I had pretty much the same reaction as everyone else when Apple unveiled its new Apple TV 4K: $299? That’s a lot of money for a streaming box, and it’s even harder for me to stomach because I already own four Apple TVs. Swapping all of mine out for the new model would set me back roughly $1,200.
The good news is that you don’t even have to pay the full $299 right now. The new Apple TV 4K is already on sale at Amazon for $289, which makes the value argument I’m about to make a little easier.
Here’s the number I keep coming back to: 21 cents. It has been 47 months since the previous Apple TV 4K arrived, and if this one sticks around for roughly the same amount of time, $299 works out to about 21 cents per day. I still don’t love the price, but when I think about everything I actually use my Apple TV for, it’s getting harder to write it off as overpriced. Keep reading and I’ll explain why.
It’s more than a streaming box
If all you want to do is stream 4K content, you don’t need to spend $299. Apple TV makes a lot more sense when you’re already invested in Apple’s ecosystem, and that’s definitely the case in my house.
I’ve invested in HomeKit-friendly Aqara cameras, smart lights, smart plugs, a smart thermostat, and a garage door opener. Apple TV serves as a home hub for all of it, keeping everything connected and allowing automations to run when I’m away. I can pull up cameras on the TV, and my Aqara doorbell can put notifications right on the screen.
Then there’s how well Apple TV plays with the rest of my Apple gear. I can connect AirPods, use HomePods as TV speakers, AirPlay from my iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and grab my iPhone when the Siri Remote inevitably goes missing. FaceTime, Fitness+, Apple Arcade, and multiple user profiles are there too. I might not use all of them every day, but they add to what the box can do.
And yes, I love Apple’s Aerial screen savers. They look fantastic whether you’ve got a regular television or something like a Frame TV. It’s a small feature, but it’s one I enjoy every day.
You can find other devices that do some of these things. What I haven’t found is another streaming box that brings all of them together quite as neatly for someone already surrounded by Apple gear.
21 cents a day
The 47-month gap between generations is what really changes the math for me. If Apple wanted $299 every year or two, this would be a much tougher sell. But if this Apple TV lasts another 47 months, that’s $6.38 per month, or roughly 21 cents per day.
Apple TV also tends to get better while you own it. Apple has continued adding features through tvOS, and the boxes I have today can do more than they could when I bought them. Buy one, plug it in, and there’s a decent chance you won’t have to think about replacing it for another four years.
My problem is that I don’t need one. I need four.
Replacing every Apple TV in my house would cost $1,196 before tax. Spread across 47 months, though, that’s about $25.45 per month, or roughly 84 cents per day for all four. I’m still not excited about handing Apple roughly $1,200, but less than a dollar per day puts that number into a different perspective.
$299 is still $299
If you aren’t invested in Apple’s ecosystem and just want something to stream content, I wouldn’t try to convince you that you need a $299 Apple TV. There are cheaper ways to do that.
But I’m pretty far in the other direction. My cameras, lights, smart plugs, thermostat, and garage door opener are tied into Apple Home. I’ve got AirPods, HomePods, an Apple Watch, an iPhone, and four Apple TVs around the house. At this point, Apple TV isn’t just how I stream content. It’s another piece of an ecosystem I’ve spent years building.
That’s why I keep coming back to 21 cents per day. For something I use every day, that works with the Apple gear I already own, helps run my smart home, and could realistically stick around for another four years, I can make some sense of $299.
Now I just have to make sense of it four times.
Buy Apple TV 4K
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