- New Apple TV to launch this year.
- Powered by A14 processor.
- Sharing software with HomePod.
Right now the newest Apple TV is the Apple TV 4K, which was unveiled in September 2017. It’s powered by the A10X Fusion chip found in the 2017 iPad Pro models and based on the A10 chip used in 2016’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Alongside the Apple TV 4K Apple continues to sell an even less powerful model, the Apple TV HD, which sports the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus which launched way back in 2014.
While it’s true that the Apple TV doesn’t require quite the same amount of processing power as the iPhone and iPad – on which we may be using more demanding apps with extreme graphics requirements. It does seem amiss that Apple has failed to develop the hardware while it has promoted the Apple TV as a gaming console thanks to Apple Arcade (which launched in September 2019). Apple’s failure to bring the Apple TV into line with other devices in its line up is disappointing.
Another reason to anticipate a new streaming device from Apple is the arrival of its streaming service Apple TV+ back in November 2019. The lack of a new and improved – or at least cheaper – Apple TV is astounding given the amount of money Apple has spent creating content for the new service.
So, having established that Apple needs to address the performance gap in Apple TV hardware, when is the new Apple TV likely to arrive?
Before we attempt to answer that question, is there a possibility that we may never see a new Apple TV? Could Apple discontinue the Apple TV? It seems like an unlikely scenario given Apple’s plans to take on Netflix and Amazon with its new on-demand TV service, but it is possible that Apple won’t launch another Apple TV box, preferring instead to partner with TV manufacturers and other set-top-box manufacturers such as Samsung, which already offers Apple’s TV app on a number of its 2018 and 2019 TVs. We look at other reasons why there might not be a new Apple TV below. You can also read about the different devices that support the Apple TV app here.
Release date
The Apple TV might not be the only device that you can stream Apple’s new shows on, but it does look likely that Apple will upgrade its set top box to what will be the 6th generation of the device (if you were counting), rather than discontinue the device. When will that update come?
There is an indication that a new version of the Apple TV will launch in 2020. In February 9to5Mac spotted that files inside the tvOS 13.4 beta referenced hardware codenamed T1125. This could be a new Apple TV. The two current Apple TV models are codenamed J105a and J42d.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also expects to see a new Apple TV this year. He published a Periscope video on 21 April in which he revealed that he believes a new Apple TV will be launched this year.
As we will discuss below, there is an expectation that the new Apple TV will be powered by a A14 chip, like the iPhone 12. That would suggest it will launch alongside, or after, the iPhone 12 in September or October 2020.
We could also look at past behaviours to see if a new model is likely to launch soon. The fifth-gen Apple TV came out in September 2017, more than two years ago, but that’s no time at all compared to some of the waits we’d endured. Here’s when each of the models came out:
- Apple TV (first gen): Jan 2007
- Apple TV (second gen): Sep 2010 (gap of almost 4 years)
- Apple TV (third gen): Mar 2012 (gap of about 1.5 years)
- Apple TV (fourth gen): Oct 2015 (a gap of about 3.5 years)
- Apple TV (fifth gen, 4K): Sep 2017 (gap of more than 2 years)
Price drop
One change we’d like to see is a change to the price.
Currently you can get a 32GB 4th generation Apple TV for £149/$149 – buy from Apple here. This model launched in October 2015 – it’s an extortionately high price for a four year old device, and as we mentioned above, it’s powered by the A8 chip which Apple may stop supporting in the next year or so.
The newer (September 2017) Apple TV 4K currently sells for £179/$179 (with 32GB of storage) or £199/$199 (64GB) – you can buy one from Apple here. (We have this round up of the best Apple TV deals.)
These prices are very high when compared to dongles such as Amazon’s Fire Stick (from £39.99) and the Google Chromecast (from £30), and the Roku offerings (£39.99). Considering the Fire and the Roku also access to the Apple TV+ content you might wonder what Apple TV has that these cheaper dongles don’t… (More on that below).
It’s not only that the Apple TV costs so much more than other devices. Are people really going to take kindly to paying more than £150 for a box if they also have to pay a monthly subscription for Apple’s new TV service and the Apple Arcade gaming subscription service in order to fully benefit from the hardware? We think not! Currently you will at least get a year’s subscription to Apple TV+ if you do buy one but that’s not a huge incentive at the price.
It’s possible that Apple could offer a cheaper Apple TV dongle to compete with the Fire Stick and Google Chromecast. A dongle might help the company reach the masses with its new streaming video service. An article on The Information in November 2018 claimed that Apple was indeed considering such a move. We’d love a smaller Apple TV that plugged directly into the back of our TV (which hangs on the wall and has no space for boxes around the side – and we’re sure we aren’t the only one with a set up like that.)
But it doesn’t have to be a smaller Apple TV, Apple could continue to sell the current models as a lower price. In the recent past Apple has sold the Apple TV for £99/$99 (until 2014) so reducing the price to that level wouldn’t be completely out of character. In fact, Apple has even cut the price of that box to £79/$69 at one point.
We’d like to see the price lower than £79/$69 though, given the lower prices of the above competition (e.g. £39/$39).
Specs
Here’s what we’re expecting (or hoping for) in terms of spec updates.
Processor
With new power-hungry services now on the Apple TV, such as the Apple Arcade gaming subscription service, and the HomeKit Secure Video service, the Apple TV will benefit from a next generation processor, such as the A14 expected to arrive with the iPhone 12 later in 2020.
This looks likely based on the internal files inside the beta version of tvOS 13.4. The files indicate that the new hardware thought to be a new Apple TV will be based on the arm64e architecture which is the same as is used by the A12 and A13 Bionic chips.
We may also see one of the Apple made T-series chips inside the Apple TV too, perhaps powering Siri.
The presence of the A14 would allow vastly improved graphics performance and up to 6GB of RAM, according to the 9to5 Mac report mentioned above.
Bigger hard drive
Given the 4K capabilities in the most recent Apple TV, we felt that an increased storage allocation was likely, but instead it comes in 32GB and 64GB models, the same as on the 4th-gen model. In fact, 4K movies can only be streamed, not downloaded, much to the annoyance of many Apple TV owners who don’t want to be forced to stream a movie they own.
We expect that Apple will add a 128GB offering at some point, and it is conceivable that a 256GB version could be added. Mind you, we suspect that Apple’s customers don’t need so much, since they tend to be streaming content and storing content in iCloud.
Mac mini Apple TV
We’ve always thought it would be great is if Apple combined the Mac mini with the Apple TV so that you could have a media centre in your living room with all the features of both Mac and Apple TV.
With the TV app arriving on the Mac perhaps this functionality is already coming to the Mac mini – and all other Macs. Any Mac could be plugged into a TV screen and the TV+ service run from that device. Read how to connect a Mac to a TV.
HomePod Apple TV Combo
This is another possibility, especially in the light of news that Apple has switched the software on the HomePod from iOS to tvOS, according to a 9to5Mac report.
When the HomePod Software 13.4 update arrived in March, 9to5Mac analyzed it and found that version 13.4 of the HomePod operating system is now based on tvOS, instead of iOS.
This is significant for a few reasons. One is that power consumption isn’t an issue for the HomePod or Apple TV as they are always plugged in, unlike iOS devices, so there isn’t the need for code that allows for that.
9to5Mac also notes that both devices operate as a home hub for HomeKit since they are always connected, another reason why they should share common code.
A final reason is the fact that the Apple TV and HomePod are using older processors and by unifying the software it enables Apple to support those devices even after it stops supporting the same processors in iOS.
But the really interesting idea is if it could indicate that a future device could combine the features of both the HomePod and the Apple TV. As we speculated in this article about How Apple Could Improve HomePod, we’d like to see Apple add a screen to the HomePod.
New Apple TV features
The new Apple TV is likely to feature an array of new hardware features, which we outline in the below section.
Even existing Apple TV models will still benefit from software related updates, with regular updates to tvOS – the version of iOS that works on the Apple TV.
AirPod Siri support
You can pair the Apple AirPods with the Apple TV – with older AirPods it is possible to pause shows with a double-tap. Now that Siri commands can be used with the AirPods 2 (they can respond to “Hey Siri” commands), perhaps, it will be possible to activate Siri on the Apple TV via the new AirPods.
It is possible to use other Bluetooth headphones with the Apple TV, but there are some limitations as to how many Bluetooth devices can be paired, especially if one of them is an audio accessory.
Integration with HomePod
Regardless of whether the two devices merge, as discussed above, we think it would be great if the Apple TV and HomePod could work hand-in-hand, even if it was only for voice recognition – a feature that came to the HomePod with iOS 13. You can already use the HomePod as your audio source for the Apple TV (although there can be some lag, so right now we don’t really recommend it).
What about an Apple TV that incorporated HomePod features. By which we don’t just mean ‘can play Apple Music’, which is can do currently, but with all the Siri features found in the HomePod.
Our complicated at Macworld US have imagined a HomePod mini that combines HomePod and Apple TV features here.
Siri on Apple TV
Speaking of which, you can talk to Siri on the HomePod from across the room, and it can hear you even if it’s playing music loud, it’s time that the Apple TV could do the same.
Currently Siri can only hear your Apple TV commands via the Remote control.
A new Remote
Speaking of the remote, we don’t like the Apple TV remote. Apple’s theory is that having a lot of buttons makes a remote complicated to use, which is fair enough, but the Apple Remote is complicted to use. It’s called the Siri Remote because you are supposed to use Siri to control the Apple TV rather than the remote itself, but we aren’t really that sold on the idea of controlling everything with our voice. Unfortunately, the buttons aren’t easy to locate without looking down at the remote, and the touch sensitive trackpad area at the top of the remote is too small to be really useful. In fact the remote itself is just too small to be held comfortably.
But most of us have lost out Remote anyway and are relying on our iPhones to control our Apple TV… (How about a Find My Remote feature).
No new Apple TV?
Perhaps the biggest factor affecting Apple’s plans in the television space is the fact that modern televisions come with all the software required to play the likes of Netfilx, Now TV, UK on-demand channels, and so on. Owners of televisions purchased in the past few years – in fact any owner of a 4K TV that Apple is targeting with the current Apple TV model – will have all the software required to run the sought after content on their TV.
And now that Samsung is supporting Apple TV+ content on its new TVs, and Sony and other TV manufacturers indicating that their new TVs will also offer Apple content, and Roku and Amazon Fire also offering the TV app, it certainly seems like Apple is now looking at partnering with TV manufacturers rather than selling its own set-top-box. Read more about which TVs run Apple TV+ here.
Another reason why Apple could discontinue the set top box is the confusion its existence causes. It’s not the product itself but its name. There are too many TV products made by Apple. There’s the Apple TV set-top-box, the TV app (found on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, as well as Roku and Amazon Fire players, and some Samsung TVs) and the TV+ subscription service. We feel that Apple either needs to reinvent the Apple TV gadget to make it clearer how these different things fit together, or simply stop selling it and remove part of the confusion.
Via MACWORLD