Apple TV 4K (3rd generation, 2022) Wi-Fi 64GB

Our editorial rating, not aggregated user reviews

Reviewers are close to unanimous that this is the best streaming box you can buy. Engadget called it the best by a long way, Tom's Guide and TechRadar both made it their top pick, and everyone says the same things: the A15 chip makes it the fastest box on the market by a distance, the home screen carries no advertising where Fire TV and Google TV do, and the video processing and Dolby Vision handling are the best in the class. It fails at nothing. So why not an 8? Two reasons, and both are about this specific model rather than the hardware in general. First, price. It was already the expensive option at launch, and reviewers said so bluntly even then. Apple's June 2026 increase pushed it to $199 / £199 / EUR 229, roughly three times a good streaming stick, and that is a lot to pay for an interface and some speed. Second, and this is the one that matters on a smart-home site: the 64GB Wi-Fi model has no Thread radio. Apple's own spec sheet lists Thread networking under the 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet model only. It is still a full Home hub and a Matter controller over Wi-Fi, which is real and useful, but it cannot be the Thread border router that an Eve Energy plug or an Aqara Thread sensor needs to reach your network. If that is why you were buying an Apple TV, this is the wrong one. A real flaw that rules the product out for a whole group of buyers is what our 7-range is for, and this sits there honestly.