Apple TV 4K gets Siri AI and a $299 price: Preorders open, ships Nov. 13

Apple has announced a new Apple TV 4K built around Siri AI, a rebuilt assistant powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. The box costs $299 in the U.S., is open for preorder now, and reaches stores on November 13.

What is new in the Apple TV 4K

The headline feature is a full-screen Siri AI experience. According to Apple, the assistant combines personal context, broad world knowledge and more systemwide app actions. A viewer can ask which Apple TV shows won Emmys this year and get poster art from the Apple TV app, plus follow-up suggestions.

During playback, viewers can ask questions such as where a show was filmed or whether it suits a 15-year-old. Answers show up in a compact overlay so the video keeps playing. With an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, Siri AI can also use personal context for requests like playing the show a friend recommended.

The hardware changes support this. The new box has three far-field microphones and echo cancellation, so it can pick up “Hey Siri” or “Siri” hands-free while audio is playing. The A19 chip offers up to 50 percent faster CPU and up to 2x faster GPU performance than the previous generation, according to Apple, and adds a dedicated AV1 decoder. The Siri Remote keeps its design but gains Find My support with Precision Finding, plus an option to make it play a sound.

For the first time, Apple TV 4K can drive a four-speaker surround setup using HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation) units. The speakers detect their positions and calibrate timing and levels automatically. Apple says the front and rear pairs must match.

As a home hub, the device shows doorbell notifications on screen and supports automations and guest mode. HomeKit Secure Video now gets Apple Intelligence-generated camera activity descriptions and summarized notifications. Apple says microphone data is handled in Secure Exclaves, which tvOS, apps, the user and Apple cannot access, and that Siri requests use on-device processing or Private Cloud Compute.

“With Siri AI, finding something to watch becomes a full-screen, conversational experience, and with built-in far-field microphones, it’s completely hands-free.”

That is how Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, described the product.

Pricing and availability

Preorders run in the U.S. plus 29 other markets, through Apple’s website and its Store app. The U.S. price is $299, or $49.83 a month over six months with Apple Card Monthly Installments. Siri AI ships as a beta inside tvOS 27.2 and also reaches the second-generation Apple TV 4K and later models. English-language support at launch covers eight markets: the UK and the U.S., along with Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

Why it matters

The privacy design is the part of this launch most worth scrutinizing, because the product puts far-field microphones that wait for a wake word in the living room. Apple says audio is handled in Secure Exclaves and that Siri requests run on-device or in Private Cloud Compute. Those claims come from Apple and have not been independently tested. AFTVNews reports the box has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, but Apple has not said how much of Siri AI runs on that hardware. The server-side usage limits it mentions suggest some requests do leave the device.

Regulation also shapes where the feature can go. The EU exclusion for Siri AI on iOS and iPadOS echoes Apple’s 2024 position on Apple Intelligence. As the law firm Macfarlanes summarizes, Apple said then that the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability requirements could compromise the integrity of its products and put user privacy and data security at risk. The new announcement does not name the DMA as the reason for the current exclusion, so that link should not be assumed. Either way, EU buyers can get the box, but Apple’s footnotes say Siri AI needs a compatible iPhone or iPad, so it is not initially available to them.

Camera descriptions raise a further question. Summaries of home video are generated by AI, and Apple has not said how accurate they are or how errors in alerts would be handled. Independent testing after the November 13 launch will show whether the privacy claims and the summaries hold up.

What’s next

Stores begin selling the device on Friday, November 13. Apple also introduced HomeView, HomePod mini 2 and an Apple Home Collection the same day, which it describes as parts of a more connected Apple Home. Because Siri AI is labeled a beta, its features may change after launch.