Our wishlist for the next Apple TV and tvOS

04 Jun 2025 | Rasmus Larsen |

Here is our wishlist for future Apple TV hardware and tvOS ahead of next week's WWDC – and beyond. While LG's webOS, Samsung's Tizen, Google TV, Amazon's FireTV and RokuOS are all heading firmly in the direction of ads, turning the user into the product, Apple stays true to its mission with tvOS, which continues to gain features that mostly benefit the user. tvOS is a big reason why we consider the Apple TV 4K (2022) the best streaming device, despite its limitations, and the little black puck offers by far the most powerful TV hardware of any streaming box – even without Apple's fastest chips. But it could do so much more, so dear Apple, feel free to take inspiration from all of our ideas.

Four generations of Apple TV; from oldest (bottom) to newest (top). Photo: FlatpanelsHD

What we expect

We have already heard scattered rumors and leaks. Here is what has been reported so far:

The next Apple TV was originally planned for 2024 but postponed to 2025, and is unlikely to support 8K despite a faster chip.
The new Apple TV will be the first to use Apple’s in-house WiFi+Bluetooth chip, as part of a revamped 'homeOS' strategy.
Apple is working on a combined Apple TV and HomePod with built-in camera and microphone.
Apple is once again considering an actual TV screen.
This year's tvOS 19 will be renamed tvOS 26 (for 2026) and will receive a significant redesign, inspired by visionOS.
Apple TV will gain a new Xbox-like gaming app as part of a stronger push into gaming.

What we wish for

Apple has already added so many features free of charge to the Apple TV 4K boxes that it is impossible to list them all, but for reference, check our articles on tvOS 18, tvOS 17, tvOS 16, tvOS 15, tvOS 14, tvOS 13, tvOS 12, tvOS 11 and tvOS 10. Here is what else we hope to see:

Upgraded hardware, improved gaming support

Apple TV’s current A15 Bionic chip is fine, but it is no powerhouse, and there is so much more untapped potential. An A17 Pro or A18 chip would enable 'Apple Intelligence' features that could be used in new ways on Apple TV compared to iPhone, etc. It could bring AAA gaming to tvOS, including existing titles like Resident Evil Village and Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and future releases.

Game consoles: Graphical performance
Apple TV HD

0.1 TFlops

PlayStation 3

0.23 TFlops

Xbox 360

0.24 TFlops

Nintendo Switch (in dock)

0.38 TFlops

Apple TV 4K

0.5 TFlops

Nvidia Shield (2019)

0.5 TFlops

Apple TV 4K (2nd gen)

0.7 TFlops

Apple TV 2022 (3rd gen)

≈1 TFlops

Xbox One

1.3 TFlops

Xbox One S

1.4 TFlops

PS4

1.8 TFlops

Apple A18 Pro

2.8 TFlops

Nintendo Switch 2

3.1 TFlops

Xbox Series S

4 TFlops

Apple M4

4.3 TFlops

We have written extensively about Apple TV’s potential to morph into a real game console, much like gaming on iPhone. But with the arrival of other ARM-based consoles like Nintendo’s Switch 2, and rumors of Xbox and Steam adopting ARM and launching portables, the window may be closing – despite Apple’s multi-platform ecosystem, broad support for PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox and many other game controllers, multi-user support, and ‘Quick Resume’. Apple TV needs more than an A17 Pro or A18. It needs either an M-series chip or a custom chip designed for TV and gaming. For example, an A18 Pro would bring it roughly in line with Switch 2 in graphics power, but an M4 would match Xbox Series S. Add a killer Apple-designed game controller, enable HDR and Dolby Atmos (Spatial Audio already works) for gaming, and it starts to add up. And it is OK if an M-based Apple TV with 1TB of storage costs more – a sort of Apple TV Pro or whatever (more on that later). The news of Apple’s new gaming strategy and the Xbox-like gaming app is exciting, but it will go nowhere on Apple TV without markedly more powerful hardware.

Apple TV 4K is already a decent "console" but it could be so much better. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

Improved user experience

A user interface can always be improved, so we are pleased to hear the rumor that tvOS may finally get its first major revamp since launch in 2015 – not counting the much-improved control center. We hope it is more than just a fresh coat of paint. The revamp should extend to the underlying structure of tvOS to make apps load faster, phase out outdated APIs and design kits, and essentially force the sluggish "universal" HTML apps to adopt native tvOS APIs for better performance, full support for frame rate and dynamic range matching, along with all the latest video player features. Push the industry forward. Everything should feel faster, leaner and smoother – which brings us to our next point...

HFR, HDMI 2.1, 120fps, 3D

References to 120Hz support were discovered in tvOS back in 2019 by 9to5Mac, so where is it? Yes, Apple TV 4K (2022) technically features HDMI 2.1, but as always, every HDMI 2.1 feature is optional and so far Apple has only implemented QMS-VRR. What we want is full 4K 120Hz support for a buttery-smooth user experience, and for 120fps video and gaming. An extra bonus with 120Hz support would be that movies and series in 24fps, when played with frame rate matching (24Hz), no longer have to drag the user interface down to snail pace, as 24x5 = 120Hz. In addition, Apple should implement ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) so that any game on Apple TV can automatically activate Game mode on your TV. This would also allow Apple to extend its 'Game Mode' from iPhone and iPad to Apple TV, with enhanced features. Automatic switching to Film(maker) Mode would also be great, as long as users can freely set their preferences. In addition, Apple TV+ should explore content beyond the standard 24fps, all the way up to 120fps, just like Apple TV+ is experimenting with 8K 3D on Apple Vision Pro. High Frame Rate is the future, here's why. With the shift toward HFR, Apple could even consider reviving 3D within the TV ecosystem. In case you missed it, Apple already offers a large selection of 3D movies, for the first time in 4K and HDR, for Apple Vision Pro. Why not bring them to Apple TV for users who enjoy 3D? There are still 3D projectors and monitors on the market, and this could help reinvigorate the ecosystem. As for 8K? Don’t bother. It’s still too early.

Improved video and audio support

The Apple TV 4K (3rd gen) decodes AV1 in software, but not in hardware. Apple is a member of AOMedia, the group behind AV1, so what is the holdup? Netflix recently tied HDR10+ to AV1, so even though the current Apple TV 4K supports HDR10+, it cannot stream HDR10+ from Netflix. tvOS is already the only TV platform that offers system-level frame rate matching for both integer and fractional frame rates, but we’d suggest one improvement. Today, users must choose between Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which means that if you pick Dolby Vision, you will only get HDR10 even when HDR10+ (but not Dolby Vision) is available for a movies or show. That’s not ideal. Instead, let users just set their preferred format instead of having to choose. For audio, we are not sure audio passthrough is needed for streaming services, but it would be a welcome feature for local media playback in apps like Infuse and Plex. This would enable users to play ripped Blu-rays in Dolby TrueHD with Atmos and DTS-HD MA with DTS:X, letting their soundbar or receiver handle the decoding instead of Apple TV. Additionally, give us Dolby Atmos for gaming and Hi-Res Lossless support for music, turning Apple TV 4K into a complete video, audio and gaming hub.

HomePods pair wirelessly to Apple TV 4K, but let us pair more than two, and not only HomePods. Photo: Apple

Wireless surround sound

You can already connect two HomePods wirelessly to Apple TV 4K and even get Dolby Atmos wirelessly from a PS5 or Xbox via Apple TV 4K's HDMI eARC feature, as detailed in our HomePod (2nd Gen) review. But why limit it to just two HomePods? Let us connect more for a full surround sound setup – like Dolby Atmos FlexConnect. Also, allow users to set AirPlay 2-enabled speakers from Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, Bose, LG, Harman, JBL, Samsung, Sony, Sonos and others as default wireless speakers for Apple TV 4K. Finally, please expand the HDMI eARC functionality to allow Apple TV 4K to wirelessly transmit audio from a game console or UHD Blu-ray player to AirPods or other headphones.

Connectivity, HomeKit, camera, microphone

We are eager to see how Apple's own WiFi and Bluetooth chip performs, considering the poor wireless performance of the Broadcom chip in Apple TV 4K (3rd gen). Fingers crossed for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. It would be great if Apple TV could trigger Matter or HomeKit scenes. For example, starting a movie during the day could automatically lower the living room blinds. The remote control should get a small speaker for 'Find My' support. The rumor about Apple TV getting a camera would only work if it is also a speaker – otherwise people just hide it in furniture. While FaceTime on the big screen is cool, we are actually more excited about the opportunities in Wii-like gaming using a camera. Think dancing, singing, motion-enabled games or just gestures while using a game controller. Apple's camera and mapping technologies are already super advanced and we want to see them used for gaming too. An Apple TV with a camera, microphone and built-in speaker could be a premium version that also featured much faster hardware for gaming.

Snoopy is great. More animated screensavers, please

Apple Intelligence, new screensavers, more

Whatever happened to the Apple TV+ themed screensavers that were supposed to come with tvOS 18? A reader also recently suggested Disney-themed screensavers similar to the Snoopy screensaver. Great idea! We already have Toy Story characters on the Apple Watch and the inky black background would look amazing on OLED TVs. Just add more screensavers – we love them! An A18 or M4 chip would enable Apple Intelligence on Apple TV, but we hope Apple refrains from using AI to "enhance" video and audio – like TV makers and the Nvidia Shield. Instead, use it where it matters; help users more easily find content and make Siri actually useful. Let Siri see what is on the screen and be contextually aware so we can ask it to do things that takes a lot of clicks with the remote. What do you wish for?