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Analyst: Apple TV Set to Feature Motion Controls, Touch Remote

An unveiling of the so-called iTV could come within the next few quarters, analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients Monday.

June 11, 2012

While Apple probably won't announce anything about its rumored TV set at (WWDC), an unveiling of the so-called iTV could come within the next few quarters, analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets, wrote in a Monday note to clients.

Following a trip last week to Computex in Taipei and meetings with unnamed tech supply chain sources, White offered a few insights about the forthcoming Apple-branded television set. The device will feature motion-detection technology, and a touch-screen remote, he said.

"The data points during our trip indicate [Apple] will use a special type of motion detection technology on future full blown Apple TV," White wrote. "Also, our contacts indicate a unique remote control with a touch panel form factor that looks similar to the iPad would be used to control the device. The bezel is expected to be a plastic composition, rather than the aluminum unibody exterior that surrounds the MacBook Air."

Rumors about an Apple-based television set have been making the rounds since last year after Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography mentioned that the late Apple co-founder was working on an Apple-branded TV before his death on Oct. 5.

Last month, that Apple's leading Asian manufacturing partner, Foxconn, was gearing up to make the much talked-about Apple television set, though the company denied it. The iTV is expected to feature an aluminum body, the voice-activated virtual assistant Siri, a built-in iSight camera, and FaceTime for making video calls.

Cult of Mac recently claimed to have a source who had seen a working prototype of the forthcoming TV set. The prototype reportedly resembled Apple's current Cinema Display monitors — only much larger.