We’ve been hearing rumors about the next-generation Apple TV for a while now, but we don’t know when the company plans to officially announce it. Now 9to5Mac has learned that Apple is developing a new Remote for Apple TV, which corroborates some previous rumors about Apple updating the Siri Remote.
Details about this new Apple TV Remote are still unknown, but 9to5Mac’s sources have told us that this model is being developed under the code name “B519,” which is quite different from the code name of the current Siri Remote — internally identified as “B439.”
When Apple introduced the Apple TV 4K in 2017, the Siri Remote had a small change with a white ring around the Menu button, which made it be identified as a new model. However, as the new Remote has an internal model number way above the current version, we believe the changes will be more significant.
Siri Remote has always been a controversial accessory among Apple TV users. While some people love it, there are a significant number of users who hate it for not having physical navigation buttons or for having a glass surface, which makes it extremely fragile. With a new Apple TV model on the way, this could be the perfect opportunity for Apple to create an improved Remote.
Last week, MacRumors discovered that Apple has removed mentions of the name “Siri Remote” from the tvOS 14.5 beta, which is now called “Apple TV Remote.” This name was already used in some regions, but is now a standard for all users — which also suggests an upcoming change to the accessory.
Back in August 2020, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on a new Apple TV with a faster chip and an “updated remote control” that will work with the Find My app. Bloomberg reiterated this rumor with new sources last December, saying that the new Apple TV with the updated Remote will arrive in 2021.
Prior to that, 9to5Mac found references to a new Apple TV model in the code of tvOS 13. The codes we had access to also reveal that the next generation Apple TV will feature a more powerful processor based on the arm64e architecture, which could be the A12 chip or newer.
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