Made for gamers and a new remote control: expectations for the Apple TV 2021 are high. In this article, we look ahead to the new Apple media player that may be announced later this year.
Apple TV 2021 expectations
In recent weeks, the Apple TV of 2021 has regularly popped up in rumors and leaked information. It would also be high time for a new Apple media player, because the current version is from 2017. These are our expectations for the Apple TV 2021.
1. Focus on games
The new Apple TV will target a specific target group: gamers. Well-known Apple journalists like Mark Gurman have been claiming this for a while. The insiders think that Apple sees profit in the gaming industry. This industry has grown significantly in recent years and the pandemic has only exacerbated this effect.
Good graphics are an important part of a great gaming experience. Journalists like Gurman therefore think that the media player gets a much better chip to run games without problems. The Apple TV may receive a variant of the A12 or A14 chip, which will power the iPhone XS and iPhone 12 respectively.
The internal memory would be doubled from 32GB to 64GB. The largest storage capacity will therefore be 128GB, if the Apple insiders are right. This is especially good news for people who want to save movies in high 4K quality.
2.120Hz picture
The code of tvOS 14.5, the latest software version of the Apple TV, contains several references to a refresh rate of 120Hz. So it seems logical for Apple to work in the background on a media player with this high refresh rate.
A higher refresh rate is less relevant for films and series, which the Apple TV has focused on so far. However, it is relevant for games, an increasingly important theme for Apple.
A refresh rate of 120Hz ensures that the television screen refreshes 120 times per second. The current Apple TV 4K has a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz. Of course, your TV must support a high refresh rate of 120Hz in order to use the function.
To enable the refresh rate of 120Hz, the Apple TV 2021 appears to be getting an HDMI 2.1 port. The current variant is stuck at a 2.0 input.
3. Integration with Apple Arcade
The Apple TV 2021 will not compete with the Xbox One X or PlayStation 5. Instead, the media player is most likely targeting a wider audience by partnering with Apple Arcade. Apple’s games service is relatively affordable and available on the Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Some rumors suggest that Apple is working on its own game controller for the Apple TV 2021. We advise taking this claim with a grain of salt. Knowing Apple, the company prefers to support third-party controllers such as PlayStation’s DualShock controller. For example, the iPhone maker added this feature to iOS before.
4. New remote control, same design
The remote control of the current Apple TV has received a lot of criticism from users. The remote would not only be too small, but the trackpad also works poorly. Several rumors therefore show that Apple is working on a new remote control for the Apple TV.
This would include ‘Find My’ options, named after the app that is standard on every iPhone. That way you can easily find the remote control when it is under the sofa again, by having a sound played through your phone.
There is nothing to indicate that the new Apple TV will have a different design. So expect a black media player with rounded corners. At the back there are openings for the power cable and Lightning-to-USB cable.
5. Apple TV 2021 release and price
Several insiders think the new Apple TV will be announced in 2021. When is the question. A possible announcement moment will occur in September.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The Apple TV 2021 could provide a nice ‘One more thing’ moment. Another option is for the media box to be presented at a separate time, or to get acquainted with the world through a press release.
No concrete rumors have yet emerged about the price of the Apple TV 2021. Since the media player hasn’t been updated for a number of years, we expect the new variant to cost about the same. In that case, the Apple TV 2021 price will be 199 euros.
More expectations
2021 promises to be a packed year for Apple. In the articles below, we look ahead to the expected new products,
- Apple Watch Series 7: 5 expectations for the new Apple Watch
- MacBook Pro 2021: our 7 expectations in a row
- AirPods Pro 2: 7 expectations for the high-end AirPods of 2021
- AirPods 3: 7 expectations for the major AirPods upgrade of 2021
- iMac 2021: 5 expectations for the biggest iMac upgrade in years
- AirTag: 7 expectations for Apple’s first tracker
- Apple Glass: 6 expectations for Apple’s first smart glasses