Streaming Devices / Apple
Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen, 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet)
Apple TV with gigabit ethernet and Thread — the best smart-home hub in the category.
Overall score 8.3/10
Pros
- + Gigabit ethernet plus a Thread border router — the most capable smart-home hub here
- + Comfortably the fastest streaming box you can buy
- + tvOS has no ads on the home screen
- + Double the storage of the 64GB model
- + Excellent Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos handling
Cons
- − At $249 it is by far the most expensive device in this category
- − Price rose from $149 to $249 in June 2026, a 67% increase
- − 2022 hardware with a successor widely reported as imminent
- − Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6, both behind newer rivals
- − No USB-C cable included in the box
Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen, 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet) review: what the specs say
Apple TV with gigabit ethernet and Thread — the best smart-home hub in the category. At $249, Apple's 2022 model sits at the premium end of the category — the streaming Devices we compare run from $34.99 to $249. It scores 8.3/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Speed & Performance at 9.5/10 — processor, RAM, and how quickly menus and apps respond. The weakest is Value at 4.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: at $249 it is by far the most expensive device in this category; and price rose from $149 to $249 in June 2026, a 67% increase. Every specification on this page comes from Apple's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| Max Resolution | 4K (2160p) at 60fps |
| HDR Formats | Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG |
| Dolby Vision | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes |
| Processor | Apple A15 Bionic, 5-core CPU at 2.9GHz |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 |
| Ethernet | Gigabit (built in) |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Operating System | tvOS 26 |
| Remote | Siri Remote (3rd Gen), USB-C rechargeable, Siri voice; no backlight; no Find My tracking |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2x2 MIMO, Gigabit Ethernet, Thread, Bluetooth 5.0, HDMI 2.1 |
| Material | Aluminium and plastic set-top box |
| Warranty | 12 months |
Compare Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen, 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet) With
Cheaper Alternative
NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro — $199.99