Is the new Apple TV 4K something that you should invest in?
The answer to that is thankfully quite easy to determine.
Do you currently own or plan to get a 4K HDR TV set? If yes, then definitely, you should get the current most powerful 4K HDR set-top box available in the market.
If your answer to the above is no, then the Apple TV 4K is not the device for you. Perhaps a Roku, Chromecast, or the previous-gen Apple TV 4th Generation would be better options.
Out of the box, the new Apple TV has minimal external physical differences with the previous generation: its body stands a bit higher to accommodate bottom vents to cool down the A10X processor, it lost the USB-C port but gained an upgraded gigabit Ethernet port, and the remote control now has a white raised edge on the Menu button to help in tactile orientation in the dark. The last one is a very minor but very useful change.
The biggest difference is whats on the inside, with the aforementioned new A10X processor being the most significant one. This is the same processor that powers the current generation iPad Pro devices, and it is a beast of a processor.
With iOS 11’s new setup feature, setting up a new Apple TV is now much easier. Just tap an iPhone running iOS 11 near the Apple TV to start the setup process and automatically share your WiFi password and iCloud credentials with the Apple TV. An on-screen prompt on your TV will display an authentication code that you have to input on your iPhone and voila, your Apple TV is up and running.
On initial boot, the Apple TV 4K will ask your permission to “get the best picture”. This tests if your TV has HDR support, turning on HDR if it does. After this step, you’re now ready to enjoy your new Apple TV and all the 4K HDR goodness it has to offer.
One of the best things that happened after the launch of the Apple TV 4K is that 4K HDR content for most digital movie stores (Amazon for example) has now gone down to a lower price point. This is due to Apple pricing it the same as the price for HD content. On iTunes, you can find 4K HDR movies priced from $9.99 to $19.99. I got a copy of Pacific Rim on 4K HDR for just $9.99 and it is beautiful on a 4K HDR TV set. The details and colors literally pop from my 55″ LG B6’s OLED screen. This kind of content and this kind of streaming device is what television sets like these were made for.
On iTunes, there are also some very affordable 4K HDR rentals available starting as low as $0.99 (Trainspotting 2 for example). If you use the Philippine iTunes Store, things are even cheaper. A friend Doc Nicholas Gonzales shared that Deadpool is available for purchase at just P279, and Star Trek at P399. These titles are between $14.99 to $19.99 on the US iTunes Store. For those who don’t want to spend, there are a lot of available 4K content via our trusty Netflix app.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Apple TV 4K this weekend to test the power of its new processor on some games. I have a Nimbus gamepad handy so this should be fun. In the meantime, here’s the key takeaways after spending a few days with this little black box.
Pros:
+ Definite must buy if you own a 4K HDR TV set, especially an OLED one (LG’s are the best in my opinion). 4
+ 4K HDR content is best priced in the iTunes Store, and even better priced if your account is a Philippines iTunes account
+ Setup and getting it up and running is signature Apple: it just works.
Cons:
– If you don’t have a 4K HDR TV set, then this is not the set-top box for you.
– You’ll end up spending more wanting to buy more 4K HDR content from the iTunes Store
– 4K YouTube not supported yet. No Dolby Atmos support yet as well. Both may come in the future though via software updates. In the meantime the main sources for 4K content are Netflix and iTunes only.
