Apple Is Calling the Apple TV 2026 a Console Killer. It's Said That Before.

Why the A17 Pro Doesn't Fix the Actual Problem

Here's the thing about putting an A17 Pro chip in an Apple TV: it can absolutely run demanding games. Resident Evil Village already runs on A17 Pro devices. Assassin's Creed Mirage came to iPhone 15 Pro. The hardware argument — "Apple devices can't run serious games" — is increasingly outdated. The ecosystem argument is not. And that's the one that matters. For the Apple TV to succeed as a gaming platform, Apple needs studios to commit development resources to tvOS-specific builds — larger screens, controller-first input design, different performance profiles, certification, ongoing updates, and customer support across a platform with a relatively small install base. The studios that matter for living room gaming — Epic, Activision, EA, 2K, FromSoftware, CD Projekt Red — have essentially no presence on tvOS today. They're not going to change course because Apple put a fast chip in a $99 box. They'll change course when the install base justifies the engineering cost. And the install base won't grow substantially until there are games people want to play on it. One analysis breakdown posted this week on YouTube put it plainly: "Power has never been the problem for Apple. The problem is the games. Unless Tim Cook is buying game studios, this chip just means you can scroll through menus faster." [1] That's harsh, but it's the pattern the last decade of Apple TV gaming announcements has established. The one partial exception to this cycle is Apple Arcade, which is available on Apple TV and does work. But Apple Arcade skews toward casual, indie, and puzzle titles — not the kind of content that steals Saturday nights from PlayStation or Xbox.

Power has never been the problem for Apple. The problem is the games. Unless Tim Cook is buying game studios, this chip just means you can scroll through menus faster.

— YouTube breakdown of Apple TV 2026 leaked specs

The Parts of the Apple TV 2026 That Actually Are Interesting

Separate the gaming hype from the rest of the announcement and there's a genuinely compelling product here — just for different reasons. The N1 chip is the most underreported detail. Apple is reportedly moving away from Broadcom and Qualcomm silicon for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, building its own in-house networking chip. The Apple TV is the ideal test bed for this: it's always plugged in, so thermal efficiency isn't critical, and failure to get the chip right won't ruin anyone's battery life. If N1 works well here, it eventually shows up in iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The Apple TV becomes a quiet R&D platform for a major strategic shift. Hardware AV1 decoding is the other upgrade that matters more than it sounds. AV1 is the open royalty-free video codec that YouTube, Netflix, and most major streaming platforms have adopted or are adopting because it delivers better image quality at lower bitrates. Cheap Amazon Fire sticks have had hardware AV1 decoding for years. The current Apple TV doesn't. Adding it means faster streaming, better quality at the same connection speeds, and less processing overhead — real, practical improvements for the device's primary use case, which is still watching video content, not gaming. HomeKit hub functionality gives Apple TV a reason to exist even for people who have a smart TV. A centralized, always-on hub for Thread, Matter, and HomeKit devices — controlling lights, locks, thermostats, cameras — is exactly where Apple wants to extend the ecosystem. And unlike games, this doesn't require developers to build anything new. It just requires the hardware to be in the room, which it already is. If there's a rumored integrated FaceTime camera, that's a wilder swing. A camera pointed at your living room couch raises real privacy concerns, and Apple will need to handle the optics carefully. But as a permanent FaceTime and Vision Pro pairing hub, the logic makes sense for Apple's longer-term smart home roadmap.

The honest verdict on Apple TV 2026, before any official announcement: this is the best hardware Apple has ever put in a streaming box, and the gaming pitch is still going to land in the same place it always does unless Apple does something structurally different about developer incentives and game availability. What's changed this cycle is the price. If $99 is real, Apple is making a bet that volume and ecosystem lock-in matter more than margin on the device itself. That changes the install base math — slowly — in a way that five years of better chips never did. More Apple TVs in living rooms means more potential players, which eventually means more developer interest. It's a long game. Watch the March/April launch announcement closely for two things: whether Apple announces specific new studio partnerships for tvOS gaming (not ports of three-year-old iPhone games), and whether they commit to regular hardware update cycles rather than the three-year gaps that have defined the Apple TV's recent history. Those two things would signal a real change in strategy. A faster chip at a lower price, without those commitments, is a better Apple TV for streaming — and a gaming pitch that will generate the same YouTube skepticism in 2028 that it's generating right now.