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Apple TV 4K (current generation released late 2022) may receive a major audio upgrade with tvOS 26.4, ahead of a possible 2026 hardware refresh.
The tvOS 26.4 beta introduces “Continuous Audio Connection,” designed to eliminate audio dropouts during format changes like SDR-to-HDR or stereo-to-surround transitions.
Audio is output continuously over HDMI using a fixed LPCM signal, with surround sound and Dolby Atmos encoded via Dolby MAT for seamless playback.
From a signal-chain perspective, Apple’s approach is less about raw codec support and more about stabilising the HDMI clock domain. Traditional HDMI audio handshakes force downstream devices—AVRs, soundbars, TVs—to re-lock whenever sample structure or channel layout changes. That re-lock is what causes the infamous relay click, muted syllables and momentary loss of picture. By encapsulating everything into a persistent multichannel PCM container and letting Dolby MAT handle metadata transport, the Apple TV effectively behaves like a studio source with a fixed output topology. This is conceptually closer to how pro audio interfaces operate than how consumer streamers typically behave, and it sidesteps quirks in AVR firmware that are notoriously sensitive to format switching.
There is, however, a philosophical split among enthusiasts. Some purists prefer visible format switching on their receiver displays as reassurance of “bitstream purity,” while others argue that MAT-over-LPCM is already a decoded domain and therefore less elegant. The counterpoint—supported by Dolby’s own specifications—is that MAT preserves object-based data without lossy re-encoding, making it functionally transparent while dramatically improving system stability. In that sense, Apple is prioritising deterministic playback over theatrical theatrics on the front panel, aligning with its long-standing bias toward consistency rather than configurability. For complex setups involving HDMI 2.1 displays, eARC links and multiple intermediate devices, that design choice may prove more transformative than any headline-grabbing new codec support.
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