A new generation of Apple TV 4K was introduced earlier this week with a notable price change from its predecessor. But TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the company to bring the cost even lower for future versions of the device.
The third generation of Apple TV 4K will be sold at a starting price of $129 with the Siri Remote — a $50 reduction from last year’s pricing. This corroborates Kuo’s forecast from last May, where the analyst predicted Apple to “improve cost structure” for the product in the second half of the year.
“I think that Apple's aggressive strategy of integrating hardware, content, and service amid the recession will help close the gap with its competitors,” Kuo said at the time. The analyst added, in a Twitter post following the new Apple TV 4K’s launch, that the price drop “should not be enough.”
The analyst, well-known for his oft-accurate forecasts regarding upcoming Apple products, said the new $129 pricing should improve the Apple TV 4K shipments. But Kuo still expects the iPhone maker to implement a “sub-$100” pricing for the next-gen Apple TV 4K.
It is worth noting that Apple increased the baseline storage capacity for the third-gen Apple TV 4K. The device will come with a 64GB storage capacity (up from 32GB) at a lower price for the Wi-Fi variant. The 128GB model with Ethernet support also gets a price reduction and will be sold at $149.
The primary hardware upgrade for the third-gen Apple TV 4K is the use of the A15 Bionic. Apple says the chip, currently also included in the standard iPhone 14 models, will deliver a 50% CPU performance boost and up to 30% boost in the GPU.
Another notable addition to the latest Apple TV 4K is HDR 10+ support. But the device is still not capable of supporting 120Hz refresh rate.
The new Apple TV 4K is now available to order on Apple.com. But deliveries will not start until Friday, Nov. 4.
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