Foxconn has started initial testing on 46 to 55 inch Apple TVs

Apple seems to be well on its way to making its own TV set. According to Focus Taiwan, the company's manufacturing partner Foxconn has started "initial testing" on the Cupertino-based company's TV. According to the report, Apple is working with Hon Hai—also known as Foxconn—on testing some TV sets, the sizes of which range between 46 and 55 inches.

The report says that the production schedule is set for a release at the end of 2013 and that the company might debut the product at the Consumer Electronics Show the next January. The biggest thing about this is that the company has never shown its products, new or otherwise, at CES.

Initial testing has started

According to an earlier report, the Apple TV is said to be in the early stages of testing with manufacturers at Sharp and Foxconn. According to a report published by The Wall Street Journal, sources who have association with Apple’s suppliers said the company has been testing prototypes of television sets for a number of years. The sources were cited as saying, “It isn't a formal project yet. It is still in the early stage of testing.”

Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, recently dropped a big hint about Apple working on an HDTV. He stated that for Apple, the television industry was an area of intense interest. The Apple CEO stated, “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years. It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”

Earlier this year, in May, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou let it slip that his company is getting ready to begin producing the Apple iTV. Since then, there have been various analyst reports stating that the Apple iTV was imminent. As per a report by China Daily, Gou stated that Foxconn, the manufacturer of various Apple products, is making preparations for the Apple iTV. The report noted that though preparations were underway, the development and manufacturing of the television was yet to commence. iTV reportedly features an aluminium construction, Siri and FaceTime video calling.

These revelations by Gou were the most substantial bits of information known regarding the rumoured Apple HDTV, with all other previous leaks being revealed by anonymous industry sources and analysts. However, with Cook also voicing his opinion on the iTV, it backs rumours and speculations that an Apple-branded television is imminent in the near future.

To get a better idea on what this iTV would entail, anonymous sources in the past have revealed that one could start watching a movie on the television set and then pick up an iOS device, such as an iPhone, and continue watching from where they last watched. Reports  emerged stating that the television would look a lot like Apple’s Cinema Displays, only it would be a lot larger.