Siri AI has apparently been sitting inside the tvOS 27.2 update for every supported Apple TV this whole time, locked to internal installs. The build that just went out for the new Apple TV 4K (4th generation) is the first one reported to lift that gate, which should mean new owners get the assistant on day one.
I would be careful about how much of this is confirmed. The evidence is a capture of the new Siri selection page under Settings, General, Siri, taken on an emulated 4th-gen box and not a retail unit in somebody's living room. That tells you the switch exists. It tells you nothing about how well the thing answers, how quickly it responds on older chips, or whether it knows anything useful about what is on your screen.
The bit that matters to owners of older boxes is the timing, because the code is already on their devices. The optimistic read is that a similar gate change turns up in the first tvOS 27.3 developer beta, expected this week. The cynical read is that Apple has every reason to give new hardware a head start, since an assistant is an easier sell than a chip upgrade on a box that already plays everything fine.
I would not buy the new box for this. If 27.3 opens it up to older hardware, the upgrade argument gets very thin, and if it stays exclusive for months that tells you what the gate was really for.
I would be careful about how much of this is confirmed. The evidence is a capture of the new Siri selection page under Settings, General, Siri, taken on an emulated 4th-gen box and not a retail unit in somebody's living room. That tells you the switch exists. It tells you nothing about how well the thing answers, how quickly it responds on older chips, or whether it knows anything useful about what is on your screen.
The bit that matters to owners of older boxes is the timing, because the code is already on their devices. The optimistic read is that a similar gate change turns up in the first tvOS 27.3 developer beta, expected this week. The cynical read is that Apple has every reason to give new hardware a head start, since an assistant is an easier sell than a chip upgrade on a box that already plays everything fine.
I would not buy the new box for this. If 27.3 opens it up to older hardware, the upgrade argument gets very thin, and if it stays exclusive for months that tells you what the gate was really for.
