Last month, we reported on a tweet from Ming-Chi Kuo that announced that a new Apple TV would be coming in the second half of this year. Now a reference to “SiriRemote4” in the iOS 16 beta code (found by aaronp613 on Twitter) lends weight to this claim.
The much-maligned original Siri Remote is called “SiriRemote” in iOS code, and “SiriRemote2” is the updated version with the white ring around the Menu button. The brand new Siri Remote that currently ships with Apple TV (and is much more usable) is referred to as “SiriRemote3”. So this “SiriRemote4” would be new hardware, although it’s entirely possible that it isn’t. see Where law different from the current model.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s tweet in May, the updated Apple TV is supposed to have an “improved cost structure.” It just means it should cost Apple less to produce, which we can hope would mean the company sells it for less. After all, our biggest complaint about Apple TV hardware is that it costs significantly more than competing devices.
What do we want from a new Apple TV?
We’ve used plenty of streaming boxes and smart TVs here at Macworld, and Apple TV remains our favorite way to enjoy streaming services. It’s just considerably more expensive than competing devices, so its range is limited. The Apple TV 4K with 32GB of storage is $179 (the Apple TV HD isn’t worth buying). By comparison, the top-end Roku costs $99.99 and is often available for less, and Fire TV tops out at $69.
In addition to a steep price drop, it would be nice if Apple TV supported HDMI 2.1. This isn’t very often needed for streaming services (which don’t exceed HDMI 2.0’s 4K 60Hz limit), but it’s only a matter of time before there’s 8K content streaming. , and features like 120Hz output and variable refresh rate are useful for gaming and other applications. You need HDMI 2.1 for all that.
Also, it would be very useful if the Siri Remote supported Find My, so you can locate it more easily with your iPhone if it slips between the couch cushions or falls under the side table.
The latest discovery of a “SiriRemote4” doesn’t tell us if any of these things are in the cards, but they’re high on our list for a new Apple TV device coming this fall, which is starting to look more likely.
