Today, Apple finally announced a new version of the Apple TV 4K. The set-top box hasn’t gotten an update since its 2022 iterations—one with an Ethernet port and one without—and now it’s here with a few new tricks up its sleeve. The main thing you should know is there is only one version available, and it’s the most expensive Apple TV box the company has ever wanted to shove in front of your television.
First look at the new $299 Apple TV 4K with built-in farfield mics and the new Siri Remote with built-in speaker for Find My pic.twitter.com/KKBRMjPesZ
— Ray Wong (@raywongy) October 13, 2026
The big changes for the Apple TV 4K are that it now runs on an A19 chip, first found in the iPhone 17. That chip enables a specially-built AV1 decoder, which the Cupertino, California tech giant promised should offer better streaming at a lower bandwidth. Apple also upgraded the box to support an N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. The new Apple TV 4K has 128GB of storage, the same as the last-generation model with an Ethernet port as well as a Wi-Fi connection. Now that it’s packed with more memory at the base, you can already guess what’s coming. The new set-top box is now $299, $100 more than the previous generation after recent price hikes. That’s just under $150 more than a Google TV Streamer box and the same price as Nvidia’s Shield Pro, all of which have gone up in price in recent months.
Aesthetically speaking, the new Apple TV 4K is pretty much exactly the same as its predecessor. It’s a slim, shiny square box with rounded corners. The big news is how it incorporates three built-in far-field mics that let you talk to the souped-up Siri AI. Previously, users needed to talk into their remote or a connected HomePod. The new version of the Apple TV 4K also incorporates a redesigned remote that now includes a speaker. Apple’s thin, stick-like remotes seem purpose-built for slipping between couch cushions. Now, the remote includes Find My support and a speaker that can chime in case it’s wedged deep in one crack or another.
Apple’s big push into smart home gadgets hopes to turn your TV stand into an all-Apple entertainment hub. You can now use several 2nd-gen HomePod or new HomePod mini 2 smart speakers to create a four-speaker surround sound experience. Apple promised these devices should recognize spatial positioning to offer a better movie and music experience when you’re sitting on the couch. The way to achieve this configuration is unfortunately complicated. Apple confirmed with Gizmodo that you can use two HomePod speakers to create stereo audio, but you’ll need four for spatial sound. There are essentially three configurations you can use to achieve surround sound: four HomePod mini 2s, two HomePod Gen 2 and two HomePod mini 2s (set up in grouped pairs), or four HomePod Gen 2s. No, you won’t be able to use your older 1st-gen HomePods.
Despite all this talk about AI capabilities, the 4th-gen Apple TV 4K remains a streaming box, one that’s capable of letting you watch TV and movies via either Wi-Fi or a hardwired Ethernet connection. It’s also a smart home hub for Apple Home, the company’s smart home ecosystem, featuring radios for Thread—the wireless standard developed primarily for use with Matter-compatible devices—and Bluetooth. That means you can also receive notifications from compatible smart doorbells and read AI-generated descriptions and summaries of your home security footage. And, of course, you can play countless Apple App Store games on it, many using just the remote that comes with the device, though it also works with plenty of third-party Bluetooth controllers.
The new Apple TV 4K is available starting Nov. 13 and will cost $299. You can also finance a new box for $49.83 for six months.
