The next Apple TV could be the last ‣ Diverse Daily

A new Apple TV 4K has been on the horizon for what feels like forever. The current third-generation model launched back in 2022, and for the past year or so, rumors and reports have consistently suggested that a new Apple TV 4K with upgraded hardware is just around the corner.

At first, the new model was expected to arrive last fall. Then, possibly during the holiday season, followed by early 2026. But it never materialized. The repeated delays appear to come down to one thing: Siri.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported, Apple reportedly has a new Apple TV 4K “ready to go,” but it’s waiting for its next-generation Siri (Siri AI) and Apple Intelligence features to be ready before launching it. Siri AI is expected to arrive this fall alongside iOS 27, which means we could finally see a new Apple TV 4K before the end of the year.

However, while I’m excited to finally see a new Apple TV 4K launch and get my hands on one, there’s one issue that’s giving me pause: the price.

The tech industry is currently being hit by a memory shortage, caused by AI data centers swooping in and eating up most of the supply of RAM and storage modules. As a result, prices for those components have skyrocketed over the past six months, and that increase has started to trickle down to consumer electronics, such as laptops, phones, and consoles, with the PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X all getting price hikes this year.

It was only a matter of time before Apple felt the impact, and outgoing CEO Tim Cook has now confirmed the bad news: it’s happening.

The next Apple TV 4K could cost much more

If the new Apple TV 4K supports Siri AI, it’s bound to have more memory

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that “price increases are unavoidable” because of the ongoing memory shortage. However, he stopped short of saying which Apple products would be affected or when those higher prices might arrive.

“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” said Cook, speaking to the WSJ. “We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.”

While the first products that come to mind as potentially affected by this are the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, given that they contain the most RAM, the first thing I thought about when I read Cook’s comments was the price of the next Apple TV 4K.

The new Apple TV 4K reportedly will support Siri AI and Apple Intelligence, which means it’ll need more memory than the current-gen model to run those features. And with memory costs rising, Apple could be facing significantly higher manufacturing costs, something that may ultimately be passed on to consumers.

A more expensive Apple TV 4K could be doomed to fail

I desperately hope Apple keeps the price unchanged

For reference, the current third-gen Apple TV 4K starts at $129 for the 64GB model, while the 128GB version with Ethernet costs $149.

I have no idea what the new Apple TV 4K will cost, but if it ends up priced above $160 because of the memory shortage, that’ll be a tough pill to swallow. It could also make it harder for Apple to compete with rival streaming devices such as the Roku Ultra, Google TV Streamer, and Fire TV Cube, and this might even become the last new Apple TV 4K if it doesn’t sell that well at a potentially higher price.

The Apple TV 4K is already expensive as it stands, and in a world where an $80 Google TV Streamer and $80 Roku Ultra exist (when they’re on sale, which is often), why splurge on a high-priced Apple TV 4K that, at the end of the day, streams the same shows and movies in 4K just fine?

…it’s entirely possible the next Apple TV 4K will launch at the same price as the current model, which I desperately hope is the case, because I want to see Apple TV succeed as a fan of the platform.

To be clear, Apple hasn’t said which upcoming products might see price increases. Cook’s only comment was that “price increases are unavoidable.” So it’s entirely possible the next Apple TV 4K will launch at the same price as the current model, which I desperately hope is the case, because I want to see Apple TV succeed as a fan of the platform.

Still, given the dramatic increases in component costs the tech industry has experienced this year, it’s hard not to wonder whether the new Apple TV 4K will be affected.

Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and its first foldable iPhone this fall, possibly in September, making that the most likely time for any price increases. With Siri AI expected to launch alongside iOS 27 this fall, a new Apple TV 4K could arrive shortly afterward.

In other words, the wait for a new Apple TV 4K may not be much longer. I’m just hoping the price tag is reasonable when it finally gets here.