Apple’s big smart home event is in full swing and among all the new gadgets is the Apple TV 4K (4th gen). We’ll start by ripping off the band-aid – the new model costs double the launch price of the 3rd gen model from 2022 (and that’s if you look at the 128GB model with Ethernet!).
There is some good news, at least – the new model is massively more capable than the one it replaces. It is powered by the Apple A19 chipset, the one inside the iPhone 17. The performance uplift from the A15 chip inside the 2022 model is massive – the CPU is 50% faster and the GPU is 2x faster.
More importantly, the chipset has a built-in AV1 decoder, which is crucial for modern streaming services (H.265 is mired with patent issues). Likely because of the price, Apple dropped the 64GB model, so you get 128GB storage and gigabit Ethernet as standard.
Besides streaming, the new Apple TV 4K can play games from the Apple Arcade. It can also become part of your workout routine with Apple Fitness+. You can use it for video calls too with Continuity Camera (this feature lets you use your iPhone as the webcam). And it can turn your TV into a photo album by pulling photos from your iCloud account.
Apple TV 4K (4th gen)
The Apple TV remote keeps its familiar design, but now supports Find My with Precision Finding to make it easier to find it when it’s lost.
Going back to streaming for a moment, Apple previously allowed you to pair a couple of its smart speakers and use them as the sound system for your Apple TV. Now you can go up to four speakers using either HomePod mini 2 and/or HomePod (2nd gen) speakers. Note that you can mix and match, but the front pair and the rear pair have to be the same model.
Alternatively, you can use AirPods (with Spatial Audio) if you want to watch a movie without waking everyone else up. You can connect up to two pairs of AirPods. Dolby Atmos is supported for audio. Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+ and HLG are supported for video. The video output is 4K at 60fps and 21:9 displays and projectors are supported too.
Using four Apple speakers for surround sound
Apple unveiled the HomeView, a smart home display. But you can also use the new Apple TV 4K to control your home from your TV. It supports Wi-Fi and Thread connectivity.
If you have a compatible doorbell camera, it will pop up a live view when someone rings the door. You can talk to them and even unlock the door, if you have a smart lock installed.
The Apple TV 4K can show a view from your cameras in a picture-in-picture mode
Then we delve into the new Apple Intelligence features with Siri AI. If you have security cameras in and around your home, Apple Intelligence will process their feeds and generate descriptions and create summarized notifications every time a camera detects activity. The A19 chip features Secure Exclaves, which are protected runtimes that can process data separately from the rest of the system to ensure that the data stays private. Apple Intelligence and Siri AI use a mix of on-device processing and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute.
The new Apple TV 4K has three far-field microphones, allowing you to use the “Hey, Siri” wake word even from across the room. You can use this to control the TV playback or your smart home.
The Apple TV 4K (4th gen) is available for pre-order from Apple.com. There is only one configuration available and it costs $300 (oof, a 64GB 3rd gen model launched at $130, the 128GB/Ethernet model was $150). Note that actual availability is set for a month from now (November 13).