Report: Apple TV, HomePod mini Updates ‘Ready’

Joe Rossignol reported over the weekend for MacRumors Apple has refreshed versions of the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini ready to ship. The company is waiting to launch the product once the redesigned Siri is officially rolled out to users later this year.

Rossignol’s story summarizes recent reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

“Both devices have been ready ‘for months,’ but Apple is holding off on launching them until the more personalized version of Siri is available, he said,” Rossignol wrote.

Apple employees have been using the new devices for some time, Gurman said.

I’m still using a 2022 Apple TV 4K, powered by the A15 chip, hooked up to my LG C3 in the living room. It runs as well today as it did the first day I unboxed it years ago, as does the Siri Remote. Same goes for the HomePods; I have one OG full-size HomePod in my office, as well as one blue HomePod mini in my bedroom, and they both work fantastically. (I’m especially impressed the OG HomePod, what with its A8 processor, still works with aplomb and still sounds great.) All this is to say, despite the relatively ancient hardware, I’m not feeling like I’m missing out or noticing a steep decline in performance or overall user experience. Their accessibleness remains firmly intact.

Of course I’ll consider upgrading if there’s anything enticing to me when these products are finally launched, but I have no complaints about what I’ve been using for literal years now. Like with iPad Pro, the Apple TV’s biggest problem has never been hardware—it’s software! Indeed, it’s tvOS that sorely needs a major transformation.

Still, there’s no denying the HomePod mini is older than shit and should be updated.