After I first received my Apple TV 4K, I used to be in love. It did all the things quicker than my TV, and I used to be in a position to navigate between apps in a short time with out having to take care of sluggish speeds or something of the kind. I used to be a cheerful camper, and for a few years, issues stayed that method. 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 ceaselessly, and there are some slowdowns that do not repair themselves till I force-close the app or restart my system.
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 purpose, Apple will not 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 difficulty if the very best audio format is already lined? 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, however, can move alongside DTS:X, Dolby Digital, and any of the frequent 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 sensible TV for extra issues, one thing I did not need to do.
- Model
-
Apple
- Bluetooth codecs
-
5.0
- Wi-Fi
-
6
- Ethernet
-
Gigabit (128GB mannequin solely)
- Storage and RAM
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64GB, 128GB
My sensible TV is gaining floor on my Apple TV
Not a perfect state of affairs
I do not like utilizing my sensible TV for something, and an enormous purpose 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 drawback has since been solved by a common distant.
My distant lets me management all of my units with ease, and which means 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 implies 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’s totally unusual to search out myself on this state of affairs, contemplating how a lot I liked utilizing the Apple TV 4K, however I’ve type of been compelled into this. It appears like a simple repair on Apple’s finish to only enable audio passthrough. What’s worse is that the sound nonetheless sounds good even when it isn’t the right format, however with only a few button presses, I can ensure all the things 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 choice from Apple, as a result of I went out of my method to purchase one thing to exchange my sensible TV UI, solely to search out myself begrudgingly utilizing it increasingly more. 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 difficulty 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 couple of new Apple TV 4K, however that by no means occurred both. We’re now effectively exterior the window that Apple usually launched a brand new technology of {hardware}, so there is not any telling if it will ever occur. It is also onerous to have an interest if Apple does not add audio passtrhough and different primary options.
To be honest, even the first-gen Apple TV 4K is a robust performer in 2026, as evidenced by my nonetheless utilizing it, however I might wish to see a {hardware} refresh however. 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 adjustments 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 adjustments do not come to the system.
I haven’t got Liquid Glass, and whereas that is not an enormous drawback, it exhibits that my system is sufficiently old to overlook out on nearly all the things. Even the second-gen mannequin does not get all the things, so the third-gen is your greatest guess to maintain your Apple TV 4K utterly updated. That is why a fourth-gen makes lots of sense, nevertheless it’s anyone’s guess as to when that may occur.
