The wait for a new Apple TV 4K has been long. Ever since the third-gen Apple TV 4K launched all the way back in 2022, speculation and leaks have swirled about when Apple would finally update it.

Last year, it looked like it was finally right around the corner, with tons of leaks and reports that a fall launch was imminent. But sadly, that never materialized. Now, five months into 2026, we’re still waiting for a new Apple TV 4K, and the reason Apple hasn’t released it yet might not be all that surprising: Siri.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has had a new Apple TV 4K “ready since last year,” so it’s not really a question of if it’s coming, but when. The holdup, he says, comes down to Siri.

The device is expected to lean heavily on Apple’s revamped Siri and showcase new personalized Apple Intelligence features — both of which have faced delays and are now reportedly targeting a fall rollout alongside iOS 27.

That opens the door to a possible fall launch for the new Apple TV 4K after the new Siri releases. And if that happens, there are plenty of reasons to be excited. Here’s why I’m waiting for the new Apple TV 4K to upgrade my streaming setup, and why you might want to as well.

Brand

Apple

Bluetooth codecs

5.0

Wi-Fi

6

Ethernet

Gigabit (128GB model only)

The A17 Pro

Important performance gains

One of the most prominent leaks about the new Apple TV 4K is that it will be powered by Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in 2023. By comparison, the current third-gen Apple TV 4K runs on the A15 Bionic, first seen in the iPhone 13, so this would be a meaningful performance jump.

Don’t get me wrong, the A15 Bionic in the current model is still plenty fast. But with the new Apple TV 4K expected to lean into a revamped Siri and more AI-driven features, the extra performance headroom of the A17 Pro should help keep everything running smoothly and responsively, even under heavier workloads.

It’s also worth noting that the A17 Pro is currently used in the iPad mini (2024), and it’s powerful enough to handle AAA games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage. So this isn’t just a minor spec bump; it would deliver serious performance gains to the Apple TV 4K and could even make it technically capable of natively playing AAA games without relying on the cloud, something we’ve never seen a streaming device do before.

Improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Faster and more reliable connectivity all around

When Apple introduced the iPhone Air last September, it also unveiled its new in-house N1 networking chip, designed to support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max were the first devices to feature it, and, according to rumors reported by 9to5Mac, the new Apple TV 4K could be next in line.

This means the new Apple TV 4K could not only offer faster, more reliable Wi-Fi but also improved Bluetooth for devices such as controllers and earbuds, and continued support for Thread to connect to and control smart home devices.

For reference, the current third-gen Apple TV 4K supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, which, in all fairness, remain solid by today’s standards. That said, if the new Apple TV 4K does end up featuring the N1 chip, it would be a meaningful step-up in connectivity and would definitely be worth it in the long run.

​​​​​​​A familiar design

Apple reportedly isn’t changing much on the outside

Given all the internal changes the new Apple TV 4K is likely to bring, one of the big questions is whether the design will change as well. And the short answer is probably not.

According to MacRumors, the new Apple TV 4K is expected to stick with the same design as the third-gen model from 2022 — a compact, square-shaped box with rounded edges made of black plastic. Even the size is expected to remain unchanged, meaning it should look almost identical to its predecessor.

Personally, as someone who already likes the current design, I’m not bothered by that at all. It’s small, blends into pretty much any entertainment setup, and just gets the job done. I’d much rather Apple focuses on internal upgrades than spend time reworking the exterior, and fortunately, that seems to be exactly what’s happening here, if the leaks are accurate.

Apple Intelligence

It’s all about the new Siri

As I mentioned right at the top, one of the defining features of the new Apple TV 4K will be Apple Intelligence. So much so that, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple hasn’t released it yet because it’s still waiting for its revamped Siri and personalized Apple Intelligence features to be ready, despite the device reportedly being “ready since last year.”

While it’s exciting that Apple Intelligence is expected to be a major part of the new Apple TV 4K, what it will actually look like in practice is still unclear. But if you look at how Google has integrated Gemini into Google TV and how Amazon has brought Alexa+ to Fire TV, my best guess is that Siri could help you find movies and shows more naturally, offer plot summaries before you jump into a new season, and even find shows and movies starring a specific actor or by what’s trending right now. That said, that’s purely speculation on my part, but given what we’ve seen with Gemini and Alexa+, I think it’s plausible the new Siri could do these things.

Whatever form the new Siri takes, the goal is pretty clear: make interacting with the Apple TV 4K more conversational and a lot more useful. In other words, you should be able to ask the new Siri for things and get answers that the current version just can’t handle.

The waiting game

When the new Apple TV 4K will be released remains a mystery, but with the new Siri expected to launch this fall with iOS 27, hopefully, Apple will finally launch it sometime before the end of 2026.

Additionally, WWDC 2026 is just around the corner, running June 8-12, so there’s a good chance we’ll learn more about what the new Siri is capable of there, and hopefully even come away with a better idea of what it will be capable of in a new Apple TV 4K.