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gadget123

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 17, 2011
2,380
340
United Kingdom
Serious question: What "features" could they add?

It's an overpriced device for streaming media content. I love mine (we have 4), but not sure what new stuff they could pack into a device to upgrade it.
Well the rumours here suggest a faster chip and FaceTime camera.
 

ATmahe

macrumors regular
Oct 8, 2023
141
347
But as it acts as a home hub, I think AI would be great for it. I‘m hoping for a better chip this year (not specific at WWDC).
 
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HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Well the rumours here suggest a faster chip and FaceTime camera.

Facetime camera in the box would be terrible except for those people who position it immediately above or below center of the TV. All other places that people put them would result in those on the other end seeing you not looking back at them.

If you don't know this by just thinking about it, fire up continuity camera on your phone or tablet and put it where you would like this new AppleTV to be located. Then look at the view others would have of you.

if you want to do this even simpler, turn on the selfie camera on your phone, sit where you would normally sit, extend your arm and align the phone camera between your face and where you store your AppleTV. Now look right at your TV screen as you would in a FaceTime call this way and shoot some selfie video of yourself. Then watch it to see what the other end would see.

For example, if your AppleTV is stored well right of your TV, a FaceTime camera in it while you look at your TV screen would make it look like you are looking far LEFT of the people on the other end.

And then there's the people who store their AppleTVs vertically and fully behind their TV... or in a cabinet.

To scratch this itch, I think a much better solution would be a revival of a "normal" USB port on AppleTV, so that people could get a TV camera (that mounts on the top, center of the TV and run the USB cord to that USB jack). OR create a dedicated continuity camera that is maybe powered by a USB jack in the TV already.

Why not "just use my iPhone?" That works if you are single, living alone... but otherwise robs those of FaceTime capability when your iDevice is out of the home with you. A dedicated camera that stays with the TV & AppleTV seems the very best way to cover this want.

My guess is next AppleTV hits NEXT year or two... not soon.
 
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Juicy Box

macrumors 604
Sep 23, 2014
7,579
8,919
I would like to see a new ATV with active cooling.

Keep the fanless design as the base model, but have the more expensive tier have some type of active cooling.
 
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oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
6,083
14,193
Serious question: What "features" could they add?

The one most often repeated by the nerds here (myself among them) is we want audio passthrough, so that the true audio signal of whatever we're watching is passed to the AVR/soundbar without tvOS mucking with it.

There is some improvement that can be made to how storage is managed. For example, folks with large Infuse libraries know that every so often tvOS just clears out the app's data. There should be a way to tell tvOS not to clear out certain data. I think other streaming apps would also benefit by allowing offline downloads like they do on iPhone/iPad, and would allow better integration with cloud storage apps.

Facetime on AppleTV can use some improvement. First, I have no idea why Apple hasn't already done this, but why not let the microphone on the remote act as the wireless microphone to pick up call audio? It would sound much better for the mic in my hand or in my lap to pick up my voice, than for the iphone 12 feet away under the TV. Second, Apple should build-in support for third-party USB cameras. It's a standard spec at this point, so it should be easy to do. This way, folks that want it, can simply mount one of the many readily available USB cameras on top of their tv and not have to fuss around with wireless iphone-to-appletv syncing.

In terms of UI, I know at least a few folks would appreciate native support for the more unusual resolutions and aspect ratios such as cinemascope / anamorphic. The home theater projector guys would certainly enjoy it.
 
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cardfan

macrumors 601
Mar 23, 2012
4,431
5,627
Serious question: What "features" could they add?

It's an overpriced device for streaming media content. I love mine (we have 4), but not sure what new stuff they could pack into a device to upgrade it.

Are you kidding? It’ll be ai powered. It’ll know what you want to watch before you turn it on. Heck it’ll turn it on before you know you want it on.
 
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BKDad

macrumors regular
May 16, 2011
213
179
Bought a new one for a good deal just yesterday, can't see any big improvements other than Wifi 6 and better chip.
Yeah. At some point they will want to stop manufacturing the A15 (or whatever) chip that they use now and move to some newer device for economic reasons. Or, they could run out of their stockpile. That might determine when a new Apple TV drops more than anything and everything else.

Personally, I'd be happy if they just fixed the bugs in the software.

The last hardware "upgrade" wasn't truly an upgrade for users. It was for Apple because they made changes to reduce their costs by really cheapening the product. Thermal capability, for one thing.
 
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oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
6,083
14,193
The last hardware "upgrade" wasn't truly an upgrade for users. It was for Apple because they made changes to reduce their costs by really cheapening the product. Thermal capability, for one thing.

From an processing performance point of view, yea the last one wasn't much of an update. But there was plenty of benefit to users:
- Lower price
- Increased base and upgrade storage
- Added support for HDR10+
- Added support for hardware VP9 decoding
- Added support for QMS

Also, I think the passive cooling design is better for folks that don't game and rather use the AppleTV in a home theater setup. No noise, no dust buildup.

I think none of that is worth it to upgrade from the 2021 model. But if I was looking at a 2021 model or a 2022 model at roughly the same price, I would easily choose the 2022 model.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
6,083
14,193
Yeah. At some point they will want to stop manufacturing the A15 (or whatever) chip that they use now and move to some newer device for economic reasons. Or, they could run out of their stockpile. That might determine when a new Apple TV drops more than anything and everything else.

The A15 is still used in the current iPad Mini and the current iPhone SE (3rd gen). Also, Apple is still selling new iPhone 13s and 14s with the A15. I think it's clear that the A15 is Apple's long-term support SoC. Not saying there won't be an AppleTV upgrade this year, but it's not going to be because of A15 manufacturing.
 
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bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,479
535
The A15 is still used in the current iPad Mini and the current iPhone SE (3rd gen). Also, Apple is still selling new iPhone 13s and 14s with the A15. I think it's clear that the A15 is Apple's long-term support SoC. Not saying there won't be an AppleTV upgrade this year, but it's not going to be because of A15 manufacturing.
Apple is going to be replacing the iPad Mini and iPhone SE in the next year or so. There will likely be a new Apple TV just because of that more than anything else.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
6,083
14,193
You're probably right.

But the next-gen iPhone SE is might just be a value-engineered iPhone 13/14 that keeps the same A15. The iPad Mini is a crapshoot: they could go M2 like the Air, or on the flip side the regular cheap iPad still has an A14 so who knows?

I just want audio passthrough. Is that so much to ask?
 

erihp

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2020
757
612
IMO, it doesn't need more distinct features from the current option models. If anything Apple needs to make it cheaper, and spend some money explaining to the everyday user why they should buy it instead of a Roku or Fire device. A $50 base model would sell like crazy. I know a lot of people who own an iphone and dont even know what an Apple TV is.

I just want audio passthrough. Is that so much to ask?

That sounds like something that can be done in software.
 
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Ctrlos

macrumors 65816
Sep 19, 2022
1,361
2,849
An obvious upgrade would be an M-series processor. This would allow it to play graphically intensive App Store titles like Death Stranding and Resi 7 without any problems. As a streaming box its already downright perfect: its faster and more powerful than any junky Android TV interface whilst being less intensive than an Xbox or PlayStation. If Apple could attract Gamepass/Luna/Nvidia streaming apps to the market it would largely eliminate the need for a games console at all.
 

bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,479
535
An obvious upgrade would be an M-series processor. This would allow it to play graphically intensive App Store titles like Death Stranding and Resi 7 without any problems. As a streaming box its already downright perfect: its faster and more powerful than any junky Android TV interface whilst being less intensive than an Xbox or PlayStation. If Apple could attract Gamepass/Luna/Nvidia streaming apps to the market it would largely eliminate the need for a games console at all.
If Apple did that, then the Apple TV would be a dead product with no users. They have been working on lowering the cost of the device over recent years. They aren't going to triple the price for gaming when there just isn't a market for it. People have been wanting to make the Apple TV into a gaming machine for years but I don't know how Apple can make it more clear that is never going to happen.
 

gonidog

macrumors newbie
May 10, 2017
19
7
Rumors are that we are supposed to get new machine sometime first half of this year. I like the idea of a fan Apple TV for those who want to game. Increased wifi and bluetooth specs obviously. Possibly increased GPU and Memory. A gaming machine would be wonderful. On the home side of things - better ways to connect HomePods and sound systems. We are close to a lot of this. Gaming developers appear to be coming on board. Only need the will (Apple) and a nudge (us)...
 
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