Apple’s Long Neglect of the Apple TV 2026 Finally Shows

For years, Apple has treated the Apple TV like an afterthought, a product it keeps around simply because it exists in the ecosystem, not because it genuinely wants to lead the category. While iPhones, iPads, and Macs receive yearly attention and aggressive marketing, the Apple TV has quietly aged in the background, forgotten and ignored. That long silence never felt strategic—it felt careless. This information is also featured on 9to9trends’ YouTube channel, so be sure to check it out.

Now that leaks are beginning to surface about a potential Apple TV 2026 reset, it doesn’t look like a bold new vision. It feels like Apple is finally realizing it waited too long and has no choice but to act. According to MacRumors, Apple is reportedly planning a Spring 2026 launch for a next-generation Apple TV 2026 4K, with the timeline allegedly shaped by software and AI coordination rather than hardware constraints. That detail alone says everything about Apple’s priorities: the hardware was never urgent, even though it clearly should have been.

A “Strategic” Timeline That Hides Years of Inaction

Apple’s preferred timing for Apple TV 2026 launches is often framed as deliberate and polished, tied closely to major tvOS updates rather than scattered releases. In reality, this approach has become an excuse for painfully slow refresh cycles. Spring 2026 may align nicely with Apple’s internal schedules, but it does nothing to justify how long consumers have been stuck with aging hardware.

The current Apple TV has gone years without meaningful updates, quietly falling behind while competitors iterated rapidly. Apple’s so-called patience has translated into stagnation. When you step back, the rumored release window doesn’t feel like perfect planning—it feels like Apple is finally running out of room to delay without making the neglect impossible to ignore.

The A17 Pro Upgrade Is Impressive—Only on Paper

One of the biggest rumored changes for the Apple TV 2026 is the jump to the A17 Pro chip. On the surface, that sounds significant, even exciting. But context matters. The existing Apple TV is still powered by the A15 chip, introduced in 2021. That’s not just old—it’s unacceptable for a device Apple continues to sell at a premium price.

The move to A17 Pro isn’t Apple leaping ahead of the competition; it’s Apple dragging the Apple TV 2026 into the present after years of complacency. The narrative that this upgrade could reframe Apple TV as a lightweight gaming console or advanced smart home controller feels optimistic at best. If Apple truly believed in those use cases, it wouldn’t have allowed performance to stagnate for so long in the first place. This isn’t vision—it’s catch-up dressed as innovation.

Gaming and Smart Home Promises That Apple Itself Undermined

Apple has quietly floated the idea of Apple TV becoming more than a streaming box for years, hinting at gaming potential and smart home centralization. But those ideas collapse under scrutiny when you consider Apple’s actual behavior. Leaving the device stuck on aging silicon made heavier apps, modern games, and future-facing features unrealistic. Developers follow momentum, and Apple TV hasn’t had any. Suddenly upgrading to A17 Pro in 2026 doesn’t erase years of missed opportunity. It only highlights how late Apple is to ideas it’s been casually suggesting since the Apple TV 2026 first gained an App Store.

Networking Improvements That Arrive Far Too Late

Reports also suggest Apple may finally introduce Wi-Fi 7 support by integrating its in-house N1 networking chip. On paper, this means faster speeds, lower latency, and more stable performance for AirPlay and HomeKit accessories. In reality, this is another example of Apple being late to its own talking points. Apple has long pushed Apple TV 2026 as a smart home hub, yet the device has never fully justified that role. Connectivity bottlenecks, inconsistent performance, and limited expansion have held it back. Competitors have been aggressively improving networking and smart home integration for years, while Apple watched. Adding Wi-Fi 7 in 2026 isn’t forward-thinking—it’s the bare minimum expected at that time.

The “Smart Home Brain” Narrative Rings Hollow

Apple’s renewed push to position the Apple TV as the central brain of the smart home sounds ambitious, but it feels disconnected from reality. If the Apple TV 2026 were truly critical to Apple’s smart home strategy, it wouldn’t have been allowed to stagnate this long. Smart homes require reliability, consistency, and frequent updates, none of which are defined in the Apple TV 2026 experience. This sudden emphasis feels more like a marketing pivot than a long-term commitment. Apple isn’t redefining the smart home here—it’s trying to retrofit importance onto a product it previously neglected.

Media and Codec Upgrades That Meet Expectations

On the media side, leaks point toward potential AV1 decoding support and improved HD handling. These features are often described as future-proofing, but in 2026, they’ll be table stakes. High-end streamers from Google and Amazon already support modern codecs and advanced media features. Apple TV 2026 adding them doesn’t place it ahead of the market—it just prevents it from falling further behind. The fact that these improvements are being highlighted as major selling points underscores how little progress the platform has made in recent years. Future-proofing only sounds impressive when a product isn’t already lagging behind.

Apple TV 2026 Cloud Gaming Dreams Built on Weak Foundations

There’s also speculation that improved video capabilities could open doors to cloud gaming and next-generation content formats. Again, this sounds good until you consider Apple’s track record. Cloud gaming requires strong partnerships, consistent hardware upgrades, and platform-level support. Apple has historically been lukewarm toward gaming on Apple TV, offering limited incentives and little long-term direction. Without a clear strategy, these rumored improvements feel like theoretical benefits rather than concrete plans users can trust.

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Pricing Changes Forced by Market Reality

Perhaps the most telling rumor is Apple’s reported consideration of a two-tier pricing strategy. According to reports, Apple may offer a base Apple TV model for around $100 to compete with Roku and Amazon, alongside a higher-end version with more storage, enhanced networking, and premium features. This isn’t Apple being generous—it’s Apple responding to criticism it can no longer ignore. The Apple TV has been consistently criticized for its high price, especially when cheaper competitors offer similar or better streaming experiences. Apple’s willingness to rethink pricing suggests it knows the premium argument hasn’t been convincing anyone.

Premium Branding Without Premium Leadership

Apple loves positioning its products as premium, but that label only works when the product leads the category. The Apple TV hasn’t led anything in years. Charging more while offering fewer updates and slower innovation damaged trust. A cheaper base model may finally make the Apple TV accessible, but it also exposes how inflated previous pricing really was. Meanwhile, a higher-end version risks repeating the same mistake if it doesn’t deliver clearly superior value from day one.

tvOS 26.4 and Apple Intelligence Skepticism

On the software front, the next Apple TV is expected to ship with tvOS 26.4, bringing deeper Siri integration and Apple Intelligence features. Apple promises more natural voice queries and smarter interactions, but skepticism is warranted. Siri has struggled for years across Apple’s ecosystem, often lagging behind competitors in speed, accuracy, and usefulness. Simply branding new features as “Apple Intelligence” doesn’t guarantee meaningful improvement. Apple will need to prove that these changes are functional, not just presentable on a keynote slide.

Apple TV 2026 Camera and FaceTime: Another Half-Formed Idea

Apple is also reportedly still exploring camera and FaceTime capabilities for Apple TV, potentially turning it into a living-room video calling hub. This idea has circulated for years without real execution. The continued uncertainty suggests Apple still isn’t sure how—or whether—it wants to commit. Exploration without delivery has become a pattern for Apple TV, making it hard to take these rumors seriously until hardware actually ships.

A Big Update That Exposes a Low Bar

Based on current reporting, the most realistic release window for the new Apple TV is March or April 2026, with pricing expected to start near $100 and scale upward. This will likely be the biggest Apple TV update in years—but that statement is less a compliment and more an indictment. When expectations are this low, almost any change feels significant. Apple isn’t redefining the living room here. It’s correcting years of neglect, late to trends it once had the power to shape. Whether this reset is enough to matter remains questionable, but one thing is clear: Apple is playing catch-up on a product it should never have allowed to fall this far behind.

Last update on 2026-02-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API