Apple OLED TV set to launch in April or May, Siri and iOS on-board

Apple TV rumors have been flying around the Internet for some time now, but most of them were based either on wishlists or on blind speculations.

This one, however, seems more on terms with reality, as Technobuffalo claims it has spoken with a “high-ranking source with a major electronics retailer”. He says that we should expect to see to see an Apple TV in flesh around April or May “at the latest”.

According to the source of the rumor, they’ve seen “gorgeous, very thin” pre-production TV units up to 42-inches in diameter with OLED panels. It’s all good and dandy, but I feel quite skeptical about the size of the rumored future Apple TV set.

As you might remember, LG and Samsung announced a 55-inch Smart TV sets at the last CES and I don’t think Apple will let it’s first TV be that much behind the competition. Remember, this is TVs we are talking and not smartphones, so the bigger the screen size, the better. At least in my opinion that is.

And, actually, according to Technobuffalo’s source, that’s why Apple has been delaying the purported Apple TV. The company wants to jam-pack the product with killer features in order to compensate the smaller screen. Another possible benefit of the 42″ OLED panel is that it is cheaper to manufacture than the 55″ ones. This will keep the price down, compared to the LG and Samsung alternatives.

Naturally, the expected Apple TV will run some variation of Apple’s iOS, with Siri obliging your every wish. Not only that, but there’s also going to be a face recognition feature, which will put the TV into power-sleep mode if you’re not in the same room.

So here’s what Apple has been (Tim) Cook-ing up – an iPad 3 in late February / early March, an Apple TV in late April / early May and an iPhone 5 in early October. It’s sure going to be an interesting year for Apple.