The next Apple TV 4K remains a mystery, but a release could be near

• When could Apple release the new Apple TV 4K then?
• What can we expect from the new Apple TV 4K?

Apple has released a ton of new products this year, including the iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17 series, a new entry-level iPad, and M5-powered versions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro. However, as the year draws to a close, one product I’m sad to see Apple still hasn’t released yet is a new Apple TV 4K.

All year long, there have been rumors of Apple launching a new Apple TV 4K soon, but with nearly a month left in the year, it’s still nowhere in sight. It was once rumored to debut at the iPhone event in September. That didn’t happen. Then possibly in October, and early November, and that didn’t happen. Now that December is around the corner and New Year’s Day is fast approaching, it seems increasingly likely that the next-generation Apple TV 4K won’t launch until next year.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who is one of the most reliable sources of Apple news, reported that Apple TV 4K stock was shrinking at Apple Stores, a telltale sign that a new model is on the way. Speaking about the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod Minis expected to be coming soon, Gurman said that “If those refreshed models don’t arrive before year’s end, they still shouldn’t be far off — especially since they’ll help showcase the new Siri and Apple Intelligence features planned for next year.”

When could Apple release the new Apple TV 4K then?

Next spring isn’t that far off

For its part, Apple has been tight-lipped on a new Apple TV 4K, and it hasn’t officially announced anything about it. While it’s possible Apple could drop a new Apple TV 4K at any time in December, I struggle to see any chance of that happening. Apple has only released a handful of products in December before, including the AirPods Max in 2020 and the first-generation AirPods in 2016.

Typically, Apple saves its big hardware releases for the spring and the fall, and since the Siri AI upgrade that Gurman alluded to in his report is finally expected to release in the first half of next year with iOS 26.4, the new Apple TV 4K launching before it earlier in the year (which isn’t that “far off”) would make sense, especially since a big selling point of it will likely be support for Apple Intelligence, which the current third-generation model lacks.

While early next year is the expected timeline, if I had to guess specifically when, I could see the new Apple TV 4K launching in March, since Apple has done product refreshes in March before, like the new entry-level iPad and iPad Air with chipset upgrades that launched in March this year. Though I want to make it clear that March 2026 is pure speculation on my part, as an Apple TV fan eagerly awaiting its release.

What can we expect from the new Apple TV 4K?

An upgraded chipset will likely be the biggest difference

Since Apple hasn’t updated the Apple TV 4K in three years, there’s a lot of excitement about what the next-generation Apple TV 4K could have in store. However, if you’re expecting a design change on the outside, you might want to keep your expectations in check, as it’s rumored to resemble the current third-generation Apple TV 4K, with a slim black plastic body.

The main upgrades Apple is rumored to make to the new Apple TV 4K are mostly under the hood, with a new processor and Wi-Fi chipset being the two biggest changes. The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chipset, and it’s rumored that the new model could feature Apple’s A17 Pro chipset, which debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in late 2023. If this rumor is true, it would greatly improve the Apple TV 4K’s performance and might even allow it to run AAA games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, just like the iPhone 15 Pro.

Turning to the Wi-Fi chipset, the new Apple TV 4K is rumored to feature a custom-designed Apple chip that supports Wi-Fi 7 (via MacRumors). Earlier this year, Apple introduced the N1 chipset in the iPhone 17 series, which supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, so the new Apple TV 4K could have it as well.

Lastly, Apple Intelligence is expected to be a key new feature of the Apple TV 4K, as the current third-generation model lacks it. As Gurman noted, the new Apple TV 4K is expected to “showcase the new Siri and Apple Intelligence features planned for next year,” so it will likely be capable of new search features and answering questions more conversationally, similar to what Google has done with Gemini for Google TV, and what Amazon is doing with Alexa+ on its Fire TV devices.