It feels like the rumors talking about a new Apple TV 4K have been going on for a while now. Despite that, there’s still no 4th-gen Apple TV 4K in sight, and the 3rd-gen model just received a big price increase. If or when that next-generation model comes out, there’s no guarantee I’m going to rush out and get it if the price is too high. That’s a bummer, because I’m really looking to put my first-generation model away for good. It still works, but I’d like to get the latest updates again instead of seeing tvOS patch notes that I know will never come to my device.

If you’re on an older model like me and looking to pull the trigger on something, there’s actually a pretty big upgrade you can make. Although I have a first-gen Apple TV 4K, I have a second-generation remote — and it’s a huge change. For starters, there’s a dedicated mute button that I can reconfigure to do other things. It also has a click pad instead of a swiping pad. This one’s personal preference, but I also think it feels better in the hands and looks better than the black one does. Even better than that is the third-generation Siri remote, and you can get one without upgrading your Apple TV.

Brand

Apple

Bluetooth codecs

5.0

Wi-Fi

6

Ethernet

Gigabit (128GB model only)

Storage and RAM

64GB, 128GB

A $60 upgrade could go a long way for your Apple TV 4K

Get rid of that old remote

While remotes are remotes, they aren’t all created equally. I have a second-gen remote paired with my Apple TV 4K, so it means I got a lot of those upgrades I talked about earlier. The main downside is that it still uses the old Lightning charger, something Apple has left behind now. The third-gen remote doesn’t have this drawback, so if you’re getting a new remote, you should spring for the newest one.

A new remote costs $60, so it’s not super cheap, but you might be able to get one used and grab it for cheaper, as I did. I don’t think that the first-generation remote is any good, and if you’re dying for an upgrade, an easy one to make is the new remote. You get functionality like the Find my Remote feature, you get the mute button, and you get an updated charging standard. It’s actually a pretty large upgrade, and if you don’t have any use for that mute button, you can turn it into an HDMI switcher.

Sure, $60 is a high price, but it beats having to go out and buy a whole new device. Sometimes, all you need is a new remote to make things feel new again. My first-gen model is noticeably slower than it was a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. I still use it every day, and the only difference is that I have to deal with more frequent app crashes. I don’t think its performance justifies me going out to make a $250 upgrade, so I’m just hanging on to it for right now. I’ll probably keep on using it until it finally gives out, or when Apple releases a fourth-gen Apple TV 4K. At this point, it’s hard to tell what will happen first.

Rumors still say a new Apple TV 4K is coming

This year or next, who knows for sure?

What’s funny about all this is that I’ve been holding off on upgrading my Apple TV 4K for as long as I can. For years now, I’ve been hearing that another model is right around the corner. The latest release came in 2022, so we’re now well beyond how long a generation has typically lasted for the Apple TV 4K. Now, we have to deal with the rising prices of technology, and considering that the high-end third-gen model costs $250, what hope is there for a more affordable fourth-gen model?

If a new one comes out and costs $300, there’s just no way I’m going to pick that up. At the end of the day, this is a streaming box we’re talking about. As much as I don’t like using it, my smart TV has an interface built into it that works for this job alone. It’s also very slow, which is why I have an Apple TV 4K in the first place, but I’d much rather save $300 and use my TV if it came down to it.

I suppose it’s my fault for waiting so long to upgrade, so now it feels like I’m in it for the long haul with my current model. That’s not the end of the world as long as it still works, but my Apple TV is obviously closer to the end of its life than it is to the beginning. It won’t last forever, but I might just replace it with a different streaming device if my only option is to spend $250. Things aren’t exactly faring better for Roku, as the price of a Roku Ultra has also increased this year. It’s not a good time to buy new electronics, and I hope things get better sooner rather than later.