The New Apple TV 4K Costs More To Do Exactly The Same

Apple just dropped a new Apple TV 4K, and if you felt a weird sense of déjà vu, congratulations—your brain still works. The 2022 model starts at $129 for the Wi-Fi version and $149 if you want the Ethernet port, because apparently plugging in a cable is now a premium lifestyle upgrade. That's $30 more than the previous generation, which is a bold move for a box whose entire job is "show me The Bear and don't buffer." Here's what you get for the extra cash: an A15 Bionic chip. Yes, the same silicon that powered the iPhone 13, now stuffed into a streaming puck so it can render menus slightly faster. Apple says it's up to 50% faster in CPU performance. Cool. I'm sure your ability to scroll past "Continue Watching" will feel profoundly transformed. The Siri Remote also got USB-C, which is the most exciting news here, and that's genuinely sad to type. The headline feature, though, is HDR10+. Finally, Apple TV plays nice with the format that Samsung and basically every budget TV brand has supported for years. It's like Apple discovered fire and is charging admission. If you own a Samsung TV, congrats, you no longer have to watch everything in washed-out Dolby Vision-less shame. If you own an LG or Sony, this changes nothing. But hey, marketing bullet points don't write themselves. Let's talk about the elephant in the room: this thing still costs over $100 to do what a $30 Roku does. The Roku doesn't have a fancy metal remote that you'll lose in the couch within a week. The Roku doesn't aggressively push you toward Apple TV+ content you didn't ask for. The Roku just works, and if it breaks, you buy another one and still have money left for a Chipotle burrito. The Apple TV 4K is for people who own AirPods, an iPhone, a MacBook, and an Apple Watch, and feel a deep spiritual obligation to complete the set like it's a $1,000 Infinity Gauntlet. That said, the ecosystem play is real. If you're already trapped in Apple's walled garden, the Apple TV 4K is genuinely the best way to cast from your phone, use your AirPods with spatial audio, and pretend you're a home theater enthusiast because you bought a $149 hockey puck. The Thread radio and Matter support mean it's also a smart home hub, which is useful if you've already sunk $400 into HomeKit gadgets that half-work. The real question is who this is for. It's not for people who just want to watch Netflix. It's not for cord-cutters on a budget. It's for the person who bought an iPhone 13 Pro Max and needs something to do with that A15 chip's spare cycles. It's a solution in search of a problem, wrapped in anodized aluminum. **The Verdict:** If you already own the previous Apple TV 4K, keep your money. If you're new to the ecosystem and have cash to burn, buy it and enjoy your slightly faster menu scrolling. Everyone else, buy a Roku and spend the difference on literally anything else.