THE CRUNCH
Apple has announced the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, and the reaction from home theatre fans is a shrug at a steep price. The new box costs $300, because Apple has dropped the cheaper 64GB, Wi-Fi-only model and now sells only the 128GB version with Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Every other major streamer on the market costs at least half as much.
There are genuine upgrades. A faster chip, Find My support for locating a lost remote, built-in far-field microphones for Siri, and a dedicated AV1 decoder, a newer video format that allows higher-quality streaming from supporting apps such as Netflix. Apple has also added the option to build a surround sound system from paired HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini 2 speakers.
What is missing is the kit that would justify the premium for enthusiasts. Audio passthrough, long requested, would let an external AV receiver decode the raw audio stream instead of the Apple TV handling it, which can cause playback issues. There is also no 120fps output, which would have set the box apart from rivals that top out at 60fps and been useful for game streaming via Moonlight. No HDMI input or digital optical out either.
The result, the reviewer argues, is an uncomfortable spot: a high-end price attached to features largely matched elsewhere for much less. For most buyers the omissions will not matter much, but those buyers can pick up a Google, Roku or Amazon streamer for half the cost or less.