Apple’s New Apple TV 4K Adds Features at $299

Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV 4K pairs a new A19 chip, hands-free Siri and support for a four-speaker HomePod setup with a $299 price that reviewers say is difficult to justify. The update is the first in four years and is sold in one configuration, with 128GB of storage.

The hardware upgrade replaces the previous model’s A15 Bionic chip with an A19. Reviewers found the device responsive, with some reporting faster app navigation and smoother performance. Apple says the chip delivers 50 percent faster CPU performance and up to twice the GPU performance of the earlier model. The practical difference may be limited for routine streaming, though the added capacity could support future software and more demanding apps.

Three built-in far-field microphones let users speak to Siri without picking up the remote. Reviewers reported mixed results from Siri’s content searches and questions about shows or films on screen. Some commands worked, while other tests returned irrelevant suggestions, failed to identify what was playing or missed streaming options. The results varied across reviewers’ questions and testing conditions, leaving the assistant’s usefulness for discovery unsettled.