Apple TV 4K Review: One Powerful (But Pricey) Streaming Box
Our Verdict
The Apple tree TV 4K offers an bonny, customizable interface and affordable UHD content, but design flaws and a subpar remote concord information technology back.
For
- Fantastic 4K HDR content
- Intuitive dwelling screen
- Unproblematic iOS and macOS integration
Against
- Expensive
- Fiddly remote
- No digital audio or USB ports
Tom'due south Guide Verdict
The Apple Goggle box 4K offers an attractive, customizable interface and affordable UHD content, merely blueprint flaws and a subpar remote agree information technology back.
Pros
- +
Fantastic 4K HDR content
- +
Intuitive home screen
- +
Simple iOS and macOS integration
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Fiddly remote
- -
No digital audio or USB ports
Editor'due south note: The Apple Television set 4K (2017) has been upgraded. Bank check out our Apple Television 4K (2021) review
The fourth-generation Apple tree TV was a competent, if unexciting streaming box, buoyed by strong Siri navigation and hamstrung by navigational oddities and a high cost tag. At present that Apple has had two years to improve, the company has debuted the Apple TV 4K ($179 to $199). This set is everything we loved (and hated) well-nigh Apple'due south streaming box, but now with 4K and HDR capabilities making the all-time streaming device ... for Apple users, at least.
But as 1 of the best Apple HomeKit products, y'all'll even so find an bonny and customizable interface, strong Apple ecosystem integration, and powerful voice search via Siri. You'll also still find unintuitive navigation options, a remote with a learning bend and an asking price that borders on prohibitive. If y'all live, breathe and dream Apple tree and need a way to spotter iTunes content in 4K, the Apple TV 4K may exist worth a look. Otherwise, this set doesn't offer many advantages over its cheaper competitors.
Apple tree Television set 4K review: Price and release date
The Apple Goggle box 4K starts at $179 on Amazon for the 32GB model. Its 64GB counterpart is $199.
The Apple Idiot box 4K came out on September 22, 2017.
Apple Television set 4K specs
Video:4K, HDR, Dolby Vision
Audio: Dolby Atmos
Processor: A10X Fusion
Dimensions: 3.nine x 3.9 x 1.4 inches
In the box: Apple Television 4K, Siri remote, Lightning to USB cable
Smart assistant support:Siri
Apple tree Boob tube 4K review: Design
Apple tree has more often than not adopted an "if information technology ain't broke, don't set information technology" approach to the Apple TV, which has evolved from a pocket-sized blackness box into a slightly more elaborate black box. Measuring four.0 x 4.0 ten i.3 inches, it's neither modest plenty to hide behind your Television receiver nor big enough to bear upon the overall appearance of your amusement center. It looks unremarkable yet elegant.
The back of the device is similarly uncluttered. There's a ability port, an HDMI port and an Ethernet port. (The device too works but fine via Wi-Fi.) The lack of a digital sound port could be a pretty pregnant oversight, because that port can enhance your sound experience significantly. Presenting 4K HDR videos without a high-fidelity sound option makes this set up feel incomplete.
Apple tree TV 4K review: Interface
The Apple TV 4K's interface is something of a paradox. Visually, information technology's one of the cleanest, well-nigh attractive, nigh customizable menu systems effectually. Navigationally, information technology could withal utilize a lot of piece of work, particularly for those times when you're trying to switch among multiple services.
Outset and foremost, Apple TV's home screen and menus are simply gorgeous. Unlike the slow Amazon Fire Television set or the jumbled Nvidia Shield Television, the Apple Television set makes use of large, make clean, movable icons for each of your apps. At that place is absolutely no guesswork in figuring out where to go for your favorite content. Every app you have is bachelor correct from the abode screen, and you tin elevate and drop their icons into whichever lodge is about convenient for you, or fifty-fifty make folders to cluster similar apps together. The add-on of folders, in fact, puts the Apple tree TV slightly alee of the Roku, long the gold standard in streaming-box organization.
Away from the home screen, however, things are a little less straightforward. Apple has ever favored surface-level aesthetics over deep-cut functionality in the Apple Television set, merely afterward 2 years, barely anything has inverse. Unless what you're looking for is on the forepart folio, the App Shop is a mess (more on that later). Apple's ain iTunes apps are difficult to parse, separating movies, Television receiver shows and music into three unlike stores for — well, no existent reason, every bit far as I can tell.
The TV app nonetheless is not any easier than just loading upward an app directly, unless you are watching so much stuff that yous tin can't recall where you lot are in whatsoever given series.
Arguably, the biggest navigational trouble is the Television receiver app, which concatenates streaming content from a wide variety of sources. Although the app debuted last yr, it all the same feels half-baked. In theory, the Idiot box app is kind of a one-end shop for everything you're watching, drawing in content from apps like HBO Become, Hulu and ABC and even keeping track of which episodes you lot're watching on which service. Considering the Tv set app makes apply of only those apps to which you're already subscribed, information technology can theoretically bear witness you a lot of cool content that won't cost yous any boosted money.
In exercise, though, it's still not any easier than just loading up an app direct, unless you are watching and so much stuff that yous tin't remember where you are in any given series. The recommendations are not tailored for private users, instead but showing what's pop in any given service. While it's good to know what you can watch without paying extra (bated from a small row of new releases available for a charge through iTunes, which we'll let slide), it'due south not worth giving upwardly the algorithms that tailor recommendations to your gustation within individual apps.
Apple Goggle box 4K review: Remote
The Siri remote that comes with the Apple Television receiver 4K is unlike most other streaming remotes in that you must rely on a square touchpad to become around, rather than directional buttons. You lot'll tap and slide your fingers around to navigate through content instead of physically pressing anything.
Whether I was scrolling through shows or trying to control a character in a game, the touchpad was overly sensitive and imprecise.
Save for a white circle around the Carte push, it'southward exactly the same equally Apple'south remote from 2015, complete with the touchpad, a home button, a play/suspension button and a volume control that syncs directly with your TV.
In theory, touch controls mean you tin swipe to your favorite content much faster; in practice, it ways that you're going to overshoot your destination — at to the lowest degree until yous've really spent a lot of time with the remote. Whether I was scrolling through shows, inputting a countersign or trying to control a character in a game, the touchpad was overly sensitive and imprecise.
The i handy feature of the remote is that y'all can hit a button to bring upwards the Siri search, which is, by and large, nonetheless excellent. Granted, this feature is a lot more common amid streaming remotes now than information technology was when the fourth-gen Apple Boob tube debuted, but it's withal a pretty darn useful button.
Apple Tv Plus review: Search
The Apple Goggle box 4K is unparalleled is in its search features. Accessing the same engineering that goes into Siri, you lot can utilise phonation or text to search for just about whatsoever piece of content imaginable. If it's on iTunes — or one of more than lx compatible apps, including Netflix and Hulu — the search will find it. You tin can search for episodes of Star Trek with obscure guest stars; you can search for 4K movies starring Hugh Jackman; you tin search for poorly reviewed movies from the '90s. Apple Idiot box 4K's search handled everything that I threw at information technology, at least in terms of movies, Television receiver and music.
Nevertheless, the Siri search was considerably less adept at picking out apps. It was unable to notice the Disney Channel, Sling TV or FX Now — three fairly common streaming services. This isn't helped at all by the fact that the App Shop is still, to put it charitably, a mess. If the app or game yous want is pop enough to brand the front folio, that app is easy enough to find. Otherwise, the menus are both haphazard and incomplete.
- The all-time streaming services
There'southward no "A-Z" listing, meaning that your browsing will e'er exist restricted to what'south popular, or what the Apple tree devs want you to see. If you don't know the verbal name of your app and don't observe it within the fairly anemic lists in the App Store, you'll probably never locate it at all. Having a streamlined store is convenient, perhaps, only it does take all the joy out of finding that one specialized app you didn't even know you needed.
Apple TV 4K review: Content and Apps
The Apple tree TV 4K has merely about everything the average streaming enthusiast needs. In add-on to iTunes, you can get content via Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Spotify and Pandora, likewise as a plethora of network-specific apps from Fox, ABC, CBS, FX, HBO, Starz and others.
Y'all've got your choice of cable Television alternatives, with access to Sling Television and YouTube TV (among others), and you can fifty-fifty specify your TV provider during the initial system setup. This saves you from a lot of irksome logins afterward on.
Apple TV 4K review: Apple Arcade
While Apple tree Arcade debuted on iPhones, it'south now available on iPads, Macs and, of course, Apple TVs. This subscription services costs $5 per calendar month, and lets you download as many premium mobile games as yous want from a library of dozens. From the gorgeous loftier-octane action of Sayonara Wild Hearts to the cyberpunk dialogue-driven adventures in Neo Cab, there's something for everyone.
Tom's Guide has not yet had a risk to exam Apple Arcade on an Apple TV, but the selection alone is a plume in the device's cap, as far as games get.
Apple TV 4K review: Other features
Back when the 4th-gen Apple tree Tv came out, the company was very quick to tout its gaming features. With loftier-budget, innovative titles such every bit Transistor and Trounce Sports, it was easy to believe that the Apple TV might exist the 2nd streaming box to brand an honest go of gaming. (The Shield Telly was the first, evidently.)
Since so, the Apple Goggle box has gained a lot of good games and even more cutting-rate, sloppy, ignorable ones. As far equally I could tell, the system doesn't accept any new exclusive titles, and highly anticipated releases such as Jenova Chen's Heaven aren't available even so.
Apple no longer insists that developers make their games uniform with the remote; games tin crave a controller instead. There still aren't that many Apple Tv set controllers, although the skilful news is that the SteelSeries Nimbus is a quite good one. Still, exist warned that if you play games with an Apple TV remote, the controls tend to be extremely imprecise and floaty. This can be especially damaging in a platformer similar Momoka: An Interplanetary Adventure, in which I couldn't stop the first dungeon, because it was besides difficult to jump, aim and shoot at the same time.
Lots of streaming boxes offer games; comparatively few offer smart home options. The Apple Tv set 4K allows you to control smart home devices, provided they run on the Apple HomeKit protocol. This includes a wide diversity of HomeKit devices, including thermostats from Honeywell, security cameras from D-Link and light bulbs from Philips. In one case you've gone through a rather cumbersome and impuissant setup process, involving an iOS device and a plethora of settings menus, you can utilize your Apple Telly as a smart home hub. This lets you lot command your gadgets, even when y'all're away from your habitation Wi-Fi network. The Apple TV is pretty much the but HomeKit hub on the market, and then that lonely might arrive worth a look.
One reward for existing Apple tree customers is AirPlay, a screen-mirroring capability that resembles Miracast and Google Bandage. Using AirPlay, users can either broadcast their iTunes libraries upwards on the big screen or mirror their screens straight. This tin be useful if yous want to bear witness a presentation on a TV screen or get some productivity work done in your living room; otherwise, the feature is much less necessary than information technology used to be. Broadcasting iTunes content from your iDevice or Mac isn't actually necessary, because your iTunes content is already available on the Apple TV. Even your own photos and videos are merely a click away in the born Photo app.
Most of these boxes have USB ports for side-loaded content; the Apple Television receiver does not. You can notwithstanding fix a media server and stream your personal content from programs like Plex or VLC, but you lot tin't but plug in a pollex drive and picket your own personal content — and you lot can't charge your remote, unless you lot have a wall adapter or a USB port on a powered device handy.
Apple TV 4K review: Performance
The biggest matter that sets apart the Apple Television 4K from its predecessor is the new device's power to brandish videos in 4K and HDR, and this box's A10X Fusion chip is more than than upwards to the task. The 4K resolution is self-explanatory; the HDR comes in both Dolby Vision and HDR ten flavors, ensuring that yous'll get a vibrant color palette, no thing which studio your movie or TV evidence comes from.
Yous'll need a pretty powerful Net connection to stream 4K HDR content (you demand at least 25 Mbps down, which is more than than what we got on a standard home Wi-Fi network), merely content loads rapidly and smoothly. Streams unremarkably took simply a few seconds to buffer before reaching full 1080p Hard disk drive, and perhaps an additional 5 seconds before 4K HDR kicked in. This will vary depending on the strength of your internet connectedness, but if you have the requisite speed, the Apple tree Idiot box 4K volition leverage it.
Unsurprisingly, movies and Tv set look gorgeous in 4K HDR besides. In The Lego Batman Motion-picture show, the reds and oranges of explosions played off the shiny, black Batmobile, while the eerie blue-green heaven ensured that the vibrant heroes and villains looked every bit existent as the toys that inspired them.
Apple has also indulged in a fleck of generosity by offering viewers 4K movies at the aforementioned price as their total-HD counterparts, with complimentary upgrades on movies customers accept already purchased. Although studios ultimately set up the toll of their movies, this offering applies to every piece of content in the iTunes library.
The only disappointing part of the visuals is that the upscaling doesn't practice much for older content. Rather than switching dorsum and forth betwixt different screen resolutions (this tin be abrasive, but it at least gives you the proper picture), the Apple Television set simply upscales SD and Hard disk shows to mimic a college resolution. The scaling worked better on some shows than others. The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu looked great, simply Penn & Teller: Fool U.s. on iTunes appeared grainy and oversaturated. If you go for older shows on Netflix and Hulu, the jump from SD could exist even more jarring.
Otherwise, navigation through the menus feels snappy and immediate, and the 4K menus are a nice bear on. Most of Apple's competitors still use 1080p menus, fifty-fifty if they're capable of displaying 4K movies and shows.
Apple TV 4K vs. the Competition
Since the Apple TV 4K is considerably more expensive than nearly of its competitors, it's worth seeing how they all line up in terms of functionality.
The Google Chromecast Ultra is a 4K HDR device that relies on your phone, tablet or computer to piece of work. Information technology has no visible operating arrangement or remote control; just choose a piece of content on your own device, then cast that media to your TV. (The protocol is non the same thing as Miracast, considering your phone is not really providing content, just telling the Chromecast what to exercise.) The pic quality is comparable to that of the Apple TV 4K, and the Google device costs nearly a full $100 less, just you lot won't have access to many games or smart habitation perks.
The Amazon Burn TV costs $100 and offers 4K features, but no HDR. The biggest advantage of the Fire Tv set over the Apple TV 4K (aside from the price) is that it ties into your Amazon account and offers you personalized recommendations based on your Amazon Video and Music history. (Fifty-fifty when the Apple Tv 4K gets an Amazon app, it won't do this correct from your home screen.) Yous can besides control smart home gadgets if you have Amazon's Alexa gadget. The Burn down TV one'south adept if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, merely it's nothing special without one.
The Roku Ultra ($100) is probably the nearly complete streaming device for the money, in terms of both content and features. Not but practise yous get the largest app selection on the market, but you also get 4K HDR picture and a remote control with a headphone jack. (Apple TV requires Bluetooth headphones for private listening.) The game selection isn't every bit skillful equally with Apple Television 4K, nonetheless, and you don't get any smart home features.
The most comparable arrangement to the Apple Tv, in terms of both price and functionality, is the Nvidia Shield TV ($200). Like with the Apple Tv set, you become 4K HDR content and smart abode features; unlike on the Apple Television receiver, you can as well access some of the latest and greatest big-budget games through the Nvidia GeForce Now streaming service. With some actress accessories, you can fifty-fifty stream live Television set from an HD antenna.
Apple Idiot box 4K review: Bottom Line
In "Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Plant In that location" past Lewis Carroll, the Red Queen says to Alice, "At present, here, you run across, it takes all the running you tin exercise to keep in the same place." Apple has run very fast indeed to accost some of the biggest problems with the fourth-gen Apple tree TV — and yet, given the stride of its competition, Apple has mostly stayed in the same spot.
To give credit where it's due, Apple Telly 4K hosts gorgeous content in vivid colors. The dwelling house screen is second-to-none, and the set up'southward iTunes integration alone might be worth the cost of access for viewers who are already invested in the Apple tree ecosystem.
On the other hand, the new Apple tree Boob tube doesn't do much more than streaming boxes that toll almost $100 less — and in some cases, it doesn't even do as much. In add-on, every bit slick every bit the touchpad remote is, it's less precise than remotes with physical buttons.
Ultimately, the Apple Idiot box 4K is gorgeous and intuitive, just information technology's not ambitious enough for the high price. If y'all've got a 4K Boob tube and a lot of coin tied upward in the Apple tree ecosystem, this box is worth a look. Otherwise, you could probably invest the extra $80 in some excellent 4K movies instead.
Credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom'south Guide
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/apple-tv-4k,review-4693.html
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