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- New Apple TV device still on track for late 2025, says report
- Apple reportedly plans to make it significantly cheaper
- Claimed upgrades appear to be relatively minor and predictable
I’ve had every generation of Apple TV since the first one, and you’ll have to pry my Apple TV 4K from my cold dead hands. So you might expect me to be really excited by the prospect of a brand new model later this year – after all, there have been three years of potential tech improvements since the last one launched in 2022. But I’m feeling pretty underwhelmed by the latest report.
According to MacRumors‘ “reliable source”, Apple is “highly likely” to replace the current Apple TV 4K with a newer model before the end of 2025.
That fits with the usual Apple timetable for its TV streamer; we’re not on an iPhone-esque annual upgrade cycle with these devices. But the only thing that sounds really interesting to me about this reported device is that it may be considerably cheaper than the current model. That’s great if you don’t have one and want one. But what if you’re already an Apple TV owner?
Apple TV 4K 2025: what to expect
The reported improvements are all pretty predictable: Wi-Fi 7 (which many Apple devices don’t support; Apple’s current MacBook models have 6E), Apple’s own design of Bluetooth/Wi-Fi chip, and a newer processor. 8K support is unlikely.
Don’t get me wrong. A smoother processor that’s even more responsive would be nice, as would passthrough for uncompressed audio (though that feature is claimed to come to existing models too).
But a key part of my lack of excitement is that the Apple TV 4K is already one of the best TV streamers out there and has been for years, and that’s more about the software than the hardware – and the things that bug me, such as Siri’s frequent inability to understand even very simple voice searches, are software too.
I want my TV streamer to be the least interesting and flashy bit of kit in my home: at the end of a long day, when the kids have finally gone to bed or gone out, I want to press a button, get a bunch of stuff to watch, and hit play. Provided it looks and sounds good – and Apple TV+ on Apple TV 4K does both – that’s about all I care about; I get my recommendations from people and publications rather than AI or algorithms, so I’m not really interested in anything AI.
And after years of hearing about how the next Apple TV will be the one that’s great for gaming, I’m pretty cynical about that side of it: I’ve got multiple consoles and handhelds for me and the kids, and we just don’t bother with gaming on Apple TV.
That means I’m really struggling to think of a feature that Apple could add that would make me want to upgrade beyond the usual “look at the new shiny!” that I’m often a sucker for.
I hope I’m pleasantly surprised by the new model, but I suspect this update is going to be primarily financial: a cheaper, slightly better version of what we’ve already got is more about getting new customers than exciting existing ones.
It’s not that a new Apple TV would be bad. It’s that the current one is already so good.