Apple TV 4K 2026 Doubles Price to $299 While Software Gaps Remain

The 2026 Apple TV 4K went on sale on Friday, November 13 at $299 — exactly twice the price of the previous 128GB model — while shipping with software that leaves three long-standing gaps unfixed. The hardware inside is strong, but the operating system, tvOS 27, has not kept pace. At $149, reviewers tolerated the omissions; at $299, they argue, the arithmetic changes.

The price increase was likely driven by rising memory costs outside Apple's control, an industry-wide squeeze on RAM pricing. What remains inside Apple's control, critics say, is software — and there the new device falls short in three specific ways.

What is wrong with the TV app?

The TV app, the interface through which users reach the Apple TV+ streaming service and every film purchased from the iTunes Store, remains the weakest part of the device. Despite a Liquid Glass visual treatment and fluid video playback, the app still offers no way to organize purchased movies and series into user-defined collections on the Apple TV 4K.

The built-in Genre categories that do exist frequently misclassify films or omit them entirely. The effect compounds over time: a user who has bought hundreds of films over a decade, as many long-term owners have, has no reliable mechanism to find them.

Which apps are missing?

Two applications available on every other Apple device — iPhone, iPad, Mac and even Apple Watch — are absent from the Apple TV 4K. The first is a dedicated Home app. Apple positions the device as a central hub of the smart home, yet users cannot monitor security feeds or control smart devices from the couch without it.

The second is Weather. Apple's Weather app uses rich graphics to represent local conditions, and television audiences have tuned into forecasts on TV for roughly 70 years. The Apple TV still ships without a Weather app accessible from the Siri Remote.

Why does the gaming gap matter most?

The 2026 model runs on the A19 chip, a processor capable of running AAA console games — something the A15 chip in the 2022 predecessor could not do. Apple announced no new gaming capabilities alongside the launch.

The omission is notable because weaker silicon already handles these titles. The A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro runs the Resident Evil 2 remake, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Red Dead Redemption, Control: Ultimate Edition and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

At $299, the device now costs nearly as much as a Nintendo Switch, a dedicated game console. Reviewers expected Apple to convert the A19 headroom into a genuine console strategy and describe the silence as the single most disappointing element of the release.

What does this change for existing owners?

For anyone holding an earlier Apple TV 4K, the practical answer is: nothing yet. The 2022 model still performs its core functions, and the new unit's improvements are confined to hardware that current software does not fully exploit.

The verdict from long-term watchers is blunt. At $149, the missing collections feature, absent Home and Weather apps and unused gaming potential were annoyings but tolerable. At $299, they are deal-breakers. Owners of the previous generation have no compelling reason to upgrade until Apple ships software that matches the chip it just doubled the price to include.