As an Apple TV fan since 2012, the new 4K model is pretty disappointing — and fans online feel the same: ‘The only upgrade is a microphone I don’t want, and AI I’m never ever going to use? No thank you’

On Oct 14, 2026

I love my Apple TV 4K, which I think is the best streaming device you can buy if, like me, you’re already all-in on Apple. But while my Apple TV 4K (2022) is great, it’s also four years old. That’s an eternity in TV tech, so I was excited to see what new features and capabilities the new Apple TV 4K announced today would bring.

Unfortunately, there are hardly any new features or capabilities. But the new Apple TV is much more expensive, so… uh, thanks?

What I saw today was a bit like if Apple took four years to make a new season of Pluribus, restricted it to a new Apple TV tier costing twice as much, and it turned out to be identical to Season 1 but 3% brighter and 5% faster.

The 2026/2027 Apple TV 4K: the good, the bad, and the ugly reaction

I’m not an Apple TV newcomer: while I’ve used lots of different streamers I’ve had an Apple TV for everyday viewing for over a decade.

I bought my first Apple TV in 2012 for £85, and I’m currently on the 2022 Apple TV 4K. That came in two versions, one with Ethernet and one without, and the cheapest one was $129 / £149 / AU$219. Now there’s only one version, and it’s $299 / £299 / AU$449.

Apple was already more expensive than most rival streaming models, but not terrifyingly so — and fairly, given that the price wasn’t subsidized by ads.

Now, though, it’s way more pricey than its best competitors. Yes, there’s a component shortage that’s putting prices up. But that’s affecting rivals too, and they’re yet to up their prices so dramatically.

That raised price makes it a much tougher sell to newcomers, as the cost of entry has more than doubled. And it’s a tough sell to existing owners because while the price has more than doubled, the spec and feature list… hasn’t.

There are two key improvements here: four-speaker surround via HomePods (but not the first-gen models) and integrated Siri AI. There are also some other changes including hardware AV1 video decoding, and the ability for the remote to make a noise so you can find it if it’s misplaced (and precision location tracking using UWB tech), which is welcome.

But if you’re not doing the HomePods thing (my HomePods are elsewhere; I have wired speakers and an AV receiver for my TV) then this is pretty disappointing for three hundred bucks.

I’m not sold on the need for AI assistants in TVs, and Siri isn’t impressing me much on any platform. I’ve been using the latest Siri since the iOS/tvOS 27 developer betas, and for me at least it’s hopeless: simple tasks take forever to complete if they complete at all, and it’s far and away my most sworn-at tech product.

The new built-in microphones might make Siri less cloth-eared than in the Apple Remote, but my problems are with what Siri does, or doesn’t do, after it’s finally listened to me. Most of the time using or trying to use Siri makes my TV experience worse, not better.

The reaction on the various Apple subreddits chimes with mine. On r/apple Santathe1 suggested that “somebody’s gotta pay for all the useless Siri AI no one likes”, while Kaiathebluenose said that “Improving Siri for my Apple TV is at the bottom of my list for improvements.” Heyboychica says “they’ve lost their minds with that price,” and PuyoDead agrees: “The only upgrade is a microphone I don’t want, and AI I’m never ever going to use? No thank you, I just picked up a refurbished third gen from their store instead.”

Other Redditors were disappointed that the Apple TV is still limited to 60Hz, not 120Hz, with comments including “60Hz for 300 bucks lol. No thanks”, “being capped at 60Hz seems like a DOA”, and similar sentiments, though I think that last one is a bit extreme for a device mainly used for 24fps and 30fps video.

To an extent, Apple is a victim of its own success here: the Apple TV 4K (2022) is a brilliant streaming device. Unfortunately it’s so good at what it does that it would need some pretty major upgrades to persuade existing owners to buy a newer one — and this model doesn’t seem to have anything to get seriously excited about. As redditor 17chan put it: “The good news is this saves me money. The bad news is it saves me money because I’m super disappointed and totally not buying this.”

We will of course be reviewing the new Apple TV 4K and we’ll give you our verdict very soon.

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