Honestly, if you walk into a Best Buy right now and ask for a "stick Apple TV," the blue-shirted kid is going to point you toward a box. A literal box. It’s small, sure. But it’s not a stick. Unlike the Amazon Fire TV Stick or the Roku Streaming Stick, Apple has famously refused to make a dongle that just hangs off your HDMI port like a piece of tech-lint.
People want one. Badly.
The search for a stick Apple TV is basically the tech equivalent of hunting for a unicorn that supports AirPlay 2. You've probably seen the rumors. Every few months, some analyst or "supply chain source" leaks a hint that Apple is working on a low-cost, HDMI-stick version of their streaming player to finally fight for the sub-$50 market. But here we are in 2026, and the "stick" remains a phantom.
Why Apple Hates the Dongle Life
It’s mostly about power. Most streaming sticks are, to put it bluntly, pretty sluggish. They have tiny processors, almost no RAM, and they overheat if you try to do anything more complex than scrolling through Netflix. Apple doesn't do "sluggish."
The current Apple TV 4K is a beast. It’s running the A15 Bionic chip—the same brain that was in the iPhone 13. Some 2026 rumors even suggest a refresh is coming with the A17 Pro. You can’t cram that kind of heat-generating horsepower into a plastic stick the size of a thumb drive without it melting through your TV's plastic casing.
Basically, Apple prioritizes the "premium" experience. They want the interface to be buttery smooth. No lag. No stuttering when you switch from Severance to a round of NBA 2K on Apple Arcade.
The 2026 Rumor Mill: Is the "Stick" Finally Coming?
Look, there's a lot of smoke right now. Reliable voices like Mark Gurman at Bloomberg have been hinting that Apple is looking to expand its "Home" category. With the launch of the new HomePad and more aggressive AI integration, a cheaper "entry-point" device makes sense.
If a stick Apple TV actually drops this year, it’ll likely look different than we expect.
- Price Point: It would have to be under $99 to matter.
- The Chip: Probably a binned version of an older A-series chip to keep costs down.
- The Compromise: You’d likely lose the Ethernet port (which many people don't use anyway) and maybe some of the high-end gaming chops.
What Most People Get Wrong
Most users think they want a stick because it's "cleaner" behind the TV. Honestly? The current Apple TV 4K is so small you can Velcro it to the back of your television and achieve the same look. You’re not paying for the shape; you’re paying for the lack of ads.
Have you seen a Fire Stick home screen lately? It’s a billboard. It's 70% ads for detergent and shows you don’t want to watch. Apple TV is one of the last bastions of a clean, app-focused UI. That's why there's no $30 version. If the product is cheap, you are the product. Apple would rather you pay $129 upfront than sell your viewing habits to data brokers.
The Real Competition
If you're tired of waiting for a stick that might never come, you have a few real-world choices.
- The Apple TV 4K (Current Gen): It’s $129. It’s overkill for just watching Hulu, but it'll last you six years without slowing down.
- Roku Streaming Stick 4K: The best "dumb" alternative. Simple, cheap, and has a decent app.
- Google TV Streamer: Google recently moved away from the "dongle" format too, moving back to a set-top box. That tells you something about where the industry is heading.
Power requires space.
Is It Worth Waiting for a 2026 Release?
If you need a streaming device today, just buy the box. Don't wait for a stick Apple TV that might be a year away—or might be a fever dream. The current hardware is so far ahead of the competition that it’s not even a fair fight.
Even if a stick comes out, it will be the "budget" version. It’ll have less storage. It’ll be slower. If you're already in the Apple ecosystem—meaning you have AirPods for late-night listening or an iPhone to use as a remote—the "box" is the better investment.
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Stop looking for the stick. Embrace the cube.
Check your local listings or the Apple Store app to see if the 128GB Ethernet model is in stock near you. It's only $20 more than the base model and gives you Thread support for your smart home, which is a massive win if you're planning on adding smart lights or locks later this year. Reach behind your TV, measure the clearance, and see if a small mount might solve your "clutter" problem better than a cheap dongle ever could.