Apple is reportedly eyeing an updated version of the Apple TV box that will arrive in the coming months. According to Bloomberg, it will get a faster processor and the new N1 networking chip that Apple has fitted inside its latest iPhones. The more meaningful upgrade, however, could be a new user experience built atop the prophesied next-gen Siri assistant, one that would act like Gemini or ChatGPT.
What’s the big draw?
“The device also will add support for the new Siri voice assistant and other Apple Intelligence features coming next year,” says the report. Now, we haven’t exactly seen what the next-gen Siri, aka “LLM Siri,” can accomplish on a TV, but we have an idea of the bright possibilities.
Earlier this year, Google put Gemini on smart TVs, opening a whole new avenue of conversational capabilities in the hands of users. For example, aside from sifting through content using natural language commands, it will also bring a learning-focused side to the table, tailored for kids and their curious questions.
For example, while watching content, if you ask a question like “What’s a black hole?” Gemini will not only provide a response, but will also pull up YouTube videos where kids can learn more about it. Additionally, the arrival of Google’s AI assistant will also let users create custom artwork, control their smart home devices (when the TV is in ambient mode), and get a daily overview of news events.
It could be a game-changer
Amazon is also eyeing something similar with its new Alexa+ assistant on compatible FireTV models. For example, users can tell it to keep a certain TV show ready while having lunch, and as soon as they turn on the TV, the desired content is primed for their watching session.
Thanks to its advanced conversational capabilities, it will help users discover films and music based on their mood, instead of going through preset categories. Apple has already integrated ChatGPT tech within Siri as part of the Apple Intelligence stack, allowing the OpenAI assistant to tackle tasks that require advanced AI chops.
Now, it’s unclear whether the next Apple TV will continue with this merged approach where Siri offloads sophisticated tasks to ChatGPT, or if it will feature an entirely new (and smarter) avatar of Siri. Interestingly, Apple is said to be in talks with Google and Amazon-backed Anthropic to develop an AI-boosted version of Siri built atop Gemini and Claude, respectively, that will run on Apple’s private cloud servers.
