Older Apple TV 4K owners get Siri AI in beta and can buy the new remote for $59

Take an owner of the 2022 Apple TV 4K, weighing whether the new box is worth $299 ^[1][2]. Start with the assistant. According to MacRumors, which compares the two generations, the one distinctive hardware benefit is direct voice input through the new box's microphones, and access to the assistant itself is shared ^[6].

The pitch is a television that hears you from across the room. The MacRumors guide does not include usage figures for voice on the box, so how many owners would use the microphones is a guess. Hands-free Siri also works only in nine listed languages, subject to regional availability ^[16]. MacRumors says the upgrade question comes down to which hardware changes you will actually use ^[7].

The remote splits more cleanly. The new one adds precise location guidance and an audible alert to the nearby finding the older remote already had ^[17]. Asking Siri to find it runs through the Apple TV's built-in microphones ^[19], and the fourth-generation box is the one that introduces those ^[1]. An Apple TV HD owner can buy the remote too, but the beta list names only 4K models ^[20][3].

Buyers new to the platform face a different sum. The new box costs $50 more than the final price of the equivalent 128GB model ^[9]. That puts the old price at $249 ^[21]. It costs $100 more than the previous entry-level configuration ^[10], which puts that one at $199 ^[22], and for the difference it adds twice the storage, Ethernet and Thread ^[10]. These comparisons apply to first-time buyers.

Apple's chip figures are "up to" numbers: up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice the GPU performance over the third-generation box ^[11]. MacRumors expects the GPU gain to help gaming and calls it unclear how much of the rest makes a meaningful difference on an Apple TV ^[12]. Audio adds its own costs. MacRumors tells existing owners to count speaker replacements or additions when pricing the upgrade ^[15].

Each feature lives in one of three places: on the box you own, on the separate remote, or only on the new box. The first two groups need no $299 purchase. The third justifies the box only if it holds one feature you would use weekly with equipment you already have.

Hands-free voice qualifies if you will talk to the TV, and the faster GPU qualifies if you game on it ^[6][12]. Four-speaker audio qualifies only when the HomePods you own are already compatible ^[13].

If nothing qualifies, we'd keep the box you have and buy the $59 remote only if your iPhone is a 17 or later other than the 17e ^[18]. The trade-off is hands-free voice, which only the new box offers ^[6].