Apple is considering creating a lower-cost Apple TV dongle that's similar to the Amazon Fire Stick or the Google Chromecast, reports The Information.
Apple has held discussions about introducing such a product, which would be priced lower than the Apple TV and would be able to be plugged into the back of a television set.
The company is said to be contemplating such a hardware device to promote an upcoming streaming service that's in the works. A lower-cost Apple TV dongle would make the service, which will be available only on Apple devices, more accessible to potential buyers.
Right now, Apple's only television product is the Apple TV, priced at $179 for the Apple TV 4K and $149 for the non-4K version. Current TV dongles from Amazon and Google are priced much lower, at $25 to $35.
Rumors have suggested Apple is planning to roll out a streaming service next year, perhaps as early as March, and it is set to launch in more than 100 countries in 2019.
Apple may offer the streaming service on a standalone basis, or bundle it up with Apple Music and an Apple News subscription that includes Texture, the magazine service that it purchased.
Original television content created by Apple could be made available for free to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users through the TV app. Apple is also negotiating deals to provide access to subscription channels like HBO and STARZ.
For its streaming service, Apple has more than a dozen original television shows in the works, and it has inked deals with production companies for movies. A full list of all of the projects Apple has in the works right now can be found in our Apple TV roundup.
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec).
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More features and changes will follow in future ...
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The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
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iOS 26.4 will...
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While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
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Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year.
Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
Friday October 17, 2025 7:10 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The first alleged benchmark result for the M5 chip in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced, allowing for some performance comparisons.
Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the highest single-core score that...
Apple is considering creating a lower-cost Apple TV dongle that's similar to the Amazon Fire Stick or the Google Chromecast, reports The Information ('https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-considered-new-connected-tv-dongle').
Apple has held discussions about introducing such a product, which would be priced lower than the Apple TV and would be able to be plugged into the back of a television set.
The company is said to be contemplating such a hardware device to promote an upcoming streaming service that's in the works. A lower-cost Apple TV dongle would make the service, which will be available only on Apple devices, more accessible to potential buyers.
Right now, Apple's only television product is the Apple TV, priced at $179 for the Apple TV 4K and $149 for the non-4K version. Current TV dongles from Amazon ('https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-TV-Stick-With-Alexa-Voice-Remote-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B00ZV9RDKK') and Google ('https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast?hl=en-US') are priced much lower, at $25 to $35.
Rumors have suggested Apple is planning to roll out a streaming service next year, perhaps as early as March ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/03/26/apple-tv-movie-programming-launch-march-2019/'), and it is set to launch ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/23/apple-tv-service-coming-in-2019-100-countries/') in more than 100 countries in 2019.
Apple may offer the streaming service on a standalone basis, or bundle it up ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/06/27/apple-streaming-service-bundle-tv-music-news/') with Apple Music and an Apple News subscription that includes Texture, the magazine service that it purchased.
Original television content created by Apple could be made available for free to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users through the TV app ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/10/apple-tv-content-free-apple-device-owners/'). Apple is also negotiating deals to provide access to subscription channels like HBO and STARZ.
For its streaming service, Apple has more than a dozen original television shows in the works, and it has inked deals with production companies for movies. A full list of all of the projects Apple has in the works right now can be found in our Apple TV roundup ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-tv/#original_content_efforts').
Article Link: Apple Considering Low Cost Apple TV Dongle to Provide Wider Access to Upcoming Streaming Service ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/21/apple-tv-dongle-possible/')
[doublepost=1542835957][/doublepost]New dongle £109...next years AppleTV 5 - £499
This is a mistake. The ATV 4 and ATV 4K are worth every penny. At first I was underwhelmed with my ATV 4 but I know use it more than my PS4. It is fast, consumes just 5W and I get my full internet bandwidth over 5 GHz ac. The quality of Netflix is superb on it.
A cheap dongle like the Chromecast doesn’t belong in Apple’s lineup. They should stick to making premium products. Leave budget to everyone else.
I love the fact that the Apple TV has wired ethernet, too. I like being able to plug it directly into my network and not have potential interference affect it when I'm watching stuff. Stuff like Chromecast and FireTV don't have that; you MUST use WiFi.
('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/21/apple-tv-dongle-possible/')
