Should You Upgrade to the New Apple TV 4K? It Depends on Which One You Own
Whether the $299 Apple TV 4K is worth it depends on the box you own. Find your model number, see what it misses in tvOS 27, and get a clear upgrade or wait answer.
The new Apple TV 4K costs $299, more than twice what the last one started at. Whether that is worth it has less to do with the new box than with the one already under your TV, and Apple makes that easy to check in about ten seconds.
Some Apple TVs stopped getting new software this fall. Some will get Siri AI in tvOS 27.2, in beta, at no extra cost to start. Some cannot act as a Thread border router for your smart home. Find out which one you own, and the upgrade decision mostly makes itself.
Find your model in ten seconds
On your Apple TV, open Settings, then General, then About, and look at Model. You can also find the model number on the label on the bottom of the box itself, or on the back of the original packaging. Then match it below, using Apple's model identification guide and its tvOS 27 and Siri AI details.
| Model number | Apple TV | tvOS 27 | Siri AI (tvOS 27.2 beta) | Thread | Ethernet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1625 | Apple TV HD (2015) | No | No | No | 10/100 |
| A1842 | Apple TV 4K, 1st gen (2017) | No | No | No | Gigabit |
| A2169 | Apple TV 4K, 2nd gen (2021) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gigabit |
| A2737 | Apple TV 4K, 3rd gen, Wi-Fi, 64GB (2022) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| A2843 | Apple TV 4K, 3rd gen, Wi-Fi + Ethernet, 128GB (2022) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gigabit |
| New | Apple TV 4K, 4th gen (2026) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Gigabit |
Sources: Apple Support model identification guide, Apple tvOS page, Apple Newsroom. Siri AI on Apple TV is a beta in tvOS 27.2 and needs an Apple Intelligence enabled iPhone or iPad for the home owner.
What only the new Apple TV 4K does
The 4th generation model replaces the A15 Bionic with an A19 and adds a dedicated AV1 decoder for efficient streaming. It has three microphones for hands-free "Siri" from across the room, Wi-Fi 7, and Thread and Gigabit Ethernet on every unit instead of only the pricier model. It is also the only Apple TV that can run a surround setup with four HomePod speakers. Our full breakdown of the new Apple TV 4K covers every spec and what changed in the remote.
Those are real upgrades, but most of them are about the edges: a home theater, a smart home, a heavy gamer. For streaming shows on one TV, the question is what your current box is missing.
Apple TV HD or the first Apple TV 4K: upgrade
If your model number is A1625 or A1842, this is the easy call. tvOS 27 dropped both, so they no longer get new features, they cannot run Siri AI, and neither has Thread. The Apple TV HD also tops out at 1080p. These boxes still stream, but every month they fall further behind the apps and the Home app around them. The new Apple TV 4K is a large jump for either one.
The 64GB Apple TV 4K (3rd generation): it depends on your home
Model A2737 is the Wi-Fi only version from 2022. It runs tvOS 27 and gets Siri AI in tvOS 27.2 as a beta, so for watching TV it is in good shape. What it lacks is Thread and Ethernet. If you are building out Apple Home with Thread accessories, this box cannot act as a Thread border router, and that is the strongest reason to replace it before the next wave of Apple Home hardware arrives. If your smart home is a couple of Wi-Fi plugs, or you have a HomePod mini doing hub duty, keep it.
The Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) or 128GB 3rd generation: wait
Models A2169 and A2843 already have Thread and Gigabit Ethernet, already run tvOS 27, and get Siri AI in tvOS 27.2 as a beta. Apple's own fine print is the reason to wait: Siri AI on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation and later) means the headline software feature of this launch is coming, in beta, to the box you own. Siri AI on Apple TV has requirements of its own, including an Apple Intelligence enabled iPhone or iPad for the owner of the home, so check our Siri AI device guide before you count on it.
What you give up by waiting is hands-free Siri without the remote, the four HomePod surround setup, AV1 efficiency and the faster chip. If none of those matter to you, $299 buys very little you will notice.
The $59 upgrade most people should consider
If the thing you actually hate about your Apple TV is losing the remote, Apple sells the new Siri Remote on its own for $59. It works with Apple TV HD and every Apple TV 4K, and it adds Find My with Precision Finding on iPhone Duo, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 or later (except iPhone 17e). Apple says basic Find My support also reaches the Siri Remote (2nd generation or later), so check which remote you have before you spend anything.
The new Apple TV 4K is available to preorder now and arrives November 13. Apple has turned its streaming box into the hub of its home theater and smart home, and the price reflects that. For owners of the oldest models, it is overdue. For everyone else, the box you already have is about to get the part of this launch most people will use most, in a free software update. If you decide to buy, our Apple Deals Tracker checks prices twice a week.
Read us first
See more TBTL when you search Google
Add Tech Between the Lines as a preferred source and our Apple coverage shows up more often in your Top Stories. It takes one tap, and you can change it anytime.
Prefer TBTL on Google