Apple TV 4K (2021) review: faster than competition and the new Siri Remote is very good with a power button and easy-to-use click wheel, but very expensive
but it's way too expensive Tweets: Joe Rossignol / @rsgnl : Just watched a @YahooFinance review of the Apple TV 4K where the host says he wasn't really sold on the new Apple TV due to its $179 price until he heard about the Color Calibration feature. PSA: the feature is also available on the existing Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD... Winston Sih / @winstonsih : Review: The new Apple TV 4K (2021) coming out soon optimizes the viewing experience through Color Balance via iPhone, and also brings an all-new Siri remote. I had an early review of the device - read it in full here: https://winstonsih.com/... Patrick O'Rourke / @patrick_orourke : I'm pretty shocked at how great the new Siri Remote really is. It answers all of my complaints about the 1st-gen version and is one of the best remotes I've ever used. My review of the Apple TV 4K (2021) is live on @MobileSyrup. https://mobilesyrup.com/... Rene Ritchie / @reneritchie : Apple TV 4K HDR 60fps — lessssssssgoooooooooooo (Yes, that's my impression of HFR!) https://www.youtube.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had framed the 2021 refresh around an A12 Bionic chip, high-frame-rate HDR, and a redesigned remote at $179 and $199 in its April Apple TV 4K launch. The review’s central tension is that those hardware and control improvements arrive at a premium price.
Color Calibration does not by itself distinguish the new box because it also reaches existing Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD owners. Later coverage of a $129 Apple TV 4K entry model shows how quickly the line’s value benchmark shifted.
First-order effects
- Existing Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD owners receive Color Calibration without replacing their hardware, narrowing the 2021 model’s upgrade case to its A12 performance, HFR support, and new Siri Remote.
- New Apple TV buyers face a $179 starting price for the refreshed model, while Apple’s improved click wheel and power button directly address the remote as a day-to-day usability decision.
Second-order effects
- Feature parity on Color Calibration makes Apple compete for upgrades on hardware speed and remote ergonomics rather than on the calibration feature alone.
- The later $129 starting point for Apple TV 4K resets the comparison for buyers weighing the 2021 model’s premium against subsequent Apple hardware.
Third-order effects
- Apple TV’s refresh cycle is moving toward incremental bundles of processor, video-format, and remote changes, making price discipline increasingly important when software features also reach installed devices.
- If that pattern persists, Apple’s set-top-box differentiation will depend less on a single exclusive feature and more on whether successive hardware revisions justify upgrades for existing owners.
The trend: Apple TV is evolving through iterative hardware-and-remote upgrades while software features spread across the installed base and constrain premium pricing.