The Apple TV is a great way to watch movies and TV shows at home, but it’s never really taken over the mainstream or sold in iPhone-level numbers. Apple is no doubt trying to change that, and one of the company’s ideas is apparently to build in a camera that will let you conduct video calls and control the device using in-air gestures.
That’s according to the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman. Gurman has a strong track record when it comes to Apple rumors, so there’s a degree of weight behind his predictions.
Writing in Power On, Gurman briefly touched on the idea, saying: “Then there’s the smart home segment, where Apple still has grand ambitions. It has discussed automating household functions and offering a revamped Apple TV set-top box with a built-in camera for FaceTime videoconferencing and gesture-based controls. And the technology will all work seamlessly with both the iPhone and Vision Pro.”
The Apple TV already supports FaceTime calls, provided it is running tvOS 17 and you’ve attached a compatible iPhone to the device. If Gurman’s prediction plays out, you might no longer need the iPhone, as the Apple TV could record a FaceTime call using a built-in camera.
As well as that, gesture controls are already possible on Apple TV when conducting FaceTime calls with an iPhone or iPad, as Apple also introduced these in tvOS 17. You can put two thumbs up to trigger fireworks on your display, for example. Whether Gurman is referring to these gestures or entirely new ones in his report isn’t clear.
Will it ever happen?
None of this might matter in the end, as we don’t know if Apple will ever implement this system in any of its devices – the company might simply be exploring ideas. But Gurman has previously said that a new Apple TV could launch in the first half of 2024, so we might not have long to wait before we find out.
We’ve seen Apple explore in-air gesture ideas before. Back in April 2023, the company was granted a patent for a similar system that could control FaceTime calls. And with the Vision Pro headset making extensive use of gesture controls, Apple might be looking to expand that system to more of its devices.
The main question is whether Apple’s users want this kind of functionality. Depending on how effective the gestures are – and how straightforward they are to perform – they could be more hassle than they’re worth. Then again, the Apple TV’s Siri Remote is not the most feature-packed TV remote in the world, so gesture controls could be preferable to using it in some circumstances.
