Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV 4K is official, and even before a single review, Reddit has already delivered its verdict: too expensive, and still missing the features home theatre fans have asked for for years.
In the r/hometheater thread titled “New Apple TV 4K – massive disappointment?” and the r/appletv launch thread, the A19 chip barely gets a mention. However, the price does. We covered the hardware and the AED 1,199 UAE price in our launch story. Here’s why the people most likely to buy one are hesitating.
The price is the first complaint
In the US, the new box costs USD 299, and it comes in a single 128GB configuration. That’s more than double the USD 129 the previous model started at until June, when Apple raised it to USD 199. Several Redditors read that hike as a set-up. One commenter said they had assumed the USD 199 price was there so a USD 199 new model wouldn’t cause sticker shock; instead, it made USD 299 look like a smaller jump. Another put it more bluntly: Apple can now say it’s “only a 100 dollar increase.”
The same maths applies in the UAE. Apple’s UAE store listed the outgoing third-generation model at AED 529 (64GB) and AED 599 (128GB with Ethernet) in late June, then at AED 829 and AED 999 by early July. The new model is AED 1,199.
| Apple TV 4K (UAE, Apple Store) | Before the June hike | After the June hike |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd gen, Wi-Fi, 64GB | AED 529 | AED 829 |
| 3rd gen, Wi-Fi + Ethernet, 128GB | AED 599 | AED 999 |
| 4th gen, 128GB (Ethernet) | n/a | AED 1,199 (shipping 13 November) |
So the 128GB Apple TV 4K costs twice what it did in the UAE four months ago. Commenters in Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia posted their local prices, and the reaction was the same in every currency. One user who pre-ordered within minutes of the store going live said they cancelled within hours.
Still no lossless audio passthrough
For r/hometheater, audio is the deal-breaker. Apple’s UAE spec sheet lists Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, and lossless music formats, but nothing about passing Dolby TrueHD or DTS:X bitstreams to an AV receiver. Stuff also says passthrough is still missing, and that’s the line most of the top comments lead with. One of the most upvoted replies reads: “No audio passthrough is a deal breaker, would have considered even at that price.”
Others think the omission is deliberate. One long-time owner argued that Apple runs its own film store and streaming service and has no reason to help Blu-ray rips sound better on a receiver.
A user suggested Apple has little interest in a conventional 5.1 receiver setup and is instead pushing HomePods as surround speakers. The four-speaker HomePod surround mode requires four HomePod mini 2 or second-generation HomePod speakers in matching front and rear pairs.
HDMI 2.1 on paper, 4K60 in practice
Apple lists HDMI 2.1 on the spec sheet, which caught some readers’ eyes. The footnote limits it to 4K at 60fps, ARC/eARC, and Quick Media Switching, so it lacks 4K at 120Hz and variable refresh rate. Commenters also flagged the absence of Dolby Vision 2. The box supports Dolby Vision Profiles 8.1 and 5, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, and one user spotted that Profile 8.1 is new compared with the third-generation model.
The upgrades that did make the cut drew a lukewarm response. The A19 chip promises up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to 2x faster GPU performance, plus a dedicated AV1 decoder. One commenter told the AV1 crowd they got their wish, but few saw it as reason enough to replace a working box. The remote keeps the same design, which drew its own complaints, though it now supports Find My with Precision Finding.
Siri AI doesn’t help the case
Apple’s headline feature is Siri AI, and Reddit wasn’t buying that either. Comments ranged from scepticism about Siri in general to people saying they don’t want AI in a streaming box at all. Apple’s own fine print weakens the upgrade argument further: Siri AI also comes to the Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and later, and it requires the home’s owner to have an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad.
Either way, most of the world doesn’t get Siri AI at launch. Apple UAE news announcement drops every mention of it.
Who might still buy one
Few commenters said they would upgrade. One owner whose older box can’t update to tvOS 27 said they’d rather switch to the apps built into their TV than pay USD 299. Others pointed to cheaper streamers such as Walmart’s Onn 4K Pro, or to the ageing NVIDIA Shield, which several still rate as the better option for receiver owners.
For third-generation owners, the thread consensus was simple: keep the box you have. If the remote is the draw, Apple sells the new Siri Remote separately and says it’s compatible with Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K. Our story on the first Apple TV 4K going vintage covers what that status means for the oldest units.
Is the new Apple TV 4K worth upgrading to from the 2022 model?
For most owners, probably not yet. The 2022 model already handles 4K HDR, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos, and it gets Siri AI in supported markets. The new box adds the A19 chip, AV1 decoding, far-field microphones, Wi-Fi 7, and four-speaker HomePod surround sound, but not lossless passthrough or 4K at 120Hz.
How much is the new Apple TV 4K in the UAE?
The fourth-generation Apple TV 4K costs AED 1,199 on Apple’s UAE store, in a single 128GB configuration. You can pre-order it now, and it ships on 13 November.
Does the new Apple TV 4K support lossless audio passthrough?
No. Apple’s spec sheet lists Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, but it doesn’t list passthrough of Dolby TrueHD or DTS:X to an AV receiver, which is the most common complaint from home theatre owners on Reddit.
