3 key bits of home cinema and audio hardware Apple didn’t unveil alongside the iPhone 16 and AirPods 4

Apple’s hotly anticipated September 2024 launch event has come and gone and it brought with it a wealth of exciting new hardware.

Highlights include the new iPhone 16 line of smartphones, which are the first to feature Apple Intelligence, which aims to offer a wealth of AI powered upgrades and new AirPods 4 earbuds – which Apple claims will offer significant sonic improvements on their predecessor.

But,, there were a few key omissions and hotly desired bits of rumoured Apple tech that didn’t make an appearance.

Here are the three biggest that the What Hi-Fi? team wanted, but didn't get to see.

The AirPods Max 2

The AirPods Max did get a tepid upgrade at the Apple event. But this was limited to a selection of new colour options (blue, purple and orange) and upgrade to use USB C, rather than Lightning port charging on the AirPods Max , not a holistic, next-generation upgrade.

The updated model also has exactly the same name and is not being marketed by Apple as a new model. So for the team at What Hi-Fi? it's fair to say the long awaited, hotly anticipated, next-generation AirPods Max 2 were a no show at the Glowtime event. While we all agree this is a massive shame, the move isn't terribly surprising.

The AirPods Max remain a top seller from Apple and staple sight in our best wireless headphones guide, thanks to their still excellent audio quality. So it makes sense Apple hasn't bother putting a lot of effort creating a proper upgrade to them yet.

An actual Apple TV

This is one of the more out there items on the What Hi-Fi? home cinema team’s wishlist.

There haven’t been any concrete, or even semi-legitimate rumours suggesting an actual TV is on Apple’s device roadmap. So the fact it didn't appear, or even get mentioned at the event isn't a huge surprise.

But we’ve chronicled many times before why we think it should be. Most recently our editor (me) wrote a feature reiterating why .

The short version is that there are three reasons. First, Apple’s really good at display tech. Take its latest 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) as an example. Apple describes the device as a “home cinema in your hand” and based on our experience reviewing it we generally agree with that description.

The device features a tandem OLED display that looks incredible, especially with HDR content where its higher than average peak brightness leads to a wonderful picture full of contrast.

Thanks to its strong record in making Mac Pro desktops and MacBook Pro laptops, which both are marketed at creative professionals, it also has a great handle on how to deliver accurate colours.

Second, it also has an ideal app ecosystem and platform to build it round thanks to its current Apple TV 4K box and Apple TV+ streaming service.

Third and finally, it already has an ecosystem of great audio products to complete its home cinema offering. The AirPods Max offer Spatial Audio when connected to an Apple TV, which based on our testing delivers a wonderfully immersive surround-sound experience.

If you have two HomePod 2 wireless speakers you can also set them up in a stereo arrangement – an arrangement that yielded surprisingly great results when we tested it just after the speaker launched. So a move to complete the portfolio and make an actual TV just makes sense.

An Apple soundbar

Talking of audio, the other item we often wish for is an Apple soundbar .  There were some semi-legitimate rumours about Apple potentially working on a soundbar all the way back in 2020, but they’ve gone quiet since then.

Despite the radio silence at the launch event we still think the move makes perfect sense . The HomePod 2 speakers sound great, but for movie watching, even with two paired, we all agree they could be made even better with a solid soundbar acting as the central channel.

The only thing our team remains divided on what the soundbar should be called. The current front runners are HomeBar, AirBar and iBar (there’s a reason we’re not in marketing).

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