Report: Apple to Release Siri-Controlled TV by 2013?

New York Times blogger Nick Bilton notes that in Steve Jobs​' recently released biography, the late Apple CEO reportedly told his biographer "I've finally cracked it!" when referring to Apple's designs on the TV market. Bilton believes that Jobs was not talking about a significant change to the TV set itself, as many have assumed, but that he was referring to the incorporation of artificial intelligence software Siri into the user interface.

Siri, which has come to prominence since its inclusion with iOS 5 on new iPhone 4S devices, allows users to do a variety of things using their voice. On the iPhone, it's possible to send messages; create reminders, alarms and calendar events; get answers to logical questions; and even indulge in a bit of playful banter with the AI. But things get interesting when you consider the possibility of talking to your TV to control it -- among other benefits, it removes the need to rely on the antiquated and often unnecessary remote controls which we've been using for decades.

Using your voice to control content isn't something which is new, of course -- Kinect has been allowing users to speak to their Xbox for some time now. But were your TV itself able to respond to your voice commands as well as connect to the Internet, it opens up a wide range of possibilities which are already hinted at by technology such as that seen in TiVo boxes suggesting other shows you might enjoy or recognizing content by factors other than just its title.

"Play me videos of cats jumping into boxes," you might say, and be presented with a playlist of  Maru videos. "Put on the last episode of Dexter." "Show me the local news." The possibilities are intriguing, assuming Siri is appropriately adapted to display the relevant content.

Bilton believes that it's not a case of "if" Apple will produce a TV, more a case of "when." A report by Barclays suggests that Apple could bring in an additional $19 billion a year by capturing just 5% of television buyers. And several reportedly reliable sources within Apple and its partners believed that it was a "guaranteed product" for Apple, noting that "Steve thinks the industry is totally broken."

Bilton suggests that we could see the announcement of a full-scale Apple TV set by late 2012, with the first to arrive on the market by 2013. This being Apple, though, we won't hear anything official until a week or two before it hits the market.