Apple dropped its TV plans a year ago

Apple scrapped its much rumored Apple TV plan. The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday (local time) that Apple had a small team working on an ultra-high-definition TV set but the team was disbanded a year ago. The report said Apple executives didn’t consider it compelling enough to enter the highly competitive TV market, led by Samsung Electronics. The previous day, investor Carl Icahn said he expects Apple to introduce an ultra-high-definition TV in 2016, which boosted Apple`s share prices adding 8.3 billion U.S. dollars in its stock value that single day.

In addition to an ultra-high-definition display, Apple considered adding sensor-equipped cameras so that viewers can make video calls. In 2010, it obtained a patent with a technology that enables the display become transparent when the TV is shut off.

Ultra-high-definition TVs have been growing steadily amid overall sluggish global TV market.

According to global market research firm Display Search on Wednesday, the global TV market reached 49.90 million units in the first quarter of this year, down 1.06 million from 50.96 million units a year earlier. But ultra-high-definition TVs quadrupled during the same period, increasing from 941,000 to 4.66 million units.

Samsung Electronics shipped 1.13 million units to grab a 24.3 percent market share, staying top for the fourth straight quarter. LG Electronics came at second with 688,000 units with a 14.8 percent share.

Market shares of Samsung and LG slightly fell from 26.9 percent and 15.2 percent recorded in the fourth quarter last year, respectively. China`s Hisense that was in fourth place in the fourth quarter with a 7.7 percent share notched up to No. 3 with 10.9 percent.