Apple Unveils Exciting Updates: HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K Coming Soon!

That’s a telltale sign that Apple is preparing to discontinue a product to replace it with a newer model. We saw the same thing last week with the M4 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, and while the timelines for such things aren’t always linear, if Apple launches its M5 MacBook Pro and iPad Pro this week, then the HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K (or whatever it will be called) could come next week. This combination of regulatory reshuffling, product renaming, and tightening supply lines all fits Apple’s classic pre-launch rhythm, and means we’re almost sure to see them by the end of October.

The Apple TV 4K

Apple’s set-top box has always been on an unpredictable release cycle. The fourth-generation Apple TV, which ushered in the tvOS era, came out in 2015. It was followed two years later by the first Apple TV 4K model, but we endured four years of silence after that, when nothing happened to the hardware other than a quiet rebranding of the 2015 set-top box to the “Apple TV HD” to help distinguish it from the 4K model.

Then, Apple not only gave us a powerful new Apple TV 4K in 2021, but followed that up with a third-generation model in 2022. The two boxes were remarkably similar, other than the chip inside and a few other minor spec differences, but the rapid-fire releases gave us hope that the company might adopt an annual cycle of improvements.

Sadly, that was not to be. Of course, the 2022 Apple TV 4K still works great, so there’s arguably no reason to replace it just for the sake of upgrading the chip — a streaming box only needs to be so fast, and with a booming game console market developers aren’t in any hurry to create the kind of AAA games for the Apple TV that would demand more powerful silicon.

A Smarter Box for the Apple Intelligence Era

So, Apple has bided its time. Nevertheless, one significant change to the third-generation Apple TV that appeared to be little more than cosmetic at the time was the removal of the “tv” from the logo on top. Given Apple’s preference for aligning hardware, services, and app branding — from Music to News — that quiet design change might have been the first signal of a broader identity shift: rebranding its set-top box into something else.

After all, the next “Apple TV” is likely to be more than just a set-top box. Even the current version has already evolved beyond those humble beginnings, but if Apple packs in an A17 Pro or better chip — which it’s widely expected to do — then it’s also likely to become an Apple Intelligence device and a more serious gaming platform.

It’s anybody’s guess what Apple will call that, but it’s not hard to imagine how “Apple TV” no longer fits. That name is a 17-year-old anachronism that was originally applied to an iPod-like set-top box with an internal spinning hard drive that has about as much resemblance to today’s models as the 1984 Macintosh does to an iMac. It’s time to move on from that branding, and this could be the right time for such a change, especially as Apple leans further into its home automation ambitions.

As for what we’ll likely find inside, a new chip is a given, and an A17 Pro is the most likely candidate. Apple could surprise us and go beyond that to an A18-class chip, or even drop in something M-series, but the A17 Pro still feels like the most likely candidate unless it plans to wind down production of that chip entirely.

We’ll probably also get better Wi-Fi, likely at least Wi-Fi 6E, but possibly even Wi-Fi 7. There’s a good chance this will be powered by Apple’s new N1 chip, which debuted in this year’s iPhone lineup. If so, then the money is on Wi-Fi 7 support, along with Bluetooth 6.

Some speculative rumors have also suggested the possibility of a built-in FaceTime camera, but it’s hard to imagine how Apple would do that unless it plans to bundle a wireless camera or redesign the set-top box so it can literally sit on top of the TV for optimal camera placement.