New Apple TV With A12 Chip or Later Uncovered in tvOS 13.4 Beta

[deconstruct60]

A10X and A12 are pretty close in terms of graphics performance, so if Apple chose the A12...they're not doing it to upgrade the system. To me, A13X is more likely now. Apple will use the same SoC in the updated 2020 ATV as in the 2020 iPad Pro lineup, just like they did back in 2017 with the A10X.

More likely an A12X.

In 2017 there was a gap between iPad Pro and Apple TV. ( June vs September.). If there is an A13X ( they may wait for a process shrink at A14/A14X ) then it would depend upon how much of a feature/performance gap the put between that drives the cost up.

The A12X will be a "paid for" chip option for AppleTV. Apple has already spun it as "good enough" for entry console game action.

"... which Apple says provides the power of an Xbox One S in a device with a far smaller power budget. ..."

The 2018 Apple iPad Pro (11-Inch) Review: Doubling Down On Performance

www.anandtech.com

Apple's 2017 Apple TV also came with a substantive price raise too. In the current competitive streaming device space that is not an asset. Apple may toss it around as an "also affordable gaming" box for a partial value proposition, but if they crank the price even higher still. The AppleTV app being in substantive number of new TVs means essentially competing again "free" as a price point for the primary, basic function of the device. Saddling Apple TV with relatively expensive A13X chip probably would hurt as much as help.

Since 2017 AppleTV has substantially lost share in its market. Matching high costs of the latest iPad Pro wasn't the best strategic move Apple has done for AppleTV. There isn't a good reason to repeat it.


2020 is also a year where the gaming box market is in the "wait for refresh" mode. AppleTV isn't up with the upper part of the market ( top end PS and XBox) , but even if Apple wanted to move up further with an A13X/A14X the average baseline is moving. Doubtful they are going to "beat " the other with newer silicon when the others are also moving to new implementations.

 

[Peperino]

How about update the lame remote!

Also, as someone mentioned, A12 is already outdated.
It seems that they want to clear inventory, but why not use A13?

 

[profets]

We've had 3 and I'm considering our 4th. So many exciting EV's coming over the next few years. I wish the US was getting eh iD.3 which resembles the i3 closely IMO. An iD.4 might be ok too, we'll see soon enough.

I had a BEV i3 for 3 years. Such a good vehicle, really under appreciated I'd say. I needed something a bit bigger, and if I had the space I would have definitely kept it around as an additional car for quick commuting and short trips.

 

[AppleTO]

I have the 4th gen Apple TV. I ordered it the day it came out in late 2015. Considering it came with the first version of tvOS, which was 9.0, I wonder how many more years of updates it will receive? Technically they still sell it, yet it has an A8.

This device, unlike iPhones sand iPads, doesn't rely on a battery or built in display, so theoretically it could last forever. I know a lot of people who still have the first gens.

 

[Herrpod]

Hopefully an included remote that isn't garbage is in development too.

 

[profets]

How about update the lame remote!

Also, as someone mentioned, A12 is already outdated.
It seems that they want to clear inventory, but why not use A13?

Its been mentioned a bunch already, but its just Apple's pattern. Just like how the 4th gen Apple TV got the year old A8, and the 5th gen got the year old A10.

I'm not saying it shouldn't get the A13 or newer, but I imagine the A12 will hang around for a while in an updated Apple TV and the current iPad mini, iPad Air, iPod touch. When you look back you'll see the pattern and how certain SoCs tend to stick around for years (like the A5, A8, A10), seems like the same will be true for the A12.

 

[Elyzien]

The remote needs a mute button and a remote finder!!! How about when I cover the IR sensor on the front of the ATV the remote chirps.

 

[edwrap]

Hopefully a non X A12 or A13 will result in a lower price tag. I own an Apple TV 4K, and it’s great, but few normal people are going to buy one when Roku and Amazon Fire devices are sub-$50 and stream all the same stuff (not to mention built-in TV apps).

I doubt Apple is going to make a concerted gaming push.

 

[neuts]

I don’t have an Apple TV so am always meaning to ask, what is so bad about the remote. It’s hard to tell from the pictures. I see it get heat all the time and am just genuinely curious what the issue is?

My gripes with the remote is really the sensitivity of it. I barely touch it and it goes across for tiles or fasts forward far beyond what was intended. When entering passwords its really easy to enter the wrong text. Try using voice for special characters, it doesn't always work (for me, maybe for others its fine). Its nice in theory, but it doesn't come close to the standard arrow buttons on typical remotes.

It never had the wife approval and most importantly, the father in law approval as he binge watches Netflix while kid sitting for us on date night.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Yeah we will see new iPads, Apple TV, Apple headphones and a new ATV at the March event. Should be fun

you forgot the Mac and the apple tags

 

[Rigby]

The remote needs a mute button

YES.

 

[Applefan111]

If you don't play games through apple and have airplay 2/apple tv app on your TV, is there really any benefits in the standalone apple tv now?

 

[AppleTO]

One of the issues with ATV has always been developer support. I bought the gen 4 when it came out in late 2015. At that point, and throughout the next year or so, a whole bunch of my apps were updated with ATV versions. That was great. Unfortunately, this didn't continue. Developers dropped support for the ATV versions of their apps when (I'm assuming) they realized the low interest and amount of downloads on the ATV platform. At this point the apps are extremely outdated and lacking features, or are just plain broken. Most have been removed from the store. It's not uncommon to see an update last updated in 2016.

Of course, the major streaming apps, like YouTube, Netflix and Crave (in Canada), have been kept current, but these are also the apps available on basically any platform... (including built in to the smart TVs.)

 

[Stromos]

Please put the USB back on the box. We don't like having to send them in just for an OS crash.

It's by design. That's why I'm worried they are going the same route on iPhone.

 

[AppleTO]

My gripes with the remote is really the sensitivity of it. I barely touch it and it goes across for tiles or fasts forward far beyond what was intended. When entering passwords its really easy to enter the wrong text. Try using voice for special characters, it doesn't always work (for me, maybe for others its fine). Its nice in theory, but it doesn't come close to the standard arrow buttons on typical remotes.

It never had the wife approval and most importantly, the father in law approval as he binge watches Netflix while kid sitting for us on date night.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the remote worked a lot better (in terms of sensitivity - and flicking) when it came out in 2015. I bought one right away and remember thinking (at first) that the remote worked really well. But now I can barely stand it. I think they've changed things in tvOS updates over the years.

 

[nutmac]

The remote needs a mute button and a remote finder!!! How about when I cover the IR sensor on the front of the ATV the remote chirps.

If you look at the comparison between Siri remote and Salt remote, such as Hands-On With Salt's Apple TV Remote Replacement article, I can surmise that a remote that combines the best of both world would be ideal for the masses.

I want the new remote to have:

• Existing buttons on the Siri remote: Menu, Home (reprogrammable to Apple TV app), Siri, Play/Pause, Volume up/down
• New buttons from the Salt remote: Mute, rewind/forward, back/forward
• Touch surface replaced by analog-style control: No more accidental swipe, better for games
• U1 chip (UWB) for Find My remote
• Qi wireless charging

 

[Twhyrone]

Forget all that they need to make a new remote.

 

[DinkThifferent]

Okay, y'all can hate me but i really like the AppleTV Remote. Why do you guys dislike it?

I picked up a second hand AppleTV HD last weekend and I am really surprised how fluent the interface is, even with an old A8 processor. I use it in my bedroom on a small 23 inch Full HD TV which does the job still perfectly even after 10 years!

I have tried using an Apple TV 4K in my living room on my 40 inch 4K Smart TV, but for some strange reason the picture quality of -for instance- the YouTube app was not as sharp and vivid as when I used the built in YouTube app of my TV. I tried every setting I could find and also switched HDMI cables, but the picture quality of the Apple TV 4K remained consistently worse. Could be my TV, could have been the Apple TV 4K I don't know but either way I returned it.

 

[hobocamp456]

just give me Atmos passthrough for Plex dammit

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I wonder if a faster AppleTV will be able to stream 4K content on ATV+ without trying 8 times and getting the "An error occurred loading this content " error even with my Gigabit internet?

 

[Rigby]

• Existing buttons on the Siri remote: Menu, Home (reprogrammable to Apple TV app), Siri, Play/Pause, Volume up/down
• New buttons from the Salt remote: Mute, rewind/forward, back/forward
• Touch surface replaced by analog-style control: No more accidental swipe, better for games

I really like the touch pad. It's brilliant for quickly scrubbing back and forth in a movie, much better than forward/rewind buttons. I'd also resist adding more buttons except for a small mute button (perhaps under the existing volume buttons). If you add too many, you can no longer operate it without looking. Then make it less symmetric so people don't pick it up the wrong way around so often, and it's perfect.

 

[Wildgift]

How about the ability to play 24/192 High Res FLAC files????

 

[ksec]

A10X

I think it might have more to do with A10X soon to be discontinued, and A12 is roughly the same as A12X in aggregate performance number. Basically replacing the SoC, might not even be worth a mention in keynote.

Maybe to support the AV1 Codec?

This is from today today:
Netflix rolls out more efficient AV1 video codec, starting with Android

Netflix rolls out more efficient AV1 video codec, starting with Android

AV1 is gaining momentum fast

www.flatpanelshd.com

I dont think Apple wants to support AV1, not to mention Netflix currently deliver HEVC video to Apple devices.

 

[konqerror]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the remote worked a lot better (in terms of sensitivity - and flicking) when it came out in 2015. I bought one right away and remember thinking (at first) that the remote worked really well. But now I can barely stand it. I think they've changed things in tvOS updates over the years.

They definitely screwed up the jump forward/back gestures in an early update. Add on to it a bunch of apps like YouTube not using the system video player and implementing their own gestures.

I dont think Apple wants to support AV1, not to mention Netflix currently deliver HEVC video to Apple devices.

Then why did Apple join AOMedia as a founding member?

Amazon and Netflix both use HEVC to support currently deployed devices. The issue is that it takes years to get the decoder hardware designed, tested, implemented into SoCs, then have those SoCs deployed, after the spec was frozen. As a comparison, HEVC is a 7 year old standard, it was first released in 2013.

 

[Tastannin]

Please put the USB back on the box. We don't like having to send them in just for an OS crash.

Use the hidden lightning connector instead!

Apple hid a Lightning connector for debugging in the Apple TV 4K's ethernet port - 9to5Mac

As it turns out, the Apple TV 4K includes a hidden Lightning port. This discovery was first made on Twitter by Kevin Bradley, better known as nitoTV on Twitter. This could lead to access to the Apple TV 4K’s firmware. While earlier Apple TV models had Micro USB and USB-C, the Apple TV 4K dropped […]

ww.9to5mac.com