Apple Launches $300 Apple TV 4K With 4-HomePod Surround as Siri AI Still Misfires
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Nov 12
Apple Launches $300 Apple TV 4K With 4-HomePod Surround as Siri AI Still Misfires
3 articles · Updated · The Verge · Nov 12
Summary
$300 Apple TV 4K goes on sale with support for a four-HomePod surround setup, a Find My-enabled remote and far-field microphones for hands-free Siri.
Apple is pitching the fourth-gen box as a premium upgrade with an A19 chip and 128GB standard storage, but the review says the biggest new draw is the immersive HomePod theater mode.
Four HomePods delivered strong surround effects and solid bass in testing, though Dolby Atmos height effects were less convincing and setup can be tricky if speakers sit under another Apple Home owner.
Siri AI, which can use personal context from a nearby iPhone or iPad, produced inconsistent results in testing and sometimes misread simple playback requests.
The new box costs roughly double to quadruple many rival streamers, and a full Apple surround system can reach about $1,300, limiting its appeal mainly to users already deep in Apple's ecosystem.