Review: Apple TV 4K

Price: £149 from fave.co/3Bhlukv

Apple has the best streaming box out there. It’s the fastest and most responsive, with the best audio and video quality (support for both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision), and with the update in 2021, it finally has a great remote, too. The operating system works well, shows are consolidated neatly in the TV app for most major services (with the notable exception of Netflix), and the Siri voice commands are for the most part convenient and reliable. If you use other Apple products, the synergy between them makes it even more delightful to use.

Unfortunately, the Apple TV 4K has also maintained its spot as the most expensive of the popular streaming platforms – by far. With a starting price of £169, it was easily three or four times the price of the best streaming boxes from Roku,

Amazon or Google.

The new thirdgeneration Apple TV 4K makes a number of minor but welcome The new Apple TV 4K (right) is smaller and lacks vents and a fan. improvements, most of which won’t make much smaller now and operates without a of a difference in your day-to-day fan (not that you would ever hear the use. But it also comes with a much fan on the old model). It’s still a small, reduced price – £149 for the 64GB rounded black glossy square that fits model and £169 for the 128GB neatly in your AV set-up. model. That’s a £20 reduction in The processor has been updated price for a product that is better from an A12 to an A15, a substantial than the one it replaces. In today’s leap in performance. But the A12 world of inflation and higher prices, already handled every video app with it’s nice to see a product – an Apple ease and scrolled through photos product of all things – going in the or music tracks without hesitation. opposite direction. You’ll only really notice the difference

While it’s still far more expensive in performance if you play games on than its contemporaries, the third- your Apple TV, which doesn’t appear generation Apple TV 4K is at least to be a very popular activity. a better deal than ever, and easier Storage has doubled on each than ever to recommend. model – the £149 version now has 64GB, and the £169 has 128GB. SMALLER, FASTER, MORE Again, this matters most to those STORAGE, AND USB-C playing premium games on their The new Apple TV 4K is more or Apple TV, as most media apps easily less just like the second-generation fit in the old 32GB limit with room to model it replaces. It’s physically spare. Still, more is good and leaves

room for the future.

The remote hasn’t changed much since its upgrade in 2021, but the Lightning charge port on the bottom has been replaced by a USB-C port, another welcome change.

In terms of technical capabilities, the only significant difference is the addition of support for HDR10+. That’s mostly a Samsung-specific upgrade to the standard HDR10 format that allows for unique metadata per video. Dolby Vision, supported since the first-gen Apple TV 4K, is a more widespread and superior format.

In other words, there’s no reason to upgrade if you have the secondgeneration Apple TV 4K unless you’re in the very narrow group of users that plays premium games on your Apple TV 4K and frequently find yourself annoyed by poor performance and limited storage space.

VERDICT

If you don’t have an Apple TV 4K, this update is your best excuse to get one. The improvements may be relatively minor, but the starting price is now £149, £20 less than before despite the more powerful processor and double storage.

You should note that the £149 model does not have an Ethernet port or support for Thread networking, but the £169 model with 128GB of storage does. That’s probably worth the £20 difference in price, even if you don’t think you’ll need those things right now.

So the story of the thirdgeneration Apple TV 4K is much the same as the last two generations: This is the best streaming box, especially for those that have an iPhone or other products in the Apple ecosystem, but it costs more than twice what the competition does. Yet the hardware refinements make this an even more clearcut winner for the crown of best

The new remote (right) is just like the old one, but charges via USB-C.

streaming box, and the reduced price, while not where it really needs to be, offers better value than before.

There’s no need to upgrade if you already have an Apple TV 4K, but this is probably the best time to jump on board if you don’t. Jason Cross

SPECIFICATIONS

• tvOS 16 • Apple A15 processor • 64GB/128GB storage • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO • Bluetooth 5 • IR receiver • Apple TV: 1x HDMI, Gigabit

Ethernet. Siri Remote: 1x USB-C • Apple TV: 93x93x31mm. Siri

Remote: 136x35x9.25mm • Apple TV: 214g. Siri Remote: 66g