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

After I first obtained my Apple TV 4K, I used to be in love. It did the whole lot sooner than my TV, and I used to be capable of navigate between apps in a short time with out having to take care of sluggish speeds or something of the type. I used to be a cheerful camper, and for a few years, issues stayed that means. As you may 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 gadget.

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

My sensible TV, then again, can cross alongside DTS:X, Dolby Digital, and any of the frequent codecs I come throughout on to my receiver. One of many massive causes I’ve a receiver within the first place is for issues like this, so it is very 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 need to do.

My sensible TV is gaining floor on my Apple TV

Not an excellent state of affairs

I do not like utilizing my sensible TV for something, and an enormous purpose for that’s the truth that I have to 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 units with ease, and meaning it isn’t a lot of a problem for me to make use of my TV’s Netflix over my Apple TV’s app, for instance. What I have been doing increasingly more currently is noticing that my receiver is studying the audio as Multi In, which suggests it isn’t recognizing the audio format, and switching to my TV’s app. By doing this, my receiver will robotically learn the audio format and provides me the very best sound that I can have.

It is very unusual to seek out myself on this state of affairs, contemplating how a lot I liked utilizing the Apple TV 4K, however I’ve form of been compelled into this. It looks like a straightforward repair on Apple’s finish to only permit audio passthrough. What’s worse is that the sound nonetheless sounds good even when it isn’t the right format, however with just some button presses, I can ensure the whole lot matches up, so there is not any purpose for me to not do it.

I am left feeling like that is simply an outright backwards resolution from Apple, as a result of I went out of my means to purchase one thing to interchange my sensible TV UI, solely to seek out myself begrudgingly utilizing it increasingly more. This cannot be what Apple supposed 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 subject is the discharge of a brand new Apple TV 4K that comes with audio passthrough. There was a short second of hope that the function could be coming in a future tvOS replace, however that hope has since come and gone. Rumors have additionally been flying a couple of new Apple TV 4K, however that by no means occurred both. We’re now effectively exterior the window that Apple sometimes launched a brand new era of {hardware}, so there is not any telling if it’s going to ever occur. It is also laborious to have an interest if Apple does not add audio passtrhough and different primary options.

To be truthful, 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 just a few 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 gadget.

I haven’t got Liquid Glass, and whereas that is not a large downside, it exhibits that my gadget is sufficiently old to overlook out on nearly the whole lot. Even the second-gen mannequin does not get the whole lot, so the third-gen is your greatest wager to maintain your Apple TV 4K utterly updated. That is why a fourth-gen makes plenty of sense, but it surely’s anyone’s guess as to when that can occur.