The new Apple TV 4K can listen to you and it doesn’t need the remote to do so. Apple’s announcement says the fourth-generation box adds three far-field microphones for hands-free Siri AI, an A19 chip with an AV1 decoder, a Siri Remote that works with Find My, and surround sound across four HomePod speakers.
Siri AI, hands-free
Siri AI is Apple’s rebuilt Siri, powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. On the TV, it can answer in full screen: ask which Apple TV shows won at the Emmys this year and you get poster art from the Apple TV app, plus suggestions to keep browsing.
Mid-episode, you can ask follow-ups, like where a show was filmed or whether it’s appropriate for a 15-year-old. The answer pops up in a small overlay, so the show stays on, seemingly uninterrupted. With Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones, Siri AI can also use your personal context, so “Play the show Alinda recommended” works.
With its three far-field mics, the new Apple TV 4K is built to hear you from anywhere in the room, letting you say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” without touching anything. There’s also echo cancellation, which picks your voice out of the background, so it still works while a show is playing.
Siri AI is set to arrive as a beta in tvOS 27.2, and older boxes will get it too: it works on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and later. It needs the home’s owner to have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad. At launch, it’s in English in the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK.
The A19, AV1 and four-speaker surround
Apple says the A19 has up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to 2x faster graphics than the previous Apple TV 4K, for quicker navigation and smoother animations. It also gets a dedicated AV1 decoder.
AV1 is a video format that packs high-quality streams into less bandwidth. The decoder is a part of the chip that does nothing but unpack it.
For the first time, Apple says, the box can run four-speaker surround sound with HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation), as long as the front and rear pairs match. The speakers work out where they sit in the room, and the audio timing and levels are set to fit the space automatically.
A remote you can find
The Siri Remote keeps its familiar minimalist design and now adds the Find My feature. If you lose it in the sofa, you can make it play a sound, or let Precision Finding on your iPhone point you to it.
There’s fine print, however. Precision Finding needs an iPhone 17 or later (not the iPhone 17e), an iPhone Air or an iPhone Duo, and playing a sound works only on the new remote. Older Siri Remotes, from the 2nd generation on, only get plain Find My support.
It’s still a home hub, too: you can ask Siri AI to control accessories and turn scenes on or off hands-free, and Apple’s new Home Collection cameras, lock and thermostats can use it as their hub.
Apple TV 4K key specs
- Video: up to 4K at 60fps; Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG; AV1, VP9, HEVC, H.264 and MPEG-4
- Audio: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Dolby Digital 5.1; Apple Lossless and FLAC; four-speaker surround with HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation)
- Processor: A19, with a dedicated AV1 decoder
- Storage: 128GB
- Microphones: three-microphone array with voice isolation
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7 (2×2 MIMO), Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 6, Thread, HDMI 2.1, IR receiver
- Software: tvOS; Siri AI in beta in tvOS 27.2
- Size and weight: 93.24 × 93.24 × 31mm; 217g
- Remote: Siri Remote (4th generation), Bluetooth 6, IR, Find My with Precision Finding, rechargeable over USB-C; 136 × 35 × 9.25mm, 69.6g
- In the box: Apple TV 4K, Siri Remote, power cord (HDMI and USB-C cables sold separately)
Price and availability
There’s one model, with 128GB, Wi-Fi 7 and Gigabit Ethernet: Php 21,990 (about $350) in Apple’s Philippine store and $299 (about Php 18,800) in the US. Pre-orders are now open for it in the US and 29 other countries and regions, and it’s in stores from Friday, November 13th. The new Siri Remote is also sold on its own.
That $299 is more than double the $129 (about Php 8,100) the last Apple TV 4K started at when Apple announced it on October 18th, 2022. At that price, the HDMI cable is sold separately. Surround adds up too: four HomePod mini 2 speakers at $149 (about Php 9,400) each are another $596 (about Php 37,400).
The new Apple TV 4K is a box that can hear you from anywhere in the room, with real upgrades. But priced more than double than before? That’s classic Apple.
Correction, October 14th: Apple’s example requests use a 15-year-old and a show “Alinda recommended,” not a 13-year-old and Ben. We’ve fixed both.
