Apple’s redesigned Apple TV 4K goes on sale on Friday at $299, up from $129 for the 2022 Wi-Fi model, with Siri AI that can answer questions about shows without a remote. India is among the countries where the Siri AI beta will be available, in English only.

The box uses Apple’s A19 chip, which Apple says is up to 50% faster on the CPU and up to twice as fast on the GPU than the A15 chip in its predecessor, according to PPC Land. Those are Apple’s own figures, without published test conditions. The A19 adds a dedicated AV1 video decoder, which could cut bandwidth for streaming services. The 2022 Ethernet and larger-storage model cost $149. Apple Card Monthly Installments in the US break the price into six payments of $49.83.

The main change is voice. Three far-field microphones let viewers speak to Siri without picking up the remote or pairing a HomePod. Siri AI takes over the screen for conversational search, such as asking which Apple TV shows won Emmy Awards this year or where “Pluribus” was filmed, TechCrunch reported, and a compact overlay handles follow-up questions during playback. Requests that need personal context, such as playing a show a friend recommended, require the home owner’s iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence and Siri AI turned on. The remote now has a small speaker so it can be found, and pairing with a HomePod mini 2 or HomePod 2 enables four-speaker surround.

Siri AI is a beta in tvOS 27.2. It is available in English in the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the UK, and it is not available in the EU, where Apple has withheld Siri AI from iPhones and iPads, according to PPC Land. Far-field voice support covers a limited set of languages, including English, French, German and Dutch. Owners of Apple TV 4K models from the second generation on can try the beta and get conversational search, but not hands-free voice because they lack the microphones.

There are limits to know. Server-side features have daily usage limits, and Apple plans to charge a fee for expanded access, with no price given. Apple says microphone data is processed in isolated secure environments that tvOS and apps cannot access; the company has not cited independent audits. The box also acts as a smart-home hub with local HomeKit Secure Video processing, though Apple Intelligence camera descriptions require an iCloud+ subscription. Apple has not said whether third-party apps will be ranked alongside its own in conversational search, or whether paid placement will exist.

Storage options, the standalone price of the new remote and a timeline for more languages were not disclosed in the reports reviewed. Specifications and performance are Apple’s own and were not independently tested by GyanMuse.