Just months after it launched a new version of the Apple TV streaming box, the iPhone maker is reportedly working on a successor device that could make its debut in early 2024.
The report comes from well-known Apple secrets leaker Mark Gurman in Bloomberg, who has a solid record when it comes to learning what the notoriously secretive firm is up to. According to Gurman, the company is working on an upgraded Apple TV 4K that will be powered by a faster processor.
The new model will retain the same design and form factor as the existing Apple TV 4K (2022). That device was launched towards the end of last year and was slightly smaller than the previous Apple TV model, adding USB-C charging for the remote control and increasing its storage capacity to 128GB. It also added a newer chip, the A15 Bionic.
Besides having an even faster chip, the 2024 Apple TV 4K doesn’t look like it’s going to get many other significant improvements. Gurman says the new version will not support 8K resolution, which would be one obvious upgraded capability that Apple could add.
It’s not clear whether or not the new Apple TV will support a full-bandwidth, 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 port either. While the existing Apple TV 4K has a HDMI 2.1 port, it’s lower spec and only supports HDMI eARC. Gurman’s report made no mention of an update.
What it did talk about is an apparently separate new device that will combine the Apple TV 4K with the recently TV-optimized Apple HomePod, and a camera. "Work on a long-anticipated product that would combine the TV box with a smart speaker and FaceTime camera also has suffered setbacks, though that project is still ongoing,” Gurman wrote. “The device was initially targeted for release this year, but the timing has slipped."
Apple has only recently launched a new, standalone HomePod, and one of its main new capabilities is that it can now be paired with the Apple TV 4K. The newer product that’s in the works would apparently be something that’s more tightly integrated.
Given that the supposed 2024 Apple TV 4K seems a little light on new features, the possibility does exist that perhaps Gurman somehow has his wires crossed. It could well be that the new TV streamer and the proposed TV/HomePod hybrid are in fact one and the same. In that case, it would be a much more meaningful upgrade with both a faster chip and the ability to serve as a kind of smart home hub.
If not, then the new Apple TV 4K (2024) model, if such a thing does appear, would seem to be a rather unnecessary upgrade. Without any new killer features, it’s hard to see why many existing Apple TV 4K (2022) owners would be willing to over a hundred pounds for a new version. While the new CPU might provide a minor performance boost, it’s unlikely to be that noticeable - especially as the current Apple TV 4K is already one of the best performing streaming devices on the market as it is.
But throw in HomePod functionality and a full HDMI 2.1 port, and suddenly the new Apple TV 4K would become much more enticing. With any luck, Apple is indeed working on something a bit more special than what Gurman has reported thus far.
