Next Apple TV 4K Expected With A17 Pro and Apple Intelligence

Apple's streaming box is finally in line for an overhaul. The next Apple TV 4K is expected to launch this fall with the A17 Pro chip, support for Apple's revamped Siri, and faster wireless networking, according to recent reports.

It would be the first hardware update to the device in nearly four years.

The current third generation Apple TV 4K arrived in October 2022 and still runs on the A15 Bionic.

A refresh has been rumored for some time, and its delay has increasingly been tied to the slow rollout of Apple's more personalized Siri, which the new model is expected to support.

Launch timing

The most recent reporting points to a fall release, with September or October the likeliest window.

Bloomberg reported in late July that a new Apple TV and an updated HomePod mini are "nearly ready to launch" as part of a wider Apple push into the smart home. That followed an earlier report describing both products as being in advanced testing and on track to ship this year.

A17 Pro and Apple Intelligence

The headline change is expected to be the processor. The new Apple TV 4K is rumored to move from the A15 Bionic to the A17 Pro, the chip Apple first shipped in the iPhone 15 Pro.

References tying an unreleased Apple TV to the A17 Pro have previously surfaced in Apple's own software code. The upgrade matters beyond raw speed. The A17 Pro is the oldest iPhone class chip capable of running Apple Intelligence, which is why it is the gateway to the new Siri on the television.

Bloomberg has said the next Apple TV will support Apple's new Siri. Additional Apple Intelligence features could follow, though Apple has not detailed any specific tvOS capabilities.

The A17 Pro would also bring a stronger GPU with hardware accelerated ray tracing. That opens the door to more demanding titles through Apple Arcade and hopefully some AAA titles, in the living room.

Wi-Fi 7 and other wireless upgrades

The new model is also expected to adopt Apple's N1 networking chip.

The N1 could add Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The current Apple TV 4K tops out at Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, and it restricts Thread to the pricier configuration with an Ethernet port.

Wi-Fi 7 on its own will not dramatically change ordinary video streaming, which needs far less bandwidth than the standard offers. Taken together, though, faster wireless, lower latency Bluetooth, and Thread could make the Apple TV a more capable hub for games and smart home accessories.

A possible new Siri Remote

Apple is reportedly weighing a refreshed Siri Remote to go with the box. Details are thin, and Bloomberg has warned against expecting sweeping changes to the Apple TV itself.

One rumored possibility is better Find My support. The current remote can be located with a nearby iPhone but lacks the Ultra Wideband hardware that powers Precision Finding on AirTag, I'm hoping they add a speaker, but that's my personal wish.

Pricing is the open question

The biggest unknown is what the new Apple TV 4K will cost.

Apple recently raised the price of the current model, taking the 64GB version from $129 to $199 and the 128GB version with Ethernet from $149 to $249. The company has pointed to higher memory and storage costs behind a broader round of hardware price increases.

Those increases make a return to the old $129 starting price hard to imagine for the next generation.

Buyers who can wait have little reason to rush. The current Apple TV 4K is still fast, but its new retail pricing is a tough sell with a long overdue replacement reportedly only weeks out. Shoppers who need a box sooner can find the outgoing model for less through Apple's refurbished store, but inventory moves quickly.