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.

As title,
Not sure if who else was holding out to see what 4th gen was bringing and felt underwhelmed with the updates and decided to go 3rd gen only to find out everything was OOS. Looks like BB got them back in stock for the 64gb. 128 was always in stock.

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/apple-tv-4k-2022-family-64gb-streaming-device-3rd-generation-wi-fi-black/JJ8ZH9F8LH/sku/6500684?sb_share_source=PDP&ref=app_pdp&loc=pdp_page

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?

How do you use your Apple TV? Is it the central hub of your home entertainment center? Or is it just another piece of equipment attached to your AV receiver?

I think it's obvious Apple is interested in the first user. Why else are they even pushing this idea of using HomePods to create a fake surround sound system? They see your Apple TV as the only device you need. It can play your music, it can play your movies and TV shows. And that's true, the Apple TV can do all that. And for a lot of users, this is perfect.

But there are many of us who fall into the second category of users. I've had a home entertainment system since the early 2000's. What I mean by that is I grew up in the 80s where we bought receivers, turntables, speakers, CD players, cassette decks, equalizers, Amps, speakers. This transitioned to home entertainment centers later to include televisions and surround sound with woofers, DVD players, blu-ray players, etc.

I've added an Apple TV to this setup, mostly for streaming purposes. I got rid of my DVD player. I got rid of my Blu-ray player. But I also built out a home media library by ripping my own blu-rays and DVDs and I turned to the Plex app on my Apple TV for viewing this media. And this is where Apple is 90% perfect, but falls short a little. I really want the Apple TV to fill the purpose of a 4K Blu-ray player. This is why I ripped my movies. I've already had 2 go bad just sitting in their cases. No visible scratches or anything.

I have 7 Apple TV's in my home and I can admit that 6 of them fall into the first category. These are attached directly to a TV and that is their purpose. But the 7th one sits in my den and never connects to my TV. Everything here runs through the AV receiver. This is why I would like a better Apple TV that was more high end, for audio and video. Some of us take our home entertainment seriously. We want the big screen. We want the best audio quality we can get. We want the best video quality. We just wish Apple was as serious.

I really don’t care for the new AI features and I am concerned about the privacy with the microphones always on. Does anyone know if I will be able to disable the microphones on the new Apple TV?

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.

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).

I had a $345 GC to Amazon to blow towards the new model. Well, everyone’s thoughts was that the new model def wasn't worth $300+ after taxes and fees. Looking on eBay, and everyone is bidding $200+ for the last-gen 2022 model.

I found a few pawn shops called EZPawn that wouldn't ship to me, (They had the Ethernet 128Gb models) at $100 and under. I did call all of them and asked to confirm. Yeah, Sorry we don't ship. So if yall in Texas or FL go check em out and you may get lucky.

I did get lucky with a pawn shop that had one for $150, and I offered $100. They countered me at $110 with free shipping, Everything included and still has Apple warranty until next month. I don't think, I could've done any better ngl.

TLDR: Buy the new 4th gen at €350/$390 or try find a second hand and hope for lasting software/update support?

I’m really stumped and I don’t know if anyone here could give me advice. I’m stuck with a horrible Google TV dongle from a few years ago with like 8gb storage. It’s done me well as when I bought it I was fully invested into Google’s ecosystem but now I can only get 2 apps downloaded on it anymore (one for Live TV & one for movies/TV shows) and it still gives me a warning about storage.

Ive been looking at getting the Apple TV 4K for a while as I’m now fully in Apple’s ecosystem (iPhone, Watch, MacBook, AirPods) but I said I’d hold out until they finally release the next generation to get it. However, in Europe it’s launched at €350/$390 and I’m now extremely hesitant to buy the new model.

However, I cannot find the 3rd generation anywhere over here in Europe and my only options are to buy second hand. Even then, I can barely find any second hand 3rd generation 128gb models anywhere and can only find them at around €250/$280 which still seems a bit too steep for a 4 year old device with a new one on the way. I’m hoping maybe some more become available second hand once the new generation comes out but I’m not sure if many people will be buying the new one given the price over here.

Should I just bite the bullet and get the new one at €350 or hold out for someone selling a second hand model later down the line? How do you guys think the 2022 model will hold up with software updates now that there’s a new generation on the block? Any advice/opinions are very welcome, would love to join the community. 🙏

After some recently, quite frankly shocking, customer service I am looking to switch from Sky Q, with ATV a likely option at the moment.

I’m curious what others have done to action this move and what I might look at price wise but also, how people found the switch from everything managed within Sky?

I currently have the full package, all channels, Sky sports, TNT Sport, Cinema, Multi-room etc. as well as all streaming platforms with Sky’s bump up from standard version, paying the difference for premium (HBO, Disney, Netflix).

I’m paying £125 per month at the moment for all of the above + 1gig broadband (thanks to the pathetically required yearly son story) and my basic maths seems to suggest I’ll be paying significantly more per month to match what I currently get.

Whilst I understand I can bounce around my subs to make up for the chunk of streaming paid via Sky’s free standard cover, not having to do all of that admin appeals to me from a personal point of view.

I still have the Model A1482 (1st gen apple tv 4k with All black remote with touchscreen surface). im on tvOS26.6.

Almost 80% of the time, the apple tv remote has been laggy, sluggish sticky and wont move selection to next app on home screen and the same is seen inside youtube app, when i slide to next video, it simply gets stuckk, wont move, skips 3 to 4 videos, randomly selects a different video and is extremely frustrating.

20% of the time it behaves just as good. Im connected to samsung frame tv over HDMI and use Wi-fi.

Any tips on how to fix this issue? Thanks everyone.

I see here people disappointed, and rightfully so, due to the lack of audio pass-through and BV7, amongst other features.
Could it be that newer hardware could support these features in future releases that would justify the premium price?

A few weeks ago I posted Conduit here in the r/appletv sub, an Android app that works as a native Apple TV remote. A lot of you rightly said that calling it free with a 10 minute daily limit was a stretch. So I removed the limit.

Free, for one Apple TV, with no time limit and no ads:

• Swipe to navigate, tap to select
• Play/Pause, Back, Home, Control Center interactions
• Sleep/Wake, 10 second skips
• On-screen volume and mute
• Typing with your phone's keyboard

Other changes since the first post, several of them requested in that thread:

• Fully native continuous swipe experience, works exactly the same as the real Apple TV remote
• Mute
• Long-press Select, and long-press Back to go Home
• Better onboarding, pairing help and steadier discovery
• The ability rename the app on your home screen to Conduit, TV Remote or Apple TV Remote, so it's easier to find

Premium is a one-time purchase, no subscription. It adds the continuous touchpad, an on-screen D-pad, controls on your notification and lock screen with the title and artwork of what's playing, changing Apple TV volume via your phone's volume buttons, a Quick Settings tile, custom skip lengths and storage of multiple connected Apple TVs. If you bought it before, you keep it of course.

I'm the developer, a solo dev. If pairing doesn't work with your setup, or something's missing, tell me here. The last thread shaped most of these changes.

Google Play Store: http://conduit.flosch.at/playstore

Also for transparency - privacy: no account, and your pairings stay on your phone. Commands go straight to the Apple TV over your Wi-Fi. However, the app does send basic anonymous stats, like crashes or connection errors, to my own server in the EU. They carry no ID unless you turn on the optional random ID in Settings. It never sends what you watch, what you type, or your Apple TVs' names, and your IP address isn't stored.

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?

Seams like an unpopular opinion but I don’t see the price for the new Apple TV as egregious based on storage costs these days. Definitely a product of inflation but considering the 3rd Gen with Ethernet 128gb / Ethernet is $249. The higher cost isn’t that big. Sure the 64GB WiFi option is cheaper. Now I do agree there is a lack of wow in the new model and I have a 3rd gen Ethernet so I don’t see myself upgrading anytime soon.

Update:
Seeing the correction about the previous price I stand corrected. Thank you internet.

I don’t know if they’ve released any hyper detailed specs that would list this (or if this is ever something they would list) but is there any chance they’ll implement better eARC control or integration? I know it’s apparently HDMI 2.1 like the last gen so maybe nothing will change. I’m just tired of my setup randomly deciding not to control my AVR volume or my LGTV not auto switching to that input or displaying “no signal.” I’ve turned on every eARC option on all the devices and even unplugging them to reset the handshake and bought expensive cables and it’s still not 100% reliable.