Your Current Apple TV Is Likely Getting Two of the New Model’s Best Perks
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Apple unveiled a new fourth-generation Apple TV 4K yesterday, but before you rush out and hit that preorder button, you may want to take a look at what the previous two models now offer as part of that announcement.
The new Apple TV 4K definitely raises the bar, but not just in a good way. While you get a new A19 chip inside that will give it a massive leg up on its A15-equipped predecessor — especially for those who use it for gaming — it also comes with a higher price tag to match.
The third-generation Apple TV 4K launched in late 2022 in two variants: a 64 GB Wi-Fi model for $129 and a 128 GB version that added Ethernet for $149. It remained at that price until four months ago, when Apple hiked nearly all of its prices across the board, with the Apple TV 4K getting the most dramatic bump, percentage-wise, going from $129/$149 to $199/$249.
That was clearly intended to prepare us for what Apple had in the pipeline, but we’d still hoped that these would represent the new price points for the fourth-generation model. Unfortunately, Apple still had another surprise in store: the new Apple TV 4K is priced at a staggering $299, raising the cost of entry by 50% over its already pricey predecessor.
Technically speaking, the price hike is only $50, since the new Apple TV 4K is a direct upgrade from the higher-tier third-generation model. However, that’s small consolation for anyone who didn’t need 128 GB or an Ethernet port, as a lower-priced option is no longer available. There’s now only one Apple TV 4K model, and it’s $299.
However, there’s a bit of a silver lining here, as it looks like Apple will be making at least two of the new model’s capabilities available to older Apple TV 4K set-top boxes.
Siri AI and Apple Intelligence
As we noted yesterday, a footnote in Apple’s newsroom announcement hints that Siri AI would be coming to the 2021 and 2022 Apple TV 4K models:
Siri AI is available as a beta on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later), and is available at launch in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK in English.
Initially, we feared that might be a typo, since those older models use A12 and A15 chips, and Apple Intelligence has previously required an A17 Pro or later chip for on-device processing. However, Apple has since confirmed that this is indeed the case.
Siri AI isn’t in the tvOS 27.2 beta yet, although it might be telling that Apple has yet to release a new beta of tvOS 27.2, despite having seeded the fourth beta to its other five platforms yesterday. Another footnote says “Siri AI is available in beta in tvOS 27.2,” and while that could arguably be referring specifically to the fourth-generation model (since that’s what the newsroom announcement is about), it seems reasonable that Apple will launch it at the same time on all models, especially since it also notes that it requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad in the mix.
Siri AI is available in beta in tvOS 27.2 and requires the owner of the home in the Home app to have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software version and have Siri AI turned on and set to a supported language.
That suggests that Siri AI on the Apple TV will rely on an iPhone or iPad to do some of the heavy lifting, not to mention its own Private Cloud Compute servers. This also tracks with the fact that Siri AI is coming to the S10-equipped HomePod mini 2, where it will probably work similarly to the way it does in watchOS 27. There have even been hints that Siri AI might come to the full-sized HomePod (the second-generation model, that is).
It’s a safe bet that the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K will probably be faster and a bit more capable when it comes to handling Siri AI requests, so if that’s your main interest in upgrading to the new set-top box, it might be worth holding off until the inevitable comparisons and reviews show up. We’ll definitely keep you posted, as I already have the fourth-generation model on preorder with second- and third-generation versions sitting here to benchmark it against.
The Siri Remote
The other major new feature in the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K is something you can buy separately: the remote.
Apple is bundling the new set-top box with a fourth-generation Siri Remote that appears to pack in ultra-wideband support for Precision Finding, plus a speaker that will let it chirp to help you find it.
That’s good news for anyone who frequently misplaces their remote, but what’s even better is that you don’t have to shell out $299 for the full Apple TV 4K to get it. Apple has always sold the Siri Remote separately, and those packages will be updated to the new fourth-generation model.
You can pick up the Siri Remote for $59 and use it with any tvOS-capable Apple TV — even the original 2015 model. The Precision Finding is independent of the set-top box, as it’s more of an AirTag-like feature in the remote itself, but there is still a catch, as you’ll need a compatible iPhone.
In an odd twist, Apple is limiting the Precision Finding support to most 2025 and later iPhone models: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max (but not iPhone 17e), iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and, of course, the iPhone Duo. The basic Find My features will likely still work with older models, but that’s already supported by older Siri Remotes; only the ability to play a sound is new.
What Else Is New in the 2026 Apple TV 4K?
Other than the obvious upgrade to an A19 chip — which adds hardware-accelerated AV1 decoding and a 50% CPU boost that isn’t likely to be noticed by anyone who simply uses it as a streaming box — the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K also packs in Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, suggesting that it might be using Apple’s own N1 chip (although the company doesn’t say). By extension, the Siri Remote also uses Bluetooth 6.
You also get Gigabit Ethernet and Thread support by default, which were previously exclusive to the higher-end model, but that’s simply because you no longer have the option of purchasing a lower-end model.
The new Apple TV 4K packs in three far-field microphones to let you make “Hey Siri” requests from anywhere in the room, hands-free. That’s useful if it’s the only Apple device in your living room, but almost entirely redundant if you plan to put a HomePod nearby, which is actually one of the few really big perks of the new set-top box.
While the Apple TV 4K has supported using two HomePods to create a virtual surround sound system, the new A19-powered model will let you expand that to a true quad-speaker system. This can be accomplished with either four full-size second-generation HomePods, four HomePod mini 2 speakers, or a combination of both in pairs.
The new Apple TV 4K is available for preorder now and expected to arrive in stores and in customers’ hands on November 13.
