Apple has debuted loads of products this year (with many more to follow) to coincide with its 50th anniversary but we’re still awaiting a next-gen Apple TV streaming box, which our very own Dan Grabham has optimistically dubbed the Apple TV Pro.
I’ve long had a soft spot for Apple TV. I’ve tested a bunch of alternatives, and Apple’s set-top box was the first that I didn’t want to hurl into a ravine. That’s admittedly a low bar, but one Apple didn’t just clear – it vaulted skyward with smug athleticism while presumably dreaming about a future where it would strive to make people fitter as well as gawping at screens. So good job, Apple!
Standby mode
But also: bad job, Apple. Because the company’s more recent attitude to its little black box increasingly feels like a TV exec hovering over the cancel button. Every developer conference it holds, Apple speed-runs through iPhone and iPad features in dizzying fashion, tosses Apple Watch and Mac fans some shiny baubles, and then briefly confirms Apple TV still exists. “We’ve made the buttons 11% shinier” whispers an Apple exec in hushed, earnest tones, before tvOS is shoved back into a cupboard for another 12 months. The result is software that feels like it’s stuck in compatibility mode, devoid of vision.
It’s still better than rival systems, but that’s no ringing endorsement when tvOS has an identity crisis. On one hand, there’s a legacy icon-based grid view from the days when Apple claimed the future of TV would be apps. (It wasn’t.) And then there’s the Apple TV app, which aims to unify everything into one glorious hub.
Except for Netflix, because, presumably, someone wanted a bigger cheque. And except for most third-party apps beyond the odd TV network, because Apple doesn’t want them cluttering up space it considers better used to plug its own content and Major League Soccer.
Console yourself
The hardware is stuck in a rut too, though that matters less. Every Apple TV I’ve owned has been silent, reliable and overpowered for what it needs to do. Still, it’s telling that the current box dates from 2022 and has the guts of a 2021 iPhone 13. You might argue that’s fine. An Apple TV doesn’t need to render Pixar movies – just play them. But the inertia has ‘legacy device’ vibes.
Next week, though, there should finally be movement as Apple’s upgrade machine cranks into action. And the ‘new’ Apple TV will include… an A17 Pro from 2023’s iPhone 15 Pro. We’ll see a flurry of headlines about AAA gaming on Apple TV and how it’s finally a proper console. Sony won’t tremble. Extra power is meaningless without commitment and we’ve seen splashy games announcements from Apple before. Some quietly disappear. Surviving titles rarely get company. And even new Apple Arcade titles no longer consistently come to Apple TV, which says everything.
Hence: Apple TV Disappointment. I want software that sings. An interface that puts my shows before Apple’s services. Clarity. Cohesion. Games. A sense Cupertino still cares about the living room. If Apple drops in a new chip and scribbles ‘Pro’ on the box, 2026 still won’t be a disaster year for Apple TV. But it won’t be progress either.
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