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What to Expect From the Next-Generation Apple TV Launching Next Year
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"A17 Processor"
What's it going to do, play movies faster?
What's it going to do, play movies faster?
Hopefully play some games without thermal throttling the GPU like the A15 on the ATV4K3.
Box and software are solid, but that remote needs to go. Like using that stale stick of gum that came with baseball cards when I was a kid.
How about a clock on the front that can be turned on or off? I miss having a clock on the cable box.
I want a usb c port that would allow me to connect a dedicated camera/microphone for use with FaceTime on the Apple TV. Having to set up your phone to be the camera and microphone every time you want to make or receive a FaceTime call sounds like a pain in the ass.
Surely the main new feature has to realistically be: 8K
Yes, it's not mainstream yet. Yes, there's hardly any content yet.
But unless they add 8K, the rest is largely going to be a pointless 4K update for almost no discernible reason.
EDIT: Apart from certain audio format fixes and HDR icons fixes, which may sell to tech enthusiasts who notice these flaws in the current box, they are are hardly upgrade selling points for the average joe public, who will just see another "ATV 4K" box and be underwhelmed.
Additionally, Apple's latest M2-series Macs are have 8K port support, so seems logical for the next ATV box to have it too.
Yes, it's not mainstream yet. Yes, there's hardly any content yet.
But unless they add 8K, the rest is largely going to be a pointless 4K update for almost no discernible reason.
EDIT: Apart from certain audio format fixes and HDR icons fixes, which may sell to tech enthusiasts who notice these flaws in the current box, they are are hardly upgrade selling points for the average joe public, who will just see another "ATV 4K" box and be underwhelmed.
Additionally, Apple's latest M2-series Macs are have 8K port support, so seems logical for the next ATV box to have it too.
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Don't think there will be any major improvements. But a price of $99 will be very good
I'd like a simpler remote design , it's still form over function imo
Why on earth do you need a mute button when you've got a pause one too ???
Why on earth do you need a mute button when you've got a pause one too ???
They really should put out a version with M series chip in it to pull double duty as a game console.
AS above, two ways they can go and i think they should do 2 different devices:
- One version for 4k video playback and not gaming focused (its about time 4k was standard, its cheap enough now hardware wise).
- An up-spec variant with an M class chip in it to get Apple some couch based gaming hardware to help kick start the Apple gaming ecosystem beyond casual mobile gaming.
For me, the main features missng are software - in particular, better profile handing: if profiles are enablee, select one at start of the session (like netflix and other streaming apps).
Also, make it so that an app either supports the profile API or it is sandboxed into individual profiles.
Today, some apps that support logins share that across all AppleTV profiles and I'd like to avoid that.
As for hardware - more power so it can support realtime AI upscaling would be nice.
Facetime hardware has zero use for me, and given how my three units are placed it wouldn't work either.
Also, make it so that an app either supports the profile API or it is sandboxed into individual profiles.
Today, some apps that support logins share that across all AppleTV profiles and I'd like to avoid that.
As for hardware - more power so it can support realtime AI upscaling would be nice.
Facetime hardware has zero use for me, and given how my three units are placed it wouldn't work either.
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The feature I would like the most is to be able to download (temporarily) what you’re about to watch so you can enjoy it while being on a less than perfect wifi… currently everything I watch goes up and down in resolution… my wifi is fine for everything else apart from streaming on two apple 4k tvs
Unfortunately, this implicitly undermines the Apple TV's reason for existing, which is to rope you into making payments in their ecosystem. Buy media via iTunes, pay for subscriptions via iTunes.
Except you can stream to it from another device, plex, netflix, stan, disney+, etc.
The Apple TV is a vehicle for the AppleTV service but it is not exclusively tied to it by any means.
The current Apple TV 4K was released in November 2022 with the A15 Bionic chip, a larger 128GB storage option, a slightly thinner and lighter design, HDR10+ support, a Siri Remote with a USB-C port, lower pricing, and other minor changes.
The next-generation Apple TV 4K is expected to be released next year. Ahead, we recap rumored features and changes for the streaming device.
Faster Chip
The next Apple TV will be equipped with a faster processor than the current A15 Bionic chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It's unclear which chip will be used, but possibilities include the A16 Bionic chip from the iPhone 14 Pro or the upcoming A17 Bionic chip, which is expected to be manufactured based on TSMC's latest 3nm process for significant performance and power efficiency improvements.
Lower Price
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the next Apple TV to be "more affordable" than the current model. He said a "sub-$100 price" would be the "sweet spot" for the Apple TV, but exact pricing for the next model remains to be seen.
Both the second-generation (2010) and third-generation (2012) versions of the Apple TV were priced at $99 in the U.S. at launch, and Apple eventually lowered the price of the third-generation model to $69, so there is precedent for a sub-$100 Apple TV that would better compete with low-priced streaming devices sold by Google, Amazon, and Roku.
The current Apple TV 4K already starts at a lower price of $129 in the U.S., compared to $179 for the previous-generation model.
Same Design
The next Apple TV will stick with the "current design," according to Gurman.
Apple said the A15 Bionic chip's increased power efficiency allowed for the fan to be removed in the current Apple TV, resulting in the device having a more compact design that is around 12% thinner and around 50% lighter than the previous model.
2024 Launch
Apple plans to release the next Apple TV in the first half of 2024, according to Gurman, but no specific timeframe is known at this point. Previous models of the Apple TV 4K launched in November 2022, May 2021, and September 2017.
Article Link: What to Expect From the Next-Generation Apple TV Launching Next Year
Article was kind of pointless, as it told us really nothing. Same size, and maybe cheaper, updated chip. GOT IT!
Until it gets unmolested bitstream audio out, which it probably never will because Apple, it’s permanently crippled as a serious home theatre source. I’ll never buy another one until this is fixed.
given a choice of main stream content including politics & big Pharma ads
Staring Lovingly at my ATV is indeed much more preferable
Forget the faster processor Apple, and focus on basics please!
(A) 24-bit/192kHz audio
(A) 24-bit/192kHz audio
- The ATV audio output is downsampled to a maximum sampling rate of only 48kHz. It cannot output 24-bit/192kHz audio, even if you have Apple Music Lossless or Tidal HiFi Plus etc (and even though HDMI 1.4 and earlier can support 8 channels of 24-bit/192kHz audio).
- You can already output audio at 48kHz (if not higher) from your TV, or at 44.1kHz via Airplay 2, so the ATV currently provides no added benefit for high-res audio.
- The ATV does not support DTS or its higher quality siblings eg DTS-HD Master Audio. DTS is a just as common as - if not more common than - Dolby, for movie audio tracks.
- The ATV does not support lossless Dolby audio (eg Dolby TrueHD) for movie audio tracks.
- Content is available in 4K120. Whilst only a handful of movies are in this format, people also have personal content they have filmed in 4K120.
- The ATV UI is severely flawed. If you set the ATV video output to 4K HDR or 4K DV, the ATV UI is not actually designed in that format, and nor are most of the applications (eg Apple Movies, Netflix, Apple Music, Tidal). So the ATV actually modifies its own UI to convert it from SDR, into HDR or DV. Unfortunately, THIS DOES NOT WORK properly. Using those settings, the screen will go black and audio will stop, for a few seconds, repeatedly, while trying to watch a movie or tv show, or listen to music.
- The ONLY workaround is to set the ATV video output to 4K SDR, and to "Match Dynamic Range - On" and "Match Frame Rate - On". This fixes the audio and video playback, but you lose the benefit of the ATV UI and screensavers appearing in HDR. This issue has existed for at least 3 years (across both the 1st and 2nd gen 4k ATVs), yet Apple has done absolutely nothing to rectify!
And once Apple is done with basics, how about a backlit remote! The current remote is useless in the dark.
Yes, I have mentioned that several times in other threads. That really hurts the case for owning an Apple streaming box. It is why I own two 4K Chromecast and a 4K Roku dongle. The Roku streamer is really fast. I purchased the Roku on Amazon for $24 during BF deals and the Chromecast were $49 each.
