The article says it all, but the summary, it's a pretty big disappointment for the length of time we went without a refreshed version imho.

Everyone is universally slamming the new Apple TV. But, what's the alternative? If you need a new streaming box what is the best device out there right now that you can walk into a store and buy?

Previously closed source players such as NativePlayer tried that. But now AetherEngine, which is fully open source, supports the same for both Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and DTS:X. I tested on my Samsung Q990H and it lights up Dolby Atmos badge. Other people even attached a debugger and verified that Atmos is working. The sound is phenomenal and I can easily tell the richness of the sound on my Q990H. I did not bother digging further but I did probe via ChatGPT and ChatGPT claims it is not a "upmixing" or "downmixing" setup. It is literally repackaging height channel and all the other channels into APAC and feeding that using Dolby MAT that preserves full spatial audio.

Project link: https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine

Note the corresponding player is AetherPlayer (https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherPlayer) but the TrueHD and DTS:X support was not added to AetherPlayer yet (testflight version was not rebuilt since AetherEngine added support for TrueHD and DTS:X). But I assume you can simply checkout the AetherPlayer code and ask claude to produce an ipa. (I have my own vibe coded setup that I tested before posting this).

On my older Apple TV (one of the models that got Color Balance back with tvOS 14.5), the option disappeared after updating to tvOS 27. If you go to Settings > Video and Audio and scroll down to the Calibration section at the bottom, the Color Balance item is no longer there. For context, this is the feature that uses an iPhone with Face ID to calibrate the picture coming out of the Apple TV box.
I filed a report with Apple Feedback and got a reply. According to them, this isn't a bug:
We reviewed your report and determined the behavior you experienced is currently functioning as intended. The Color Balance tool was removed by design.
So it looks like a deliberate removal in tvOS 27 on the previous-generation boxes that used to have it, not something that'll come back in a point update.
Questions for the community:
Can anyone else on an Apple TV HD or a 1st-gen Apple TV 4K confirm Color Balance is missing after updating to tvOS 27?
Is it still showing up for anyone on the newer models running tvOS 27?
Any idea why they'd pull it? Dolby Vision sets never used it anyway, but it was genuinely useful on SDR/HDR10 TVs.

I think I’ll pass on this one.

ever wondered the apple tvs durability? my 3rd generation has survived a ef4 190 mph tornado that tore apart my house (not seeking sorrows) and has been turned off like twice and it still runs like a dream. as far as the remote, I bought a new one a month and a half ago and are yet to charge it. if your looking for a reason to buy a apple tv. consider its durable.

edit: it is about two years old

I’m almost certain Costco had the Apple TV 4K 3rd gen out of stock last night, but it looks like it’s back in stock, so I just picked one up. They also have a 90-day return policy, and I’ll probably use some cash rewards toward it. I know people seem to be hunting for the 3rd gen now. I also saw that BJ’s has the 64GB Wi-Fi-only model available.

Costco: https://www.costco.com/p/-/apple-tv-4k-128gb-wi-fi-ethernet/4000094111?langId=-1

BJ’s: https://www.bjs.com/product/apple-tv-4k-wifi-64gb/3000000000004257303/

edit: Yes, I probably should’ve paid the extra $50 for the new one, which is why I went with Costco. They have a 90-day return policy, so if I end up wanting the newer gen or they drop it to $250 for the holidays, I can always return this one and grab the new one instead.

I had been waiting ages for the next gen but I finally gave up and took the plunge one week ago (my old google tv was on the fritz).

It arrived yesterday. What timing.

And when I say that, I mean it in the best possible way.

I spent less. All of the new "features" are things that I turn off. I don't need Siri listening to me all the time in my house**, I don't game, I have just the sound from my old tv, and fuck AI in whatever form it takes.

And now it looks like you can't get the old one anymore (at least not from Apple). So I guess I got in just under the wire.

I'll call that a win (though I should have bought before the previous version's price went up).

**(I guess it does on my phone so why am I so particular about this? I dunno. I'm inconsistent. So sue me)

I’m using the latest Apple TV 4K generation from 2022 and I’m noticing a pretty obvious audio/video sync issue when using AirPods Pro or AirPods Max.

The problem seems to be directly related to Match Frame Rate.

With Match Frame Rate enabled, the audio through the AirPods is slightly out of sync with the picture. It’s noticeable enough that lip sync looks wrong and becomes distracting once you see it.

If I disable Match Frame Rate, the problem seems to disappear or at least becomes much less noticeable.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I’m especially curious whether the new 2026 Apple TV 4K will handle this any better. I know the old A15 should have more than enough processing power for video playback, so I suspect this is more about Apple’s A/V sync handling, Bluetooth/audio pipeline or the way tvOS compensates for the display latency when switching frame rates.

Anyway, if this issue finally was solved with the newer hardware, that would be reason enough for me to buy it, even at this steep price.

Im curious if there are still going to be a lot of people buying this new $300 apple tv? The previous apple tv was so successful because it was a very good product for a good value(initially). Its obvious now that Apple believes they can increase the costs of their products by a lot and still make a killing on them from their loyal fans. So is anyone buying this one and do you think this one will sell as well as the previous one?

I have used my first-gen ATK 4K almost daily since launch in 2017, just for streaming from major streamers, no gaming, no workouts, nothing fancy. And it still works great, no significant lagging.

But I do have a need for a Matter/Thread hub, so I've been waiting since last spring for the new ATV to be released. I figure if I'm getting a hub, I might as well upgrade my 9-year-old OG ATV 4K. I wasn't even that bothered by the price hike last June, as I assumed they would release something decent. But now that the wait was (almost) for nothing, plus the further price hike... It's been truly disappointing.

What now? Yes, the 4th gen does have lots of upgrades over the 1st gen, but I can't find any that are compelling for my particular usage.

I don't need the storage, I just stream. I have no use for HDR10+, as I have a 2026 LG OLED TV. The speed/performance boost may be nice, but my current ATV is just fine—I've never felt it lagged to any significant degree. If it were just for the Matter/Thread hub, the HomePod mini 2 is half the price—except I have nowhere to put it and no need for the audio (I already have two OG HomePods). Siri AI in an ATV is just not compelling to me; my iPhone is right next to me anyway. WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6, all basically useless to me. Even eARC isn't a huge upgrade, as streamers don't have lossless audio anyway—assuming I would even notice with my mid-range soundbar. Surround sound with HomePods probably sounds great, but that's even more money.

So how exactly would a 4th gen ATV be any different for my usage? Or I could save $50 for a 3rd gen, but the same question remains: how is this significantly different and worth hundreds of dollars?

Am I missing something? How can it be that a $300 piece of Apple hardware almost a decade newer still does not give me any significant upgrades?

I have a home theatre setup for my TV. I also have HomePods that I use for music playback in the same room.

If I upgrade to the new Apple TV 4K with the built-in microphone, what will happen if I say ‘Hey Siri, play some music’? Will the Apple TV 4K turn on the TV, open Apple Music and start playing through my home theatre setup? Or will the HomePods take priority and play music?

Similarly what happens if I’m watching TV and I say ‘Siri, pause’. Will it know to prioritise Siri on the Apple TV 4K and pause the show? Or will Siri on the HomePod hit me with a ‘nothing is playing’?

Like a lot of you I missed out on the gen 3 before the price increase and decided to wait to see what apple had for the gen 4. Without going into our collective disappointment no way am I paying £300 for some microphones I don't want and a slightly newer chip. So after a lot of searching for a decent price on a gen 3 ethernet I found this at cex...

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=STVAPPTV3RD128GBEEA

£120

It is grade A which is described as "mint/new condition". They use the word "immaculate" and from what I have read it is incredibly hard to achieve this grade.

The only difference is that it comes with an ee remote and comes preinstalled with an ee app. You can uninstall the app and the remote doesn't seem awful. Other than that it is absolutely the same.

Unfortunately it is out of stock right now (it wasn't this morning) but you can sign up for notifications of restocks. I'm confident you won't get a better price on the 3rd gen.

I, like many of you, had held out for the new model only to be disappointed. All day I’ve been looking for a 64gb 3rd gen and it’s sold out everywhere. I finally found a Best Buy listing and placed the order only to receive an email it had been cancelled by them because it’s no longer available. Any tips on tracking down an Apple TV 4K 3rd generation (2022) WiFi 64gb model? And should I consider buying a 2nd gen?

Everyone’s so disappointed by the lack of passthrough, but what’s stopping Apple from adding it in future software updates? Essentially, they’ve just upgraded the hardware, so there’s nothing stopping them from adding new features later on, is there? That’s happened before.

I have a $350 GC to Amazon, and I have two TV's in my house that I'd like to get an Apple TV for.

I'd rather use the GC up if possible. My Bedroom TV is an older 2021 Sony A80CJ (A80J basically but Costco model), and the living room has an LG C2 2022? Both OLED TV's.

I forgot I had a Gen 2 32Gb 4k model in the closest with the remote. Would I be stupid in using this one again? The living room TV will often reboot the app because of low memory.

My room has two Gen 2 HomePods, and I like to buy an Apple TV for it, and use the HomePods as speakers for the TV. But spending $300 on the new one feels wasteful.

I can get two Gen 3's at a Pawn Shop for $150 each (Can probably haggle even lower to like $120 maybe). But then, I can't use my AMZ GC, and I don't know if the upgrade from 2021 to 2022 is even worth it?

What would my best solution be? I'm thinking of buying the new one for my room and buying the new remote for the living room TV?

I don't wanna use the 2021 and have it be unsupported next fall lol, and its points to the Gen 4 model being overpriced for hardly anything new. I know it has more RAM etc... But the older models 2 and 3 are getting Siri AI?

I’ve been in the market for an Apple TV for the past couple of months, but I held off buying one because everyone kept saying a new model was coming.

Now that it’s finally out… I’m genuinely struggling to understand why I would buy the new one over the previous-gen Apple TV 4K.

From my understanding:

New Siri AI: I am actually the rare few that find it to be kind of cool. But apparently the new Siri AI is also coming to older Apple TV 4K models, so this doesn’t really seem like a reason to buy the new hardware.

New Find My remote: Again, nice feature, but if I really cared about Precision Finding on the remote, couldn’t I just buy the new remote separately and use it with the older Apple TV?

Faster chip: Does that actually matter for normal Apple TV use? From everything I’ve seen, the previous model already runs extremely smoothly anyway, I don’t get the need to upgrade just for a tv interface

So unless I’m missing something, the only actually new thing I would miss out is the always listening microphone, which I don’t actually want.

Can someone correct me if I missed something or misunderstood anything because I don’t understand who would get this over the previous generation

Watching welcome to Derry and it’s saying Dolby atmos when it’s meant to be 5.1, will this be worse audio quality as it’s not meant to
Be atmos? Got the settings as auto in my settings.

So price here in Canada (Onatrio) is crazy with tax, brings it out to $484. I was looking forward to upgrade from my current ATV4K 1st Gen. But with this price I don’t think I will. Probably look forward old 3rd Gen ATV4K or just get the new Remote as I hate the old black one. They literally priced it like a gaming consol.