Apple TV was born just minutes before the iPhone—yet while that little smartphone radically reshaped our world, the streaming box never escaped the shadow of a mere “hobby.” Steve Jobs himself used that word, and decades later, it still stings.
Imagine a device with the same silicon that powers your iPhone, running a sleek version of iOS tailored for your living room. Smooth animations, apps that open in a blink, effortless password-free logins via your iPhone—Apple TV delivers an experience that makes every other streaming stick feel clunky and outdated.
So why does it feel so expendable? Because for $129—more than double the price of its competitors—you get a box that does basically the same thing: stream apps, play a few games, display your photos. The software is gorgeous, but it’s not revolutionary. It hasn’t evolved the way your iPhone has.
The real magic is missing. Apple TV could be the brain of your smart home, a super-intelligent assistant that understands context, remembers where you left off, and even recaps the last two episodes when you’ve been away for weeks. Instead, Siri is still limited, Netflix still refuses to join the unified TV app, and the device feels like a beautiful prison of what could be.
Here’s the secret Apple isn’t telling you yet: new hardware is ready. A HomePod-Apple TV hybrid with a 7-inch screen—called the “HomePad”—has been waiting in the wings. But Apple is holding everything back, waiting for Siri to finally become smart enough to deserve it.
The new CEO, John Ternus, is an engineer who loves products. If he can finally deliver the AI features that were promised but never arrived, Apple TV might stop being a hobby and become the indispensable heart of your home. Until then, we’re left wondering: will WWDC 2025 give us a glimpse of that future, or just another iteration of the same old box?
