O tvOS 16 fails to start in the recent Apple WWDC 2022 came as a disappointment to fans of the company’s Apple TV 4K streaming box. And while we’ve managed to get potential new features out of the tvOS 16 beta currently available to developers, the evidence of a new Siri remote is what’s really getting our attention.
The news reaches us via MacRumorswho cites the collaborator Aaron P613 in online software and device database AppledB as having discovered references to “SiriRemote4” in iOS 16 beta. According to the MacRumors article, further references to a Siri remote in iOS 16 beta come to SiriRemote3 – the version included in the current Apple TV 4K box released in 2021 – so SiriRemote4 can indicate a new remote to be included in a new one. streaming box.
MacRumors goes on to say how a new low-end 4K Apple TV, designed to compete with cheaper Roku streamers and Amazon Fire TV, is something Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has. already foreseenand can arrive as early as the second half of 2022.
In addition to the possibility of new Apple TV 4K hardware, tvOS 16 beta indicates that current box owners can potentially look forward to HDR10+ high dynamic range and updated smart home support (including Matter). Additionally, various hooks will allow developers to better integrate Apple devices with tvOS apps, and there should be expanded support for Bluetooth game controllers.
That’s a fair amount of things to look forward to, but the big story here is the possibility of a new box. Given the lack of official tvOS developments coming out of WWDC 2022, the prospect of a new, more affordable Apple TV 4K streamer arriving in the fall seems like the best possible outcome.
Review: Apple TV 4K already has an excellent remote. What we need is a less expensive 4K Apple TV.
As a Next-Gen Apple TV 4K owner, I am completely satisfied with the remote that comes with it. Apple’s Siri remote is well-designed and solid, with an all-aluminum housing that makes the sets that come with other streamers look cheap in comparison.
In addition to its impressive build quality, the current Siri remote improves many of the the shortcomings of the previous version. Mainly, the circular clickpad located on top of the remote allows for easy navigation and playback control. That puts it miles ahead of its predecessor, which featured a flat, overly sensitive touchpad that users found themselves accidentally hitting, with the result often being the show you were watching being scrolled to the end. Talk about spoiler alerts!
But really, we’re not talking here about the existing Siri remote, which is clearly a success, or any new replacement for it. What is at issue is the possibility of a new streaming box, which would sell at a more affordable price than the current stratospherically priced version.
At $179 / £169 / AU$249 for the 32GB version and $199 / £189 / AU$279 for the 64GB, the Apple TV 4K is a luxury streaming purchase. Given the current state of the global economy, it would be a sensible and entirely welcome gesture for Apple to offer something cheaper.