It was lately reported that new Apple TV and new HomePod mini fashions will launch this yr, and the units are anticipated to have one factor in frequent.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman final month reported that the brand new Apple TV and the brand new HomePod mini will probably be outfitted with Apple’s personal mixed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. Gurman mentioned the chip helps Wi-Fi 6E, so that might find yourself being a key improve for each units. Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band, enabling sooner wi-fi speeds and decreased sign interference with a appropriate router.
The present Apple TV from October 2022 helps Wi-Fi 6, and the improve to Wi-Fi 6E appears probably. It’s unclear if the Wi-Fi 6E functionality will probably be enabled within the subsequent HomePod mini, nonetheless, as Apple has usually saved its HomePod audio system on older Wi-Fi variations. For instance, the present HomePod mini helps outdated Wi-Fi 4.
Unsurprisingly, the following Apple TV can be anticipated to be outfitted with a more recent A-series chip for sooner efficiency. The present Apple TV is supplied with the A15 Bionic chip that debuted within the iPhone 13 fashions in 2021. Apple has launched a number of newer A-series chips since then, together with the A16 Bionic, A17 Professional, A18, and A18 Professional.
The subsequent Apple TV may have decrease pricing. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo urged that the following mannequin may have a sub-$100 beginning worth. Within the U.S., the present Apple TV is accessible with 64GB or 128GB of storage for $129 and $149, respectively.
No main design adjustments have been rumored for the following Apple TV, however Gurman mentioned Apple has thought-about including a built-in digicam to a future mannequin. tvOS 17 added a FaceTime app to the Apple TV, permitting for customers to have video calls by utilizing the rear digicam on a related iPhone or iPad. If the Apple TV gained a built-in digicam, customers would now not have to depend on an exterior gadget for video calls on the TV.
As for the HomePod mini, probably upgrades for the following mannequin embody a more recent “S” chip, improved sound high quality, a more recent Extremely Wideband chip for a lower-latency Handoff expertise, and recent colour choices. The present HomePod mini was launched in November 2020 and makes use of the Apple Watch Collection 5’s S5 chip.
Along with a brand new HomePod mini, Apple reportedly plans to launch an all-new good residence hub sooner or later this yr. The hub is predicted to function round a six-inch show that may be mounted on a wall, or hooked up to a tabletop base with a speaker, so the gadget could possibly be much like the HomePod mini in some methods.
