronics, having favored Nichia in previous ventures, but there are reports that say Sharp and Genesis Photronics had already started working together back in 2011 for that year’s line of Sharp LED television. And, considering that Genesis Photronics’s LED chips have recently received their certification, it’s a safe bet that their chips will get even more involved with other company’s product lines.

Earlier reports suggest that the Apple television could start production by the end of the month out at Sharp’s Osaka facility, and is likely to pose a serious disruption to the entire television market, taking as much as five percent of the market for itself when it actually hit shelves.  Naturally, the Apple television in general has prompted a response from Samsung, who is no doubt considering an Apple television release with something like dread given the sheer competition Apple’ s products have given Samsung’s in the mobile phone and tablet PC markets, even though Samsung had a hand in the Apple hardware, and Samsung’s came largely after Apple’s.

Yet Sharp’s hardware is also pretty impressive–have you seen a Quattron display lately? George Takei is floored by them, you know–and with Apple’s skill for software backing up some choice Sharp display, Samsung may have a lot more to worry about than it’s letting on.

But what do you guys think here? Will we be seeing Apple televisions on shelves soon? Will they do some impressive things to the market in general? Or will Apple discover it’s better off sticking to smaller devices? No matter what you think will happen here, the comments section is waiting for you to make your guess, so head on down and fill us in!