If you have been watching the Apple TV price in the UK this year, you will have noticed it only goes one way. Apple announced the new Apple TV 4K on 13 October and it costs £299. The box it replaces launched in 2022 at £149, so the Apple TV price UK buyers are now looking at has roughly doubled in four years, and a good chunk of that happened in 2026 alone.
The question I want to answer is not "what is new" - Apple's own page does that. It is whether £299 is worth paying, whether the old model still on shelves is the smarter buy, and whether you need a new box at all. For a lot of people already using a 2021 or 2022 Apple TV, the answer is no, and the reason is buried in Apple's small print.
Apple TV price UK: what the new Apple TV 4K costs
There is now one Apple TV 4K, and it is £299 on Apple's UK store. Pre-orders opened on 13 October and it is available from 13 November, in stores as well as online, according to Apple's announcement.
Apple has dropped the two-model line-up. Previously you chose between a cheaper Wi-Fi model with 64GB and a dearer one that added Ethernet and 128GB. The new box has 128GB, Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7 as standard, so there is no cheaper entry point any more.
The box includes the new Siri Remote. HDMI and USB-C cables are not in the box, which matters if you are setting up a second TV and assumed you had spares. Apple also bundles three months of its Apple TV subscription for new and returning subscribers, which is worth £29.97 at the current £9.99 a month.
How the Apple TV 4K price got from £149 to £299
This is the part nobody else is laying out in pounds, so here are the UK prices as they have moved. The percentages are my own arithmetic.
- October 2022 launch: £149 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model, £169 for the 128GB Wi-Fi and Ethernet model.
- Earlier in 2026: Apple raised those to £199 and £249, which Cordbusters puts down to memory chip costs.
- October 2026: one model at £299.
Measured against the cheapest box you could buy at launch, £149 to £299 is a £150 rise, or 100.7 per cent. Like for like against the 2022 Ethernet model, £169 to £299 is £130, or 76.9 per cent.
Against the prices Apple was charging until this week, the jump looks smaller but is still sharp. The cheapest way into an Apple TV went from £199 to £299, up £100 or 50.3 per cent. If you were always going to buy the Ethernet model, £249 to £299 is £50, or 20.1 per cent.
That last number is the honest one for anyone who wanted the better box anyway. The headline "Apple doubled the price" is true for the entry point, but the spec you actually get now matches what used to be the £249 tier, plus a much faster chip.
What the extra money buys you
The A19 chip is the headline. Apple claims up to 50 per cent faster CPU and up to twice the GPU performance of the previous generation. For streaming Netflix, that does nothing you would notice. For games, the home screen and Siri, it is a real step from the A15 in the 2022 model.
There is also a dedicated AV1 decoder. AV1 is the newer video codec that services like YouTube and Netflix are moving towards, because it delivers the same quality at lower bandwidth. On a slow broadband line in a busy household, that is the one upgrade that could change how your 4K stream actually looks.
The other additions:
- Three far-field microphones so you can say "Hey Siri" without picking up the remote.
- Four-speaker surround using a front and rear pair of HomePod mini 2 or HomePod (2nd generation) speakers.
- Home hub upgrades, including doorbell notifications on the TV and HomeKit Secure Video.
- Wi-Fi 7 and Thread, plus Gigabit Ethernet on every unit.
- A Siri Remote with Find My, including a sound you can play from your phone. Precision Finding needs an iPhone Air or an iPhone 17 or later, and Apple specifically excludes the iPhone 17e.
If none of the HomePod surround, hands-free Siri or home hub features appeal, you are paying £299 mainly for a faster chip and AV1.
The old Apple TV 4K is still £249, and that is the trap
Retailers have not caught up yet. According to PriceSpy, the 2022 Apple TV 4K 128GB with Ethernet is still £249 new at Argos, with nothing cheaper among the shops it tracks. The 64GB Wi-Fi model starts at £179.99 via OnBuy.
On my maths, the old 128GB box is only 16.7 per cent cheaper than the new one. You save £50 and get a four-year-old A15, Wi-Fi 6, no AV1 decoder, no far-field microphones and no HomePod surround. I would not pay £249 for that when £299 gets you the current model.
The 64GB model at £179.99 is £119.01 under the new box, a 39.8 per cent saving, but you also lose Ethernet. If your TV is a long way from the router, that is not a small thing. Wired is still the most reliable way to stream 4K Dolby Vision without buffering.
Where the old model does make sense is used or heavily discounted. PriceSpy lists a used 128GB unit at Argos for £100. At that level, or anywhere near the £130 the tracker shows as its historic low, the 2022 box is a bargain for a bedroom TV. At full retail it is not.
You might already have Siri AI on the box under your telly
This is the bit that changes the decision for most existing owners. Apple says Siri AI arrives as a beta on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) and later. That means the 2021 model and the 2022 model both get it, for free, through a software update.
The UK is on the launch list. Apple names English in the UK alongside the US, Australia, Canada and others, which is a pleasant change after the EU delay I covered in my piece on Siri AI and iOS 27 in Europe.
What older boxes do not get is the hardware: no far-field microphones, so you still hold the remote button to talk to Siri. No A19 speed, no AV1, and no four-speaker HomePod setup. Cordbusters also notes that Siri AI needs an iPhone or iPad that supports Apple Intelligence in the home owner's Apple Home account, so check that before you rely on it.
So if you bought an Apple TV 4K in 2021 or later, the biggest software feature of this launch comes to you anyway. The case for upgrading rests entirely on whether you want hands-free voice control or HomePod surround sound.
Apple TV price UK compared with Fire TV and Google TV
At £299, the Apple TV 4K is now the most expensive mainstream streaming box in the UK by a distance. Cordbusters lists the main alternatives at full price:
- Roku Streaming Stick Plus: £39.99
- Fire TV Stick 4K: £69.99
- Google TV Streamer: £99
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max: £99.99
- Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen): £199.99
The Fire TV Cube is the only one with built-in far-field microphones, and it is £99.01 cheaper. The Google TV Streamer is a third of the price.
None of that makes the Apple TV bad value if you live in Apple's world. No ads on the home screen, AirPlay from your iPhone, iCloud Photos screen savers and tight HomeKit integration are worth something. But the premium over the rivals is now roughly £100 to £260, and that needs a better reason than "it is the one I know".
The other Apple TV price: the £9.99 subscription
Search "Apple TV price UK" and half the results are about the subscription, not the box, because Apple uses the same name for both. The Apple TV streaming service is £9.99 a month in the UK, per the terms on Apple's store page.
You do not need the box to watch it. The Apple TV app is on most smart TVs, Fire TV, Google TV, Roku and games consoles. If the service is all you want, the cheapest route is the app you already have.
If you are weighing up the subscription as part of a bundle, I worked through when it pays off in my Apple One UK breakdown. The short version is that Apple One only beats separate subscriptions if Apple TV is one you would pay for anyway.
The three free months bundled with the new box take £29.97 off the effective price if you were going to subscribe regardless. On that basis the new box costs you £269.03, and the gap to the old £249 model shrinks to £20.03. The free months are for new and qualifying returning subscribers only, so check before you count them.
Who should actually buy the new Apple TV 4K
Here is how I would decide:
- You have an Apple TV 4K from 2021 or 2022: keep it. Siri AI comes to you free. Upgrade only if you want hands-free Siri or plan to buy two pairs of HomePods for surround.
- You have an Apple TV HD or older: the new one is a real upgrade, but price it against a used 2022 model at around £100 to £130 first.
- You are buying your first Apple TV: get the new £299 model rather than the old one at £249. The £50 saving is not worth four years of age.
- You are building out an Apple smart home: this is the box Apple wants you to buy, and the home hub features are the strongest part of the update. If that is you, also read where Apple's smart home push is heading.
- You just want Netflix and BBC iPlayer on a TV: a £69.99 Fire TV Stick 4K or £99 Google TV Streamer does that for a fraction of the cost.
FAQ
How much is the new Apple TV 4K in the UK?
The new Apple TV 4K costs £299 from Apple. There is one model with 128GB of storage, Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7. It is available from 13 November 2026.
Is the old Apple TV 4K still worth buying?
Only used or heavily discounted. New at £249 it is just £50 cheaper than the current model. At around £100 to £130 used, the 2022 model is good value for a second TV.
Will my old Apple TV get Siri AI?
Yes, if it is an Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) from 2021 or later. Apple lists UK English as a launch language. Older boxes, including the Apple TV HD, do not get it.
My take
The Apple TV price in the UK has doubled at the entry level, but most of that is the end of the cheap model rather than the good model getting dearer. If you were always going to buy the Ethernet box, you are paying £50 more than Apple was charging last week and getting a far better chip for it.
The people who should not buy it are the ones who already have a 2021 or 2022 Apple TV 4K. Siri AI is coming to you for nothing. Save the £299 unless hands-free voice or HomePod surround is the specific thing you want.
Source: Apple unveils the new Apple TV 4K, supercharged by Siri AI, Apple Newsroom
The Lovelock Log
Monthly notes on the tech I actually use, the tools I am building, and what is working. No spam.