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With Tim Cook moving on after what's arguably one of the most impressive runs any tech CEO has ever had, Apple is about to get a new leader in the form of John Ternus. Ternus has been at the company for 25 years, spending most of that time deep in Apple's hardware engineering.
So where does that leave Apple TV? Despite being one of the best streaming boxes out there, it's a product that's always felt forgotten. Meanwhile, iPhones, Macs and iPads get all the attention.
John Ternus: hardware nerd
Ternus isn't someone who's climbed the ladder through finance, marketing or operations. On the contrary, he's a hardware person through and through. In fact, his entire Apple career has been about getting involved with the engineering and manufacturing of physical products.
It's easy to look at streaming devices and think they're simple compared to something like an iPhone. In actuality, building these devices means navigating a surprisingly tangled set of decisions around chips, thermal management, connectivity and manufacturing.
Ternus has been dealing with exactly those kinds of challenges across Apple's full product line for more than two decades. He knows the tradeoffs inside and out, and he’s made this trades for previous Apple TV boxes — arguably the best streaming devices out there.
To be clear, having a hardware-focused CEO doesn't automatically make every product better. However, it could certainly make the process of hardware decision-making more efficient. Whether those decisions actually result in a more compelling Apple TV, though, is a separate conversation.
Apple is already leaning into the smart home space
In recent years, Apple has extended its reach into the smart home through products like the HomePod and the HomePod 2. But both the HomePod and the Apple TV seem to get forgotten — at least compared to other Apple products that get annual refreshes. Sure, you could argue that the Apple TV doesn't need a chip bump, but regardless, rumors indicate Apple is planning a renewed push into the smart home.
Now, that doesn't automatically mean that the Apple TV itself will get more attention. Most of the rumors surround things like a HomePod with a display and potentially even a smart doorbell, but if Apple is indeed pushing deeper into the home, perhaps we'll see other kinds of new products, like an Apple TV soundbar, or even a cheaper Apple TV dongle.
Apple's been down this road before with HomeKit and the HomePod, and the results were mixed at best, of course. But there's a real difference between the smart home being a pet project for some mid-level team and having the CEO personally invested in making it work. Conviction at the top changes things.
The Apple TV has a great track record
Despite a relative lack of upgrades, Apple TV has long been considered the best consumer streamer, and for good reason. Yes, it's more expensive than others from the likes of Roku, and you could argue that streamers in general are on the way out given the fact that most TVs have smart platforms built right into them. That said, if you want a powerful, smart TV platform that integrates with your Apple account, the Apple TV is still the way to go.
It's also technologically advanced. The A15 chip makes the Apple TV 4K feel much faster and more responsive than most other platforms, and the tvOS operating system feels a far more polished than most of the competition.
That's before even mentioning how well it works with things like the HomePod or AirPods. I often use AirPods with the Apple TV to avoid waking up others in my home. When it comes to high-end streaming devices, there's arguably no competition to the Apple TV.
When it comes to high-end streaming devices, there's arguably no competition to the Apple TV.
That raises an important question: Why update a product that's head and shoulders above the competition? For this reason, I can easily envision Apple expanding the Apple TV lineup rather than simply updating it.
Perhaps the key to all of this is Siri. Yes, Apple has lagged others when it comes to using generative AI for its smart assistant, but that's seemingly going to change soon, with a Google Gemini-powered version of Siri.
If Apple is able to finally deliver an all-new, powerful Siri, why wouldn't it want that Siri to be more present in the home, too? That could come through new HomePods, sure, but other kinds of speakers, too — the sort that companies like Sonos currently make. The Sonos Arc Ultra is consistently rated one of the best soundbars you can get. I could see Apple wanting to take a shot at that.
Nothing is certain
It's probably worth tempering expectations, of course. Rumors of Apple's push into the smart home aside, Ternus himself is unlikely to change things overnight. After all, anything released in the next two years or so would have already been under development since before Ternus took over.
Plus, as head of one of the largest companies in the world, he'll have plenty on his plate already. If Ternus is spending his days wrestling with AI strategy, managing iPhone margins and charting a course for the future of the Vision Pro, the Apple TV could still wind up further down the priority list than its fans would hope.
The fact is, we have no idea if a next-gen Apple TV is in active development, or if Apple plans home theater-related products other than the Apple TV in the future. But the pieces are in place for the Apple TV to get a meaningful lift under Ternus.
Apple TV fans have more reason for hope right now than they've had in a long time — but keeping expectations in check until we see what actually ships is the smart move.
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