Apple introduced a fourth-generation Apple TV 4K on Tuesday featuring built-in far-field microphones for hands-free voice control and a remote with integrated location tracking, TechCrunch reported. The updated streaming box, revealed at the company's Welcome Home event in New York City, is the first model to support Apple's Siri AI assistant.
Preorders opened on October 13, with retail availability scheduled for November 13. The device costs $299, representing a $50 price increase over the discontinued previous top-tier model. It includes 128GB of storage, an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and support for Thread and Matter smart home standards.
An A19 processor, first introduced in the iPhone 17, powers the streaming box and enables Siri AI features out of the box. Siri AI launches in beta in English across eight countries: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and India. Instead of speaking responses aloud, the system displays text on screen, using full-screen overlays for content searches or text bubbles in the upper corner for general questions. The voice assistant also connects to an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone to retrieve media recommendations shared in text messages.
The Siri Remote incorporates Find My tracking, which plays an audible alert and supports directional tracking through an iPhone using Bluetooth channel sounding rather than an ultra-wideband chip. Apple also added expanded home theater audio pairing exclusive to the new model. The box supports configurations of up to four speakers, using second-generation HomePods, HomePod Mini 2 units, or a mixed pair of both, with automatic room calibration.
Apple unveiled the hardware alongside a $299 HomeView smart display, the $149 HomePod Mini 2, and upcoming connected home devices developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric.
