Hold on, your existing Apple TV 4K is getting a Siri AI update too – do you really need to upgrade?

We've been waiting four years for a new Apple TV 4K and it was finally announced yesterday – even becoming available to pre-order minutes after. However, is it really worth upgrading?

As well as being considerably more expensive than the 2022 variants it replaces, the main new feature of the new streamer is that it will add Siri AI to your TV viewing. But we've also learned that an update for existing Apple TV 4K boxes will too.

Lurking in the footnotes in the press release for the new device is the sentence: "Access to Siri AI is also available on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and later". That means it will also work on the version released five years ago.

Some of you might be able to access it now in fact, as it's part of the tvOS 27.2 beta that's rolling out. However, there are a few hoops to jump through to get Siri AI working, so it might be worth waiting until the full release arrives.

That could be the middle of November, as that's when the new Apple TV 4K is due to ship (from 13 November).

Of course, your existing Apple TV box won't feature remote-free voice interactivity. The new version contains three far-field microphones to listen out for wake words – such as "Hey Siri". And you won't get the new remote with Find My and a speaker built in in case you lose it.

Most importantly, you won't get the bump up to the A19 processor, which isn't just there to ensure Siri AI runs better locally, but will greatly improve the speed and fluidity of operation. Oh, and the new version also adds AV1 support for higher quality streaming while using less bandwidth.

So there's still plenty to help justify that £299 / $299 outlay, especially for those who use their Apple TV 4K daily. But it's good to know that there's absolutely no need to bin the current model quite yet.