It's quite reasonable for Apple TV 4K users to raise their voices about the lack of new hardware. The current set-top box, introduced in 2022, risks breaking an unwanted record.

A New Apple TV 4K Expected in 2026

The good news is that Apple is reportedly working on a new Apple TV 4K.

The bad news? Apple may be waiting for an AI-related software update before releasing it. This could mean tvOS 27 in the fall.

If this happens, the current Apple TV 4K hardware will have broken the longest sales record between updates.

As of April 24, it has been 1,267 days since the current Apple TV 4K was released.

In the meantime, Apple continues to update the current Apple TV 4K hardware with new features.

The Original Apple TV 4K Holds the Current Record

If Apple does not release a new Apple TV 4K by July 4, the A15 Bionic Apple TV 4K from 2022 will have broken the longest sales record between updates.

This will break the current record held by the A10X Fusion model from 2017.

The A10X Fusion model was the latest Apple TV 4K model you could purchase for 1,337 days between updates.

It was released 693 days after the launch of the Apple TV, which introduced the tvOS platform. Apple finally discontinued the Apple TV HD after selling it for 2,545 days in 2015, but it was a lower-cost option for most of its life.

Reasons Why the Current Apple TV 4K Needs an Update

The release gap of the current Apple TV hardware feels quite long for another reason as well. The transition from the second-generation Apple TV 4K to the current-generation Apple TV 4K occurred just 532 days later.

In 2022, Apple restructured the third-generation Apple TV 4K hardware to be more affordable compared to the first two Apple TV 4K versions.

If we get stuck with a single version for a few years, at least having a more competitively priced version would be better.