Plans for an actual TV set haven't been explored at Apple for more than a year. The Wall Street Journal reports Apple dropped those plans and decided to focus on its next set-top box. Only a small team at Apple was ever working on the TV set plans but that work spawned reports that Apple was getting into the TV set business for years.

Apple reportedly could not find a good way to distinguish its set from competitors. The team had considered features like a FaceTime camera capable of detecting who was speaking in the room as well as "ultra high-definition" displays.

New Apple TV hardware is coming this year. It is widely believed the next-generation set-top box will be introduced during WWDC. There may also be a live TV service from Apple that'll come with 25 channels and cost between $30 and $40 per month.