Unboxing the New Apple TV (2015 Model)

Unboxing the New Apple TV (2015 Model)

Time to unbox this bad boy!
Time to unbox this bad boy!

Meet the 2015 Apple TV!

We’ve always been a fan and a user of the Apple TV ever since Steve Jobs unveiled the black box type model. It made sense to invest in an Apple TV since most of our media were procured and stored using a MacBook Pro. The previous generations of the Apple TV were pretty much streaming devices for us. It allowed us to easily watch videos, listen to music, and check out photos on our TV even if the media was stored on our laptop or iOS devices (using AirPlay). The new 2015 Apple TV promised new features including a Siri Remote Control, a sleeker UI, and Apple TV applications. That’s why we were thrilled when we found out that the newest 2015 model was already available locally at Power Mac Center.

There are basically two models to pick from: 32GB and 64GB. The price difference between the two is a bit steep (Php8,790 vs Php11,690) so we actually recommend you guys go for the 32GB variant since you’ll most likely be streaming your content anyway.

Anyway, let’s jump right into the unboxing!

Unboxing Time!

What's inside the box?
What’s inside the box?

Inside the box we found the Apple TV which was much bigger than we anticipated. It’s definitely still subtle and arguably one of the best looking media players out there but it’s probably at least double the size of previous Apple TV models. The usual IO was at the back of the device: HDMI, Lightning Cable port, and A/C power.

Beside the Apple TV was the new Siri Remote Control, now clad in aluminium and enabled with touch control. Underneath we found the other usual suspects such as the manuals and the power cables. The only surprise was the Lightning Cable. Now that’s something we didn’t expect to find!

Ta-daaa! Bakit may Lightning Cable? Lols.
Ta-daaa! Bakit may Lightning Cable? Lols.
The New Siri Remote Control
The New Siri Remote Control

The biggest addition to the remote control is the Siri button which basically allows you to do voice commands for the Apple TV. We’ll definitely test this feature out a lot for the full review. Hopefully it does what we want it to do!

Nice looking remote.
Nice looking remote.

Setting up the Apple TV was painless. It asked us to pair it with an iOS device (we had an iPhone 6S) and it copied the network settings and Apple ID. After less than 5 minutes we were already up and running with the new Apple TV UI being flashed on our wall (we use a projector for our living room).

Initial Impressions

Here’s a photo of our set-up in our living room. The Apple TV is connected to the Epson Projector and the Audio Engine Speakers.

IMG_0075

The first “upgrade” you’ll feel is the user interface. It’s awesome and easy to navigate unlike the previous Apple TV models. It’s more inviting and appealing to go through the different content options and applications that you have available.

What’s can be frustrating though is the Siri Remote Control. The touch interface is nice on video and on paper but actual use can still be a bit difficult especially when you’re required to input letters/passwords/search queries.

IMG_0042

As of this writing we haven’t tested the games yet. We’ve been mostly using the Apple TV to stream videos and music and so far it’s been doing a great job at it.

As a streaming device, we found that the Apple TV works best if you use Plex. Plex is a media organizer app that you can download for your phone, laptop, and now the Apple TV. As long as your main server is up (which can be your laptop), you can easily stream the various media you have into the Apple TV. The Apple TV can’t do 4k video but we don’t really know a lot of people who are into 4K yet so that shouldn’t be a big issue.

You can also stream everything via iTunes if you decide to pay for your videos and subscribe to Apple’s music streaming service or any of the available streaming applications in the store. We subscribed to Apple Music and having access to all of the tracks and playlists in iTunes is a great way to chill on lazy evenings (though you can do the same with Spotify).

Full Review to Follow

We’ll be putting this through the paces in the next few weeks so watch out for our full review then. Hopefully we can also make a video for this. 😀

The 2015 Apple TV is now available locally via Power Mac Center with 32GB (Php8,790) and 64GB (Php11,690) configuration options.

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