New Apple TV 4K at $299 Draws Criticism Over Few Upgrades

TechRadar contributor Carrie Marshall, who has used an Apple TV for everyday viewing for more than a decade and owns the 2022 Apple TV 4K, wrote that she was excited to see what the new model would bring after four years. She said there are hardly any new features or capabilities and that the device is much more expensive. She compared the update to a delayed new season that costs twice as much and turns out identical to the first season but 3% brighter and 5% faster.

The new model’s main additions are four-speaker surround through HomePods, though not first-generation models, and integrated Siri AI. It also adds hardware AV1 video decoding and a remote that can make a noise to help users find it, with precision location tracking using UWB technology. Marshall welcomed the remote finder but said the device is disappointing for $300 if users are not using HomePods; she uses wired speakers and an AV receiver for her TV.

Marshall wrote that she is not convinced televisions need AI assistants and that Siri has not impressed her on any platform. She said she has used the latest Siri since the iOS/tvOS 27 developer betas and called it hopeless for her, saying simple tasks take forever if they complete at all and that it is far and away her most sworn-at tech product. She added that built-in microphones might make Siri less cloth-eared than in the Apple Remote, but her problems concern what Siri does or does not do after it listens.

Reaction on Apple-related Reddit communities echoed her criticism, according to TechRadar. On r/apple, Santathe1 suggested “somebody’s gotta pay for all the useless Siri AI no one likes,” while Kaiathebluenose said “Improving Siri for my Apple TV is at the bottom of my list for improvements.” Heyboychica said “they’ve lost their minds with that price,” and PuyoDead said “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 remains limited to 60Hz rather than 120Hz, with comments including “60Hz for 300 bucks lol. No thanks” and “being capped at 60Hz seems like a DOA.” Marshall wrote that she considered the DOA comment extreme for a device mainly used for 24fps and 30fps video.

TechRadar noted that Apple was already more expensive than most rival streaming devices but not terrifyingly so, partly because its price was not subsidized by ads. The new price is now much higher than those of its best competitors. Marshall acknowledged a component shortage is pushing prices up, but said rivals are affected too and have not yet raised prices so dramatically. The higher cost makes the device a tougher sell to newcomers because entry cost has more than doubled, and a tough sell to existing owners because the price has more than doubled while the specification and feature list has not.

Marshall argued Apple is to some extent a victim of its own success: the Apple TV 4K (2022) is a brilliant streaming device, but it is so good at what it does that a newer model would need major upgrades to persuade existing owners to buy. She said this model does not appear to have anything to get seriously excited about. Reddit user 17chan wrote, according to TechRadar, “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.” TechRadar said it will review the new Apple TV 4K and publish a verdict soon.

Editor's Summary Apple’s new Apple TV 4K starts at $299 and keeps a 60Hz cap, with Siri AI, HomePod surround and AV1 decoding as the main additions. Early reaction from TechRadar and Reddit users focuses on the higher price and limited upgrades rather than new capabilities. The launch tests whether existing Apple TV owners will pay more for a modest refresh.