Update: False alarm. As we suggested was a possibility, Philips was misunderstood by a reporter. They are actually just bundling Apple TV’s with new televisions, not building in the hardware.

We don’t know exactly what Apple plans on announcing next Thursday, but one thing’s for sure: It’s not just new iPads.

The tagline for the event — “It’s been far too long” — implies that we’re about to see a new version of a product that hasn’t been updated for a while.

One strong candidate is the Apple TV. But if a (possibly premature) announcement by consumer electronics company Philips is anything to go by, Apple might not just be giving the Apple TV a spec bump. Cupertino might announce instead that it will be integrating Apple TV hardware into third-party television sets!

In a strange announcement out of India, Philips has announced that it will be selling a “new range of televisions that come bundled with Apple TV features” in time for the holidays.

The Hindu Business Line claims that these televisions would come with iTunes installed, as well as AirPlay and Screen Mirroring, allowing you to stream content from your iPhone or iPad directly to your TV. To me, this sounds like a Philips TV with an Apple TV baked inside.

Obviously, there’s no word if this Philips/Apple TV hybrid is coming to the States, or when it would be here if it does. According to Philips, the Philips/Apple TV would be “available for sale in select electronic stores and e-commerce portals and would be for limited period,” but they’re probably talking about India.

It’s possible that Apple has teamed up with Philips to help the Apple TV get a leg up in the Indian market.

Equally possible? That some Philips representative misspoke, or a Hindu Business Line reporter misheard.

To me, though, this implies that Apple could announce a number of Apple TV hardware partners next week.

After all, it’s been a long time since Apple partnered with another company to release a co-branded device. The last time I know of was the iPod+HP, which was released back in 2004.

Could that be what Apple means when it says it’s been “far too long?”

Source: Hindu Business Line

Via: Hugo Kessler