£299 To Run Netflix? Apple’s New Apple TV 4K Is Here

Apple has finally unveiled a new Apple TV 4K, its first new streaming box in four years – and it’s going all in on AI, with a completely rebuilt Siri and built-in microphones so you can talk to your TV without even picking up the remote.

On paper, it’s the most impressive Apple TV yet. It also costs £299.

That’s £100 more than the cheapest version of the model it replaces, and twice what that model cost when it launched in 2022. It’s also more than seven times the price of our favourite streaming stick.

Amazon and Google have spent the past year cramming AI into their streaming devices too, but you won’t find either of them asking £299. And if you already own a recent Apple TV, the new box’s headline feature is coming to you anyway, for free.

The New Apple TV 4K

The new Apple TV 4K looks almost identical to the old one, but there’s a lot that’s changed inside.

It’s powered by Apple’s A19 chip, which Apple says delivers up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the previous generation.

The chip also adds a dedicated AV1 decoder, which Apple says means high-quality streaming using less bandwidth (AV1 is the video format YouTube uses for its highest-quality streams).

There’s now just one version: 128GB of storage, with an Ethernet port as standard, plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Previously, you had to pay extra for the model with Ethernet.

The headline feature, though, is Siri AI, an “entirely new version of Siri” built on Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI system. Apple says it’s far more conversational than before, and on the TV it gets a full-screen interface.

You can ask it which Apple TV shows won at this year’s Emmys, then ask follow-up questions while you’re watching – Apple’s examples include where a show was filmed, or whether it’s suitable for a 15-year-old.

The answers pop up in a small overlay so you don’t have to leave what you’re watching. If you have an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, it can also use your personal context to answer requests like “play the show Alinda recommended”.

And thanks to three new far-field microphones, you don’t need the remote for any of it. Just say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” and the box will listen, and Apple says it can pick out your voice even while something’s playing.

The Siri Remote keeps its familiar design, but it now works with Apple’s Find My app, so you can track it down when it inevitably disappears into the sofa – including playing a sound on the remote itself.

Elsewhere, the new box can connect to four HomePod speakers (HomePod mini 2 or HomePod 2nd generation, in matching pairs) to create a surround sound system, which Apple says calibrates itself to your room.

And it continues to work as a hub for your smart home, now with AI-generated descriptions of what your security cameras have spotted.

The new Apple TV 4K is available to pre-order now, and goes on sale on November 13. Apple is also throwing in three months of its streaming service, Apple TV, for new subscribers (it’s £9.99 a month after that).

AI Everywhere, And A Box That Listens

If all this sounds familiar, that’s because everyone else is doing the same thing.

Amazon is rolling out Alexa+, its more conversational, AI-powered version of Alexa, across its Fire TV devices.

It comes built into the new Fire TV Stick 4K that launched just two weeks ago, and Google has been bringing its own Gemini AI assistant to Google TV.

Hey, even Sky is upgrading its AI search feature on Sky Glass and Sky Stream.

The microphones put Apple in the same place as the Amazon Fire TV Cube, which combines a Fire TV streamer with an Echo speaker, so you can shout at Alexa from across the room.

Google is rumoured to be working on a new version of its Google TV Streamer that does the same, although Google hasn’t confirmed anything.

Will Siri AI be any good? We’ll have to see. Siri has spent years being the weakest of the big voice assistants, so Apple has some catching up to do here.

It also comes with a couple of catches.

Siri AI is launching as a beta, and it needs the owner of the home in Apple’s Home app to have an iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence. In other words, it’s built for households that are already deep into Apple’s world.

And Apple’s small print says some Apple Intelligence features that rely on its servers come with daily usage limits, and that “expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future”.

Apple hasn’t said what that will cost, or exactly which features it covers – but it’s not alone. Amazon says Alexa+ will cost £19.99 a month once its free Early Access period ends, unless you have Prime.

There is some good news for existing owners, though. Apple says Siri AI will also be available on the Apple TV 4K 2nd generation and later, so if you bought one in 2021 or after, you’ll get the new Siri without spending a penny.

What you won’t get is the hands-free microphones, the faster chip or the HomePod surround sound setup.

But The Price. Oh Dear Lord, The Price.

Every year, when I put together my roundup of the best streaming devices in the UK, someone asks why I all but ignore the Apple TV.

And every year, the answer has been the same: the price.

When Apple last refreshed the box in 2022, it cost £149 for the Wi-Fi model and £169 for the version with Ethernet.

Earlier this year, Apple put the prices up to £199 and £249, as memory chip prices soared across the industry (it’s the same reason Amazon gave when it hiked Fire TV prices in September).

Even at £150, it wasn’t really competing with the “regular” streaming devices. There’s no point comparing it to a £40 streaming stick when they both do the same job: get Netflix, BBC iPlayer and the rest onto your TV. At £200, the answer was even more obvious.

Now? At £300, that answer is stronger than ever.

Here’s how the new Apple TV 4K compares to its rivals at full price. 

The closest like-for-like rival is the Fire TV Cube – a premium box with an AI assistant and microphones built in. Even after Amazon’s big price rise, it’s almost £100 cheaper. And the Cube is hardly a bargain: it first launched in 2022, and is very much in need of a refresh itself.

Seriously, Apple? £300 for a streaming puck?

Yes, it has your cute AI assistant (which, until now at least, has been worse than the others), and it has your user-friendly interface, and it talks beautifully with your other Apple devices, and the remote is nice, and, and…

£299 to run Netflix?

Who Is The New Apple TV 4K Actually For?

To be fair, the new Apple TV 4K will have a market, and it will be a great device for those who don’t mind the price.

Lots of people love the Apple TV interface, which is clean and doesn’t shove adverts in your face the way some rivals do, and this one should be faster and smoother than ever. If your home is already full of iPhones, iPads and HomePods, it’s going to slot in perfectly.

Apple, for its part, is pitching the new Apple TV as part of “the most connected Apple Home” it’s ever built, launched alongside a new HomePod mini and a smart home display called HomeView.

The four-speaker surround sound only works with four HomePods – which you’ll have to buy separately, of course.

But for everyone else, I’m not even sure which field Apple is trying to play on.

It’s too expensive to compete with the streaming sticks that most of us actually buy. And if what you want is a premium box you can talk to, the Fire TV Cube does that for almost £100 less.

And if you already own a recent Apple TV, there’s even less reason to upgrade, since the new Siri is coming to your box anyway.

So, will the new Apple TV 4K make my next best streaming device roundup? At £299, I think we all know the answer.

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