Report: Apple to Launch Televisions by Q3 2012

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Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

Customers visit the newest Apple Store during its opening on the East Balcony in the main lobby of New York City's Grand Central Station December 9, 2011.

Shortly before his death, Steve Jobs reportedly said that he’d “finally cracked” the idea of how to do Apple TV properly, only increasing the anticipation — and potential disappointment — for the product. Can anything measure up to what we want to see from Steve Jobs’ last Apple device? We may only be a few months away from an answer, after a new rumor that an Apple-branded television could be released as early as the second or third quarter of 2012.

Digitimes reports that manufacturing for the Apple-branded television sets will begin in Q1 2012, with sources in Korea indicating that Samsung began producing chips for the televisions last month. The report mentions that Apple will initially offer both 32- and 37-inch screen models when the product launches later this year, although the final release date remains uncertain. The idea that Apple is just months away from launching a line of televisions contradicts recent prognostication by the Wall Street Journal and other sources that product announcements for such devices are much further out.

Digitimes’ report also mentions the possibility that Apple may soon launch a next-generation Apple TV set-top box, noting that the price of the current model has been lowered on Amazon.com recently.

MORE: Apple TV: 5 Rumored Features

Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.