My sensible TV killed any curiosity I had within the subsequent Apple TV

Once I first obtained my Apple TV 4K, I used to be in love. It did every part quicker than my TV, and I used to be in a position to navigate between apps in a short time with out having to cope with sluggish speeds or something of the kind. I used to be a contented camper, and for a few years, issues stayed that approach. As you would possibly know, I am nonetheless utilizing a first-gen Apple TV 4K, and whereas it is nonetheless snappy, it has its share of issues. Apps crash regularly, and there are some slowdowns that do not repair themselves till I force-close the app or restart my machine.

That is stuff I can nonetheless work round, however there’s one factor my Apple TV 4K cannot try this my TV can. For no matter cause, Apple won’t add audio passthrough. On the floor, it is not an enormous deal for the reason that Apple TV 4K can already deal with Dolby Atmos for you. What is the problem if the very best audio format is already coated? Effectively, the issue is that there are many different codecs on the market apart from Atmos. I do not pay for the most costly tier for all my streaming providers, so I solely get to expertise Atmos for a handful of issues.

My sensible TV, alternatively, can go alongside DTS:X, Dolby Digital, and any of the widespread codecs I come throughout on to my receiver. One of many large causes I’ve a receiver within the first place is for issues like this, so it’s extremely annoying that my Apple TV 4K cannot do it. Sadly, it is led me to make use of my smart TV for extra issues, one thing I did not wish to do.

My sensible TV is gaining floor on my Apple TV

Not a perfect scenario

I do not like utilizing my sensible TV for something, and a giant cause for that’s the truth that I must have a distant for my Apple TV, my precise TV, and my receiver to do something. It is simply annoying to have all of that round, however that downside has since been solved by a universal remote.

My distant lets me management all of my gadgets with ease, and which means it is not a lot of a difficulty for me to make use of my TV’s Netflix over my Apple TV’s app, for instance. What I have been doing increasingly these days is noticing that my receiver is studying the audio as Multi In, which implies it is not recognizing the audio format, and switching to my TV’s app. By doing this, my receiver will mechanically learn the audio format and provides me the very best sound that I can have.

It’s extremely unusual to seek out myself on this scenario, contemplating how a lot I beloved utilizing the Apple TV 4K, however I’ve form of been pressured into this. It appears like a simple repair on Apple’s finish to simply enable audio passthrough. What’s worse is that the sound nonetheless sounds good even when it is not the proper format, however with only a few button presses, I can ensure every part matches up, so there is not any cause for me to not do it.

I am left feeling like that is simply an outright backwards determination from Apple, as a result of I went out of my approach to purchase one thing to interchange my sensible TV UI, solely to seek out myself begrudgingly utilizing it increasingly. This cannot be what Apple meant when the Apple TV was first launched, however sadly, it is what I discover myself doing.

Apple must launch one other Apple TV

However the wait continues

What might repair this problem is the discharge of a brand new Apple TV 4K that comes with audio passthrough. There was a short second of hope that the characteristic could be coming in a future tvOS replace, however that hope has since come and gone. Rumors have additionally been flying a few new Apple TV 4K, however that by no means occurred both. We’re now properly exterior the window that Apple sometimes launched a brand new era of {hardware}, so there is not any telling if it will ever occur. It is also arduous to have an interest if Apple does not add audio passtrhough and different fundamental options.

To be honest, even the first-gen Apple TV 4K is a powerful performer in 2026, as evidenced by my nonetheless utilizing it, however I might prefer to see a {hardware} refresh nonetheless. It is unusual that there have been so many rumors swirling, just for there to by no means be an announcement. There are fairly a number of modifications that justify an improve, together with Apple Intelligence. The tvOS updates have primarily put the writing on the wall for the first-gen for the reason that main modifications do not come to the machine.

I haven’t got Liquid Glass, and whereas that is not a large downside, it reveals that my machine is sufficiently old to overlook out on nearly every part. Even the second-gen mannequin does not get every part, so the third-gen is your finest wager to maintain your Apple TV 4K fully updated. That is why a fourth-gen makes lots of sense, nevertheless it’s anyone’s guess as to when that may occur.