Would You Pay A Massive Premium For An Apple Television?

It's becoming increasingly clear to just about everyone that at some point in the next several months, Apple will be announcing a television. The device could come with everything from iCloud integration to access to the App Store, and depending on who you talk to, it could have dramatically improved specs or simply match some of the products on store shelves.Either way, it's coming soon.

But as I consider what Apple might offer in its television and I look at the sets already sitting in my living room and bedroom, I wonder how much Apple will charge for its offering. As we know all too well, Apple has been charging a premium on its products for years. And with a television in the works, there appears to be a good chance that it'll charge the same premium for that device.

But would you want to pay that premium?

When we look around the television market, we find a host of companies that truly understand what consumers are looking for in their next purchase. LG and Samsung are developing televisions that can match any design Apple might muster. And the sheer quality of the displays would make anyone with an outdated LCD want to drop over a thousand dollars and pick one up.

[aquote]It's that thousand dollars that might give us some pause[/aquote]

That said, it's that thousand dollars that might give us some pause if and when Apple launches its television. We've already spent a lot of money on televisions, and for the most part, our sets are holding up quite well, even as new technologies are released. And although Apple is a king when it comes to design, as noted, LG and Samsung are right there with it. The absolute need to buy an Apple television, therefore, might not be as great as it is in the mobile or computing markets.

I'm also not convinced that Apple will be able to deliver a groundbreaking display technology that will want us to ditch our current high-end televisions. Yes, Apple has been able to do special things in the past, but the television market isn't computers or smartphones. And it's important for all of us to remember that.

So, I'm not quite sure I'd be willing to pay a massive premium for an Apple television. Yes, I realize that I'll have to pay a little extra for the Apple name, and as I've noted here before, I'm just fine with that. But if Apple tries to price itself out of the market, I don't know if I can justify running down to one of its retail stores to pick up one of its televisions.

Pricing matters greatly in the television space — an area where few people buy new televisions more than every decade. And Apple, like all the others that came before it, must realize that.

But let's not just stop there: would you pay a massive premium for an Apple television?