Apple may unveil the Apple TV as soon as April, although it may not be commercially available until later in the year, a new report in Bloomberg Technology suggests.
Normally, the period between a product's debut and its launch isn't quite as staggered for the tech behemoth, although there have been exceptions.
For instance, in 2013 Apple announced the launch of the Mac Pro at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference in June, despite the product not becoming available until December. Now the question is whether the California-based company will handle the new TV like the Mac Pro or in a way more similar to iPad and iPhone releases.
The potential gap between the announcement regarding the new Apple TV is believed to be an act of corporate showmanship, with Apple likely hoping that it will help generate more enthusiasm among consumers.
Meanwhile, Apple is said to be negotiating an important deal with Time Warner Cable prior to the launch of the new TV. They're not the only ones in talks with the company: Comcast recently revealed a proposed $45 billion takeover of the cable provider.
While the ongoing negotiations may be one reason for delaying the launch of the new TV, there may be other issues at hand. Apple is trying to enter into other deals with different companies and it certainly does not want to market the product before they are finalized. In such a scenario, the effort to build the consumers' enthusiasm regarding the new TV will certainly give the company an edge in hammering out the deals.