A new, very different Apple TV model could be on the way in just a few months

At long last, the launch of Apple’s much-rumored fourth generation Apple TV 4K might finally be imminent. After

in order to release alongside an upgraded Siri and Apple Intelligence experience, the stars could conceivably align as soon as this fall.

In addition to a slew of other incoming hardware products, MacRumors reports that Apple is targetting a new Apple TV release later this year, complete with an A17 Pro processor, an in-house Apple N1 networking chip that supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, and, as has been previously rumored (via Bloomberg), perhaps even an embedded Center Stage camera for video conferencing calls and for

Apple is widely expected to showcase its next-generation large language model (LLM)-powered Siri at its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2026 in early June. At this same event, the company is likely to unveil tvOS 27, the latest operating system update for compatible Apple TV set-top boxes.

If these new software-side features are stable and ready to go in time for the fall, it would be an ideal opportunity to also ship

and to use it as a halo product to showcase these potential new software advancements.

A long overdue refresh

The current Apple TV is getting long in the tooth

Apple last refreshed its flagship 4K set-top box in November 2022, making the current third-generation model roughly three and a half years old at the time of writing. This model is powered under-the-hood by the A15 Bionic chipset, which is fairly outdated by 2026 standards. Other key specs of the in-market Apple TV include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0,

, and either 64GB of storage in the base configuration, or 128GB of space in the Gigabit Ethernet-compatible version.

In other words, spec-for-spec,

is getting long in the tooth. With leaks and rumors beginning to consolidate on a fall product successor launch time frame, we hopefully won’t have to wait too much longer to see what Apple has been secretly cooking up in the set-top box department.

Aside from newer chipsets, faster wireless capabilities, and

compatibility, I’d personally love to see increased storage capacity in a fourth-generation Apple TV. I’d also love to see a redesigned physical chassis that’s smaller than the current version, in addition to Ethernet coming standard, and perhaps a redesigned magnetic power supply cable.

Unfortunately, rumors don’t appear to indicate that any exterior design changes are on the way anytime soon, aside from the aforementioned potential inclusion of a built-in camera for FaceTime. For me, an embedded camera is fairly take-it-or-leave-it, though I can see the appeal within certain contexts. For the most part, I’d be on board with the camera concept if it doesn’t result in a more expensive MSRP, and if it comes with

for privacy.