Apple TV Set Project Allegedly Headed by iTunes Creator Jeff Robbin

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apple-tv

Bloomberg reports that the original creator of iTunes, Jeff Robbin, is allegedly working on Apple’s upcoming TV set. Robbin also helped co-launch the original iPod with Tony Fadell.

The report cites “three people with knowledge of the project” and notes that Robbin’s involvement is “a sign of Apple’s commitment to extending its leadership in smartphones and tablets into the living room.”

Jeff Robbin, who helped create the iPod in addition to the iTunes media store, is now guiding Apple’s internal development of the new TV effort, said the people, who declined to be identified because his role isn’t public.

A famous quote from Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography tells of how Steve Jobs “finally cracked” the Apple TV set before he died:

‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ he told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’”

Robbin is a very influential person from Apple’s history who helped make many of the fundamental decisions regarding the beginning of iTunes and the iPod. He understands the consumer market, and there is perhaps no better person for Apple to put in charge of creating a compelling television that’s integrated with iTunes and iCloud.

Analyst Gene Munster recently said that prototype Apple TV sets are already in the works, with Apple reportedly “investing in manufacturing facilities and securing supply for LCD displays.”

While a full-fledged Apple television would definitely be welcomed, there has yet to be any concrete evidence that Apple is working on such a project. The thought that Jeff Robbin is working on such a product definitely says something about the project’s importance to Apple if it does indeed exist.

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