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New Apple TV Rumored to Launch in 2022 With These Four Features

Let’s get a AppleTV pro model that has spec bumps across the board.

M1/M2 processor
HDMI 2.1a
bluetooth 5.3
WiFi 6e
10Gb ethernet
U1 (like homepods)
2 TB 4 (USB-C 4) ports (external storage, face-time camera, etc)
POE

update minimum storage to 128GB and allow external storage to be attached.

add options for downloading content so it doesn’t have to be streaming the most frequent content, and to allow people with slower bandwidth to have a better viewing experience.

audio pass through
4k 120hz (for sports fans since Apple is broadcasting/streaming sports now. And for video games)
better Dolby Vision and HDR10+


or throw all that away and bring back the Front Row software for MacOS that can also run TVos apps.
then we could use Mac Mini’s as a true media center machine again.
 
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Infiniverse48 said:
Hahah wow it’s amazing how bad certain aspects of Apple are. They actually have absolutely no god damn idea what to do with this product LOL.

It’s a box that does what your TV comes with for $170-$200+ dollars. Hahaha. It offers nothing more.

In its current form it needs to be $50, and not a dime more. Instead, it’s literally 3-4x that price haha.

Their teams are truly completely visionless and hopeless. Look at the remote LMAO. They dramatically changed it and then dramatically changed it back to nearly its original form……they have absolutely no idea wtf they’re doing. The remote design is one of the most embarrassing designs Apple has ever done. The Amazon Fire TV remote is so much better it’s dumbfounding.

The Apple TV is a product devoid of all direction and vision. It’s like a meandering, lost toy, searching for an owner but no one wants it.

What needs to happen?

Firstly, innovation.

Airplay 3, immediately, because Airplay is one of the most embarrassing failures Apple has. It is literally limited to 1080P in 2022 LOL. The god damn phone can record 4K video but it’s impossible to watch it short of literally transferring it to iCloud or a Mac.

Airplay 3 needs 2 things: it needs 4K obviously, and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and LiFi transfers. LiFi being light-based transfer for ultra-fast data transfer (requires direct line-of-sight, but has insane speed capability).

Now, Apple TV: each model comes with a new remote that is designed to be ergonomic, rounded, and thick like the Amazon Fire TV.

Apple TV Pod ($50) is a dongle, with HDMI 2.1 and a power adapter. It is a tiny device whose only purpose is to place Apple’s TV software on your TV, and to massively enhance the sharing experience from iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Airplay 3. It also has a 48MP camera for FaceTime which intelligently uses the 48MP to crop around the room, and zoom (to 2x), following the subjects for carefree TV FaceTime calling. Future iPhones and iPads have a tiny hole in the top band where an infrared LED emits for LiFi. Using this, the iPhone could transfer even games which require extremely low latency to the Apple TV Pod which has a wide receiver to catch the light information the iPhone or iPad is sending it. This would also be accomplished for the Mac through a thunderbolt adapter that plugs in. This would allow you to play AAA Mac games like the upcoming (Resident Evil Village [For Mac]) on your TV, simply by placing your laptop in line-of-sight of the Apple TV Pod.

Apple TV Play: A $300 device with identical features to the Pod, but with an M2 chip, 512GB Storage, 8GB DDR5, and an Apple-designed gaming controller (but support for PS5 and Xbox controllers as well). AAA games could come to this, including Call of Duty, and all other big AAA third-parties. Apple would need to start developing their own AAA games too though, but as evidenced by Apple TV+, they aren’t very good at content creation.

Apple TV Ultra: A $500 device with identical features to the others, but with an M2 Max chip, 1TB Storage, 8GB DDR5, and the gaming controller.
Click to expand...

Less gaming crap; just a streaming stick/box.

That's it.
 
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I have a FireCube and it’s so easy to just control everything with voice. Turns the TV on and off, skips intros, plays shows etc. all without having to touch a voice button on the remote. I don’t even need my remote beyond signing into new services. A HomePod + ATV combo unit would be nice.

You can technically control the ATV with a HomePod or your iPhone but the ridiculous number of times I said “Hey Siri pause / play” that resulted in my show suddenly turning into a song from Apple Music is why I got the firecube in the first place
 
Hastings101 said:
I have a FireCube and it’s so easy to just control everything with voice. Turns the TV on and off, skips intros, plays shows etc. all without having to touch a voice button on the remote. I don’t even need my remote beyond signing into new services. A HomePod + ATV combo unit would be nice.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't put a bugging device like that in my room.
Of course, I don't use Siri. But I would rather use that than something from Amazon or Google if I wanted to.

Edit:
Interesting story (December 2018).
www.heise.de

Amazon gibt intime Alexa-Sprachdateien preis

Durch einen Fehler von Amazon.de fielen rund 1700 Alexa-Sprachaufzeichnungen in die Hände eines Unbefugten.
www.heise.de www.heise.de

An excerpt:
"Now exactly what data protectionists always feared has happened to Amazon. According to research by c't, Amazon.de leaked highly private voice recordings from Echo devices to strangers. It is not yet clear whether this is an isolated case.

An Amazon.de customer had asked the company's German branch for information about the data stored about him in accordance with the GDPR. Two months later, Amazon provided him with a ZIP archive. Around 50 of the files contained personal data. However, he also found around 1700 WAV files and a PDF file that apparently contained chronologically unsorted transcripts of what Amazon's Alexa voice assistant understood from voice inputs.

The problem: The customer had never used Alexa. He informed Amazon.de that the ZIP file obviously contained Alexa voice recordings from an Amazon account that was unknown to him and asked for information about this. He never received a reply to this mail, but a short time later the download link led nowhere. The customer had previously backed up the files and passed them on to c't in confidence.
Privacy violated

The voice recordings were audibly taken from the privacy of strangers, for example from the living room, bedroom and bathroom. Based on the content of the recordings, such as the mentioning of names and requests for local weather forecasts, c't was able to identify the Echo owner. The Echo owner was blindsided, because Amazon had not informed him about the data leak, even though they already knew about it."
 
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I’d love to own an AppleTV again, but as it stands it offers no (hardly any) added value over my FireStick that I got for €18 on Prime Day.
The main thing is that it won’t turn on/off my IR only receiver that I have no interest in replacing.
Yes, I know about programming the mute button to control powering on/off an IR device, but that’s a silly and inconvenient workaround at this price point.
 
Apple will need to make an 8K version eventually. And one day streaming services are going to make some content in 120hz, like sports streaming.
 
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Lame. Nothing noteworthy.

They really need to employ a neural network driven video scaler, much like they do for photos in iOS. There’s still so much 720p, 1080p content that could benefit from a sophisticated scaler to view on 4K sets.
 
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Sorinut said:
Really? My 4k appletv is snappy as the day I bought it, also in 2017. I don't play games on it, though. So maybe that's the difference? I also don't have a 4k tv..still running an old 1080.

I see no reason to replace it.
Click to expand...
wait...you're running your Apple TV at 1/4 the pixel output others are and then claiming its fast enough? Tracking through 4k content and load speeds definitely change buffering 4k content vs 1080p. I agree its still good, but you're not pushing it like others.

I own all 3 modern generations and theres a decent jump between the 2017 and 2021 model in speed. Not as night and day as A8 to A10x tho.

I am scratching head what an A14 could bring to table, but I'm sure someone will mention some codec im unfamiliar with.
 
Apple needs to cut prices with the Apple TV line. Change the goal from making a profit to just breaking even. It will benefit them in the long run anyways, because it will bring more people into the Apple ecosystem. Keep in mind, Steve Jobs always said that the Apple TV was just a “hobby”.

Apple TV mini ($50)
  • 1080p
  • Stick design - plugs right into the HDMI port
  • Great for small TVs, kitchens, RV’s, etc
Apple TV ($100)
  • 4K 120 FPS
Apple TV Pro ($200-$250)
  • 4K 120 FPS
  • Combine HomePod + Apple TV — to act as a soundbar and smart speaker.
  • Camera for FaceTime (include a camera cover slider!)
 
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Amazed that a 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 port isn't one of the rumoured features. Shocking that a premium product in 2022 wouldn't have that. Apple can hammer the advantage home by having their sports broadcasts be in 4k120. QMS is desperately needed (look at the YouTube frame rate switching issues in the Apple TV hardware subforum) and would work wonders in combination with dynamic range / frame rate switching.

I wonder if Apple is running out of A12 chips - everything else Apple sells uses an A13 chip minimum (iPad 9th gen), and even that is rumoured to be replaced with an A14 version this month.

I'd really like to see Apple get back into the router market (I still use a Time Capsule for my router and it's rock solid) and make the Apple TVs a mesh unit - I notice that Amazon has added this feature to the latest Echo Dot (a $50 device) and it could really encourage people to pick up multiple Apple TVs.

How about a $70 device with an A14 chip and no remote (use an app) and $99 for the same device with a remote? Heck, even $99/129 would be a better deal than the current model.

Apple clearly doesn't know what to do with Gaming - the Apple Arcade push seems to have died off (it hasn't been mentioned at all in the last few 'special events') so I wouldn't could on any 'gaming' version just yet.
 
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Apple TV could be so much and an intricate part of the Apple ecosystem, but its not.. the Apple TV should have been designed to be the main controller for the home entertainment system and incorporated iTunes, Apple Music, Apple TV, and used the never finished/completed Front Row interface and systems navigation… Apple TV could have been the focal point of the homekit devices and showed their status, etc… including the home security aspect, like viewing all the cameras, and playback of their recordings, etc…. All of that could make Apple TV an exciting device to have… but what it is currently is boring and redundant in many ways…

Apple - Give us back our iTunes!
 
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ian87w said:
It feels like Apple has lost its original vision/purpose for the Apple TV (remaking the remote dozen of times does not mean you know what you're doing). I mean what does Apple want? More people subscribing to AppleTV+? Yet they don't even want to sell a basic AppleTV for $99 (or even $49), making it like they want good margins on the hardware. But ironically they are putting Apple TV app on other platforms like Android TV devices.

Apple started Apple Arcade, making it seems like they want to go into gaming console route. But then it seems like it's not going anywhere, with developers starting to get disinterested. How about a smart home hub? They are not even integrating the homepod well, and they discontinued their router lineup, which is the heart of any home networking.

What does Apple really want? As a consumer, I'm totally confused.

I guess we will never see what Jobs' had said in one of the interviews that he "cracked it." Seems like whatever Jobs was thinking, it got lost in translation somewhere.
Click to expand...
My HomePod works really well with my Apple TV, as well as HomeKit.
 
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kiranmk2 said:
Amazed that a 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 port isn't one of the rumoured features. Shocking that a premium product in 2022 wouldn't have that. Apple can hammer the advantage home by having their sports broadcasts be in 4k120. QMS is desperately needed (look at the YouTube frame rate switching issues in the Apple TV hardware subforum) and would work wonders in combination with dynamic range / frame rate switching.

I wonder if Apple is running out of A12 chips - everything else Apple sells uses an A13 chip minimum (iPad 9th gen), and even that is rumoured to be replaced with an A14 version this month.

I'd really like to see Apple get back into the router market (I still use a Time Capsule for my router and it's rock solid) and make the Apple TVs a mesh unit - I notice that Amazon has added this feature to the latest Echo Dot (a $50 device) and it could really encourage people to pick up multiple Apple TVs.

How about a $70 device with an A14 chip and no remote (use an app) and $99 for the same device with a remote? Heck, even $99/129 would be a better deal than the current model.

Apple clearly doesn't know what to do with Gaming - the Apple Arcade push seems to have died off (it hasn't been mentioned at all in the last few 'special events') so I wouldn't could on any 'gaming' version just yet.
Click to expand...
 
Do more than a few of you really want a webcam built in? I see people mention wanting this a lot. But I feel like a view of the couch from the TV console would be an incredibly unflattering and awkward angle (not to mention potentially upskirt). Probably part of why other TV camera systems didn’t get a lot of traction like the various Xbox and PlayStation cameras.
 
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When 2021 Apple TV 4K's were on sale all over the place last summer, I bought a second unit to experiment with.

Without going into all the gory details, what I learned was that the internal 120 VAC to 12 VDC power supply generates a bunch of electrical noise that affects both the video quality and the sound quality. So, I replaced the internal DC power supply with a simpler filter pc board and used a lower noise external power supply. In a direct side by side comparison with the 2021 4K model we'd be using since, well, 2021 the picture quality improved quite a bit as did the sound. (The processor board switching regulators also contribute to the imperfection, but those are harder to deal with. So, I punted on tweaking those.)

My point is that there's so much emphasis on this feature and that coolness factor that basic performance seems to be getting ignored. Do people actually care about that? (No wrong answer...)
 
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TrenttonY said:
Apple needs to cut prices with the Apple TV line. Change the goal from making a profit to just breaking even. It will benefit them in the long run anyways, because it will bring more people into the Apple ecosystem. Keep in mind, Steve Jobs always said that the Apple TV was just a “hobby”.

Apple TV mini ($50)
  • 1080p
  • Stick design - plugs right into the HDMI port
  • Great for small TVs, kitchens, RV’s, etc
Apple TV ($100)
  • 4K 120 FPS
Apple TV Pro ($200-$250)
  • 4K 120 FPS
  • Combine HomePod + Apple TV — to act as a soundbar and smart speaker.
  • Camera for FaceTime (include a camera cover slider!)
Click to expand...
Agreed. $150 for a decade-almost device is pathetic. It should be $50 today.
Even Steve Jobs realized the need to push AppleTV down, thus the $99 pricing of the second gen back then.
 
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incoherent_1 said:
Faster chip and more RAM isn’t really a feature. What will those additional resources be used for? If no expansions in the software make use of it, then it’s really not a new feature for this particular device…
Click to expand...
Do any other Apple products still use the A12 chip? If not, Apple might want to move away from it and use current chips. Even if the performance gains may not be meaningful in this application, it always sounds good to say that a product is new and improved, especially if it saves Apple money.
 
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