- New Apple TV -Unit still on the track at the end of 2025, says report
- Apple reportedly planning to make it significantly cheaper
- Claimed upgrades appear to be relatively small 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 can expect me to be really excited about the prospect of a brand new model later in the year – after all, there have been three years of potential technical improvements since the last one launched in 2022. But I feel pretty underrated by the latest report.
According to Macrumors’ “Reliable Source”, Apple “is very likely” to replace the current Apple TV 4K with a newer model by the end of 2025.
It fits the usual Apple time plan for its TV streamer; We are 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 can be significantly cheaper than the current model. It’s great if you don’t have one and want one. But what if you are already an Apple TV owner?
Apple TV 4K 2025: What to expect
The reported improvements are all rather predictable: Wi-Fi 7 (which many Apple devices do not 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 misunderstand me. A smoother processor that is even more responsive would be nice, just as the review of uncompressed sound (although this feature is claimed to come to existing models too).
But an important part of my lack of excitement is that Apple TV 4K is already one of the best TV streamers out there and has been for years, and it is more about the software than hardware – and the things that abound me, such as Siri’s frequent inability to understand even very simple voice searches, is 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 will press a button, have a lot of things to look at and hit play. Assuming it looks and sounds good – and Apple TV+ on Apple TV 4K does both – that’s about everything I love; 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 what’s great for games, I’m pretty cynical over that side of it: I have several consoles and handhelds for me and the kids, and we just don’t bother with games on Apple TV.
This means that I really struggle to think of a feature that Apple could add that would make me want to upgrade out of the ordinary “Look at the new shiny!” That I am often a sucker for.
I hope I am pleasantly surprised by the new model, but I suppose this update will primarily be financial: a cheaper, slightly better version of what we already have 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.
