One of the Apple TV 4K (2021)‘s coolest features appears to be limited to the HomePod, a product the company has officially discontinued. Confused? So are we.
Apple has recently been making announcements that seem, well, poorly thought-out to put it kindly. When it announced that it would be adding a lossless audio option for every single track on Apple Music, it also acknowledged that none of its wireless AirPod line of earbuds and headphones is currently compatible with the new format.
Now that the new Apple TV 4K is starting to ship and the first reviews are trickling in, we’re learning of another odd situation, once again involving audio.
The new Apple TV
It’s something of an unusual feature for a streaming media device. Normally, HDMI ARC/eARC is used to send audio from a TV to an audio device, like a soundbar or an A/V receiver. But since an update to tvOS in 2020, both the 2017 and 2021 models of Apple TV
The result: The 2021 Apple TV
This is all good news for Apple TV
And while Apple is still selling off its remaining inventory of HomePods, they’ll all be gone shortly. At that time, the only folks who will be able to make use of the new Apple TV
A cynic might say that this restriction on ARC/eARC to just HomePods is a calculated and temporary move to help Apple offload its remaining HomePods. After all, Apple places no such restrictions on the HomePod mini when the Apple TV
But as with the bizarre Apple Music lossless audio situation, I suspect there’s a deeper strategy at play here and much will be revealed at Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2021, which kicks off on June 7.
If Apple has more to say about HDMI ARC/eARC support at that time, we will be sure to update you.
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