When an item disappears from a web site, things get interesting.
Per AppleInsider, retail chain Best Buy is no longer selling the Apple TV on its website, prompting speculation that a new model from Apple is soon to arrive.
Though BestBuy.com carried Apple’s set-top box as recently as the 2011 holiday season, the device was nowhere to be found on the retailer’s website as of early Friday.
When contacted for comment, a Best Buy salesperson was unable to say when exactly the device had been removed from the website’s listings. “I don’t recall seeing them for a while,” he said.
“At this point in time, it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting [the Apple TV] back,” the representative said after performing an inventory check.
An user reported having a similar experience on Thursday, noting that a Best Buy employee checked inventory in all stores and found that they were all out of stock. Apple does, however, continue to list the Apple TV as “In Stock” on its website.
The disappearance of the Apple TV from Best Buy’s inventory comes as a surprise because the big-box retailer was one of the first to carry the device when it first arrived in 2007. The original Apple TV got off to a promising start, but the product has yet to become more than a “hobby” for Apple.
Many have speculated that Apple’s plans for expanding its Apple TV platform involve a full-fledged television set. Multiple reports have suggested that the company has begun building prototypes for a connected TV, with one even claiming that Canadian telecoms Rogers and BCE are testing the set in their labs.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.