Last Updated on June 29, 2022 by srinivas
The Apple TV 4K landed in April 2021, and while the company hasn’t really had a set pattern for releasing upgrades to its streaming box, new rumors suggest its successor could be just around the corner. Here’s everything we know so far about the new Apple TV for 2022.
When will the new Apple TV come out?
We haven’t received any official confirmation from Apple at the time of writing, but there have already been a few rumors circulating indicating that it will only be a few more months. The most notable of these was from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a steady track record when it comes to Apple-related predictions.
In a tweet last May, he stated that Apple “will launch a new version of Apple TV in 2H22 that improves the cost structure.” While this may seem a bit vague, it translates into the simple fact that he expects a new Apple TV in the second half of 2022.
Looking at the past models, we don’t really get any better ideas or when exactly this might be, as you can see from the rather scattered approach described below:
- Apple TV 4K (2nd generation): May 2021
- Apple TV 4K (1st generation): September 2017
- Apple TV HD: Oct 2015
Apple tends not to launch a lot of hardware in the summer, so we expect to see something around September.
How much will the new Apple TV cost?
Again, none of this is confirmed at this point, but in his tweet above, Ming-Chi Kuo uses the phrase “improve cost structure,” which could be translated along the lines of “will be cheaper.” Right now the Apple TV 4K HD sells for $179 / £169 if you want the 32GB version, while the 64GB model costs $199 / £189. This pretty much makes it the most expensive streaming box on the market, with most of its Amazon and Roku rivals dropping the set-top box design in favor of streaming sticks. There are a few exceptions, like the Amazon Fire TV Cube and Roku Streambar, but they’re still a bit cheaper.
These are the current prices of the main alternatives:
If the rumors of a cheaper version are true, it could help Apple’s streamer gain traction in a market currently dominated by Amazon, Google and Roku.
New Features and Technical Specifications
Applying the caveats mentioned earlier, we’ve seen rumors from solid sources suggesting that Apple is going to improve things with the new update. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who also has an excellent track record when it comes to Apple, recently wrote about new specs we may see in the Apple TV (2022) model.
He stated in his Power On newsletter that “the new Apple TV, codenamed J255, is in development with an A14 chip and an extra gigabyte of RAM. That compares to the A12 chip announced last year as part of of the Apple TV 2021 and could be useful for additional gaming capabilities rolling out in tvOS 16.”
The A14 processor is the same as in the iPhone 12 series and the iPad Air (4th generation), which seems overkill for a simple streaming box. It seems that Apple wants to continue pursuing the gaming angle on the Apple TV.
A while ago there were rumors that we might see a new hybrid device combining the Apple TV and HomePod, but Gurman seems to have scrapped this by writing about an update to the latter. “The HomePod, codenamed B620,” says Gurman, “will use the same S8 chip as the watches and will be closer to the original HomePod in size and audio performance than a new HomePod mini. The new HomePod will have an updated display on top. and there has even been talk of multi-touch functionality.”
Read further
So far, that’s all we have about an update to the Apple TV range. Whether it’s a cheaper streaming stick or a more powerful hockey puck, we’ll just have to wait and see. Fortunately, it shouldn’t take too long.
Until then, check out our guides to the best shows coming to Apple TV+ right now and the best Apple TV+ exclusive streaming services.