The current Apple TV 4K has been on the shelves for almost a year, but a new report says that Apple may plan to launch a new model before the end of the year.
A tweet from Ming-chi Kuo’s verified account on Friday brought some long-awaited news about Apple TV hardware. According to Kuo, Apple plans to release a new version of Apple TV in the second half of this year that “improves the cost structure.” We’re describing it as a cheap Apple TV device.
Apple has no stick-like products that can compete with the $ 50 range of streaming devices, such as Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K, Google’s Chormcast, or Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. Apple’s only two streaming devices are the full-size box, the $ 149 Apple TV HD and the $ 179 Apple TV 4K. Kuo hints that Apple will eventually compete for the spot. The lack of a cheap device is a bright hole in Apple’s product lineup and is probably hindering Apple’s growth in the market.
The current Apple TV 4K was last updated in March 2021 with a new processor, better video encoding (4K @ 60fps) and an improved remote. However, its design hasn’t changed much over the years and it is much more expensive than its competitors and lacks features like always-on-Siri support and 120Hz resolution.
For Apple TV + streaming service, Apple is releasing shows like this Ted Lasso And Separation Which, of course, made the video an overnight sensation. Apple does not disclose membership data on Apple TV + or Apple TV hardware sales data, but Statisa estimates that there are 25 million Apple TV + subscribers. According to Statisa, Netflix has more than 221 million subscribers worldwide, so Apple has a lot of potential subscribers to figure out how to reach. And cheap Apple TV hardware will help.