An Apple TV that already rivals Roku and Amazon could be on the market by the end of the year. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a tweetApple will launch a new Apple TV that “improves the cost structure” in the second half of 2022.
It is a damn time.
Currently, Apple sells three models of Apple TV. The Apple 4K TV comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities and retails for $179 and $199, respectively. This is a good deal for what you get from a 4K Apple TV. Aside from Nvidia’s Shield lineup, no set-top box has the same support for the wide range of home theater standards and formats that the Apple TV 4K offers. It is the gold standard for professional home theater installers and is particularly praised for its EDID capabilities.
EDID, or Extended Display Identification Data, basically tells your receiver, Blu-Ray player, or other device, what kind of display you’ve connected to it. Devices that do a bad EDID handshake may try to play HDR content when your TV doesn’t support, or worse, your TV isn’t HDR-capable and deprives you of the nice dynamic range you might have paid for. Roku, Amazon, and a lot of set-top boxes can be pretty lousy at that handshake and give your TV the best quality signal it can handle from any given streaming source. Apple screws.
But while the more budget-friendly Apple TV HD shares the same EDID handling, it lacks all the other goodies that make 4K a must-have for home theater geeks. It only supports up to 1080p, and at $149, it’s a pretty bad buy. Like, you better save your money some kind of bad buy.
It is a problem for Apple. want the company Sell their services to you, including Apple Fitness (which only works on Apple devices) and Apple TV Plus. I’ve worked hard with other set-top box providers and TV makers to get these on their devices, but that’s not really enough to compete with Roku and Amazon, which both have set-top boxes that start under $50 and have most of the same capabilities as an Apple TV HD. Priced at $149.
An Apple TV that starts at $99 or less with AirPlay 2 support, the excellent EDID handling and ability to handle fitness will be even more appealing. This is closer in price to the sticks offered by Roku and Amazon. It will still be more expensive, but at least it will be under $100.
But which Apple TV is cheaper still leaves me wondering – what’s the point of the Apple TV HD then? Just to cut money out of people’s wallets who don’t pay attention? Due to its high price and low production accuracy, it does not make much sense as a product at its current price. It could end up dropping to less than $100, and a new 4K-enabled device could take its place in the middle.
Kuo’s tweet doesn’t provide clarity on where this new device will be in the Apple TV lineup, so no one is guessing at this point. (If you already know, feel free to email us at [email protected].) It can completely replace your Apple TV HD.
Whatever this potential new product may be, let’s hope it’s cheaper than current offerings and has a better name. We have Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Apple TV Plus and the Apple TV Up Next app; If we add an Apple TV Stick or whatever to the group, I’m really worried about the Google search algorithm when people google “Apple TV”.
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