Apples services division broke records for revenue so there’s a way to look at the TV hardware as a kind of loss leader for subscriptions
But everything is way more expensive than it was a year ago. Nothing escapes this inflation we are going through
Apple's service division breakdown does not paint AppleTV+ in a favorable light whatsoever: https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/apple-tv-plus-streamin...
If they're selling AppleTV at a loss to stimulate AppleTV+ subscriptions, then they're hemorrhaging money on two fronts. Without their App Store monopoly, Apple's annual service revenue would undoubtedly be a crater.