
Curated by
November 21, 2025
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December 16, 2025
Image: Hyunjin Park, 'Three Bodies of Cerberus', 2024. Photographed by KC Crow Maddux.
In the mid-2010s, 1080p was the standard for the vast majority of households. Today, 4K televisions have become the default standard, and streaming services heavily prioritize 4K HDR content. If you own a modern 4K television, using a fourth-generation Apple TV will mean you are not utilizing your display to its full potential. Images will appear softer, and you will miss out on the expanded color palettes and contrast ratios that HDR provides.
The primary demographic for this device is the budget-conscious consumer looking to enter the Apple ecosystem. A used or refurbished fourth-generation unit can often be found for a fraction of the price of a brand-new Apple TV 4K. If you have an older 1080p television in a bedroom, kitchen, or children's playroom, this device is a perfect fit. It will instantly turn a "dumb" TV into a highly capable smart TV with access to Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade, and AirPlay.
The fourth-generation Apple TV secured its place in technology history by proving that the future of television was apps. It laid the groundwork for everything we expect from a premium streaming box today.
Furthermore, while Apple is famous for providing long-term software support for its devices, the fourth-generation model is nearing the end of its lifecycle. Future major updates to tvOS may exclude this model, leaving it without security patches and new features. Who Should Buy the Apple TV 4th Generation Today?
Given the limitations in resolution and processing power, is there still a valid reason to buy a fourth-generation Apple TV? The answer is yes, but only for specific use cases.
Beyond media consumption, the App Store opened the door to casual gaming, fitness apps, and home automation control. Powering all of this was the Apple A8 chip. While modest by today’s standards, the A8 chip was a powerhouse in 2015, ensuring that the interface remained fluid and that apps loaded with a speed previously unseen in the set-top box market. The Double-Edged Sword of the Siri Remote
Audio is another area where the fourth generation shows its age. While it supports Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound, it lacks native support for Dolby Atmos, the object-based audio format that has become the gold standard for immersive home theater setups. Performance and Software Longevity
The remote featured a glass touch surface at the top, allowing users to swipe through menus with gestures similar to those used on an iPhone or iPad. It also included a dedicated Siri button and a dual-microphone array, allowing users to search for content across multiple apps simultaneously by simply asking, "Find me some funny comedies."