Roger Fingas
A dubious rumor on Friday from the Far East claims that a fifth-generation Apple TV is starting trial production this month, and will go into mass production as early as the first quarter of 2016, just a few months after the fourth-generation model arrived in consumers' living rooms.
The source of the questionable report is the usual Taiwanese supply chain sources who speak with DigiTimes, a Taiwanese industry publication with an unreliable track record. While the site does occasionally provide accurate information on Apple's future product plans, it is frequently the source of inaccurate rumors, particularly with respect to the timing of product launches.
Friday's report alleges that the upgraded Apple TV will have a new CPU demanding a "heat-dissipation solution" to keep it cool. An updated processor will "add new functions to help it [the Apple TV] no longer serve only as a set-top box," the publication suggested.
Production will allegedly be handled by Quanta Computer, instead of Foxconn.
However, a new Apple TV is extremely unlikely so quickly after the release of a fourth-gen model in late October. Apple almost always holds to annual release schedules, and the Apple TV in particular has actually been slow to update — the third-gen model was introduced in 2012.
One possibility is that the company is planning a minor revision. In January 2013 Apple issued a "Rev. A" update of the third-gen device, making no major improvements but swapping in some new components.
DigiTimes's sources claimed that a fifth-gen model will add new functions, however, which suggests more than a revision. The people didn't say what kind of functions Apple might add.
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41 Comments
4K would seem an obvious upgrade considering Apple's demographics and availability in competing devices.
I could be wrong, but it seems the new ATV already has the hardware to support 4K, just needs the firmware to enable the cabability. This is the key factor in me not upgrading yet. Already have a 4K TV with built-in streaming and would upgrade to the new ATV if it offered it. The missing optical output, while annoying, is not a dealbreaker for me.
Does anyone know for fact if the current version can or can't handle 4k? I know this feature is not enabled but can the hardware handle it? Just curious if a hardware or software update is needed.
According to Andy Ihnatko, he directly questioned a higher-up at Apple and they confirmed no 4K upgradability.
4K support. Time to pay twice for the same TV. I'd predict probably 2017, but maybe later next year.