The new Apple TV 4K is here wait sorry got that wrong let's try that again the new Apple TV 4ks
are here what's new and improved well the starting prices are down for one thing otherwise on paper
it might not look like a lot has changed but if we dig deeper there's plenty going on
and when Apple quietly announced two new Apple TV 4K boxes gotta be honest here I didn't know
what to think looking at the press release and checking the new product page kind of didn't seem
like there was a whole lot to get excited about I don't know I'm not sure what I was expecting I
mean given it's an Apple product I suppose I like many of you and kind of conditioned to expect a
lot of pump and Circumstance around a shiny new Apple product announcement you know some amazing
videography and CGI with a quiet British voiceover talking about a revolution in streamlining TV with
machine milled unobtainium and the world's first smell-o-vision interface and then you gotta have
Tim Cook Out There talking about how apple is so excited about the new Apple TV 4K well we didn't
get that and really when was the last time Apple made a super big production around the Apple TV 4K
2017 I think so some five years later here we are with the latest gen Apple TV 4 case two versions
separate rated by twenty dollars with a few key upgrades here and there and I think it would be
easy to just kind of glaze over what's new and different but I'm not going to do that I have a
different take and honestly I think the fact that not a lot has changed is probably the best news I
can deliver in this review I'm going to show you what's new and maybe more importantly what's not
new about the new Apple TV 4K and in the end let's see if it will be the streaming box to
beat for years to come before I get down to it what's your vote for the best streaming device
you can buy right now is it the shield Pro the Roku Ultra maybe Amazon's new Fire TV Cube or is
it the Chromecast with Google TV let me know what your favorite is down in the comments and while
you're down there let your click and finger do the talking I so much appreciate your support and all
the feedback you've been giving me on what kind of videos you want to see going forward message
received all right let's dig in so to begin let's just run down the two new products we have here
prices are down which I think we can all agree is a big step in the right direction there's now a
130 dollar version and a 150 version both get a new Siri remote with USBC connector yay and
some might say about time both get an a15 bionic chip and both now support HDR 10 plus in addition
to Dolby Vision HDR stepping up to the premium version gets you double the onboard storage so
128 gigabytes up from 64 gigs it also adds gigabit Ethernet support and it has thread networking
support and if you don't know what I mean about thread I'll explain that matter in a moment yeah
cue The Crickets now at this point I want to shift Focus to the premium version because that's what I
have here but also because I think that if you're gonna buy a new Apple TV 4K this is the one you
should buy first off it's only 20 bucks more expensive than the less expensive version and
second as I'll discuss shortly there's a good chance you might need the extra storage in the
future even if you don't need the ethernet support and the threat support So as pleased as I am that
there's a USB Siri remote now and that there's still an ethernet port gigabit style and thread
support in there as well the big difference here is the a15 bionic chip and if you're a Samsung
TV owner the addition of HDR 10 plus support so about that a15 bionic chip what's that all
about I mean the brand new iPad only got the A14 bionics so this new Apple TV is more powerful
than the new iPad okay that's interesting but why all that computing power you really need all that
to stream Apple TV plus and Netflix well first of all and one of the chief reasons I recommend
folks get an Apple TV in general the Apple TV has always been overpowered and the a15 bionic
up from the a12 and the second gen model continues that Trend unlike so many other tech devices that
suffer from planned obsolescence the Apple TV 4K is actually built to last for many years to
come it's going to be able to handle the latest apps offer quick load times fast scrolling it's
going to be able to handle more increasingly fancy on-screen Graphics it can tackle updates Apple may
have on its roadmap or even stuff Apple hasn't even conceived them yet look I have a smart TV
at home that's only a couple of years old now and it is now slow as molasses just opening apps and
then again getting something to play it routinely just stalls on me it's super frustrating you're
not going to run into that issue with Apple TV 4K for many years because the processor is kind
of a monster as I sit here using it I love how quick this experience is apps seem to launch a
little bit faster than the second gen version and they definitely launch way faster than the
old HD version but that horsepower I suspect is there for at least one more reason Beyond
future proofing see apple sent me a PlayStation 5 controller along with this review unit without
really saying anything about it other than it was coming which kind of seems like a sign obviously
it's for playing games but Apple hasn't announced anything specific about any changes to gaming I
can only presume the more powerful chip could deliver smoother and more responsive gameplay
so I don't know what's in store for the future of Apple arcade or if gaming Ambitions range Beyond
Apple arcade or at least Apple arcade as we know it today but something tells me gaming is going
to be less of an add-on feature that just sort of disappears into the background the way it
has on Roku recently it's entirely possible the new Apple TV 4K is a gateway into Apple's bigger
better gaming plans or even Netflix's gaming plans I mean I can see the Apple TV 4K making
it to Netflix's list of supported devices soon and that's where I think the extra storage comes in if
Apple gets more aggressive with making the Apple TV 4K a gaming device then having enough storage
to handle bigger games is absolutely going to be necessary of course I'm also hopeful
perhaps foolishly so that the Apple TV 4K could support cloud-based gaming even if the biggest
cloud gaming players right now are Big Apple competitors moving on from gaming I also think
this new Apple TV 4K is a sort of Trojan horse or gateway to a better smart home experience as well
I know that the second gen Apple TV 4K already had a thread radio in it but something feels different
here with this new version now thread if you're not familiar is part of a standard that aims to
make smart home device use weight easier than it's been for the past several years think of it as a
low power wireless communication system that's independent of your Wi-Fi so let's say you get
a new video doorbell that's thread enabled instead of having to connect it to your Wi-Fi using an app
it would just connect to the local thread Network it's the thread that stitches all your smart home
stuff together only one thread device needs to be connected to the internet and then boom they all
have access it's really way smarter than having to worry about whether you're on team zigbee or
Z-Wave or whatever I think the new Apple TV 4K here is going to end up being a big part
of that transition as it takes place again kind of ahead of its time for now but ready when you
need it to be and finally there's the addition of HDR 10 plus support which is interesting
because this basically just helps out Samsung TV owners who don't have Dolby Vision Samsung
is the last holdout on Dolby Vision refusing to pay the licensing fees to add it to their TVs
and instead pushing the open and free standard of HDR 10 plus now considering Samsung is the
number one TV brand in terms of sales it makes sense Apple would want to serve that audience
a lot of them out there right so now on Amazon Prime video and Apple tv plus some titles that
would have been in plain Jane hdr on a Samsung TV while everyone else was getting Dolby Vision will
now be an HDR 10 plus here's an example of how that looks different on the left is a clip from
an Amazon Prime video through a second gen Apple TV in HDR r10 and on the right is the same scene
in HDR 10 plus from the new Apple TV 4K same TV same settings otherwise the difference is in the
HDR presentation and for me the HDR 10 plus is clearly Superior so that's what's new a15 bionic
chip keeps the Apple TV 4K seriously overpowered and that's a very good thing it looks like gaming
is about to get even bigger on the Apple TV 4K though that remains to be seen HDR 10 plus support
brings a better experience to Samsung TV owners the built-in thread radio keeps the box ready to
be at the heart of a smart home and we're one step closer to not needing lightning cables anymore as
Apple makes its transition towards USBC that's the case for the new Apple TV 4K but a lot about
this streaming set-top box hasn't changed so do I still love it well don't forget that for many
years I was not in love with the Apple TV 4K it seemed overpriced comically overpowered and just
too much of an Apple fan device but over time I've changed my tune I've come to appreciate
the Apple TV because it's reliably fast it has the least ad riddled interface available right
now it's got top-notch cross-platform search to help you find and start whatever it is you
want to watch it consistently supports the best video and audio quality available across a broad
variety of apps and then yes there is a long list of reasons that Apple device users will especially
like it like share play Siri control with your airpods audio sharing spatial audio on airpods
products picture calibration using your iPhone iPad or Apple watch as a remote AirPlay home kit
apple photos Apple music Apple Fitness integrated with the Apple watch so you can see your rings
progress on screen as you work out the list goes on but one thing I feel like I have to point out
one thing the Apple TV 4K can do that no other streaming box is doing nearly as well right now
spatial audio with the airpods Pro 2 or the airpods max connected to the Apple TV 4K with
head tracking turned on this isn't just nice for private listening when you want to rock
out to the latest Blockbuster or a live concert video this is in my opinion the best personal
audio experience out there for watching movies at home and I say this having heard some incredibly
convincing DTS headphone X demos like this is an end-to-end solution that just works and you
guys it is so fun this is the closest I've heard to Big theater Dolby Atmos in the home so is the
Apple TV 4K the most versatile streamer out there well no the Nvidia Shield Pro can do quite a few
things the Apple TV 4K can't and for portability I'm way more likely to toss a new Chromecast in
my bag than an Apple TV 4K but on the whole the Apple TV 4K is probably the smartest most
advanced most future-proof streamer available that will suit most people's needs it doesn't
try to be all things to all people what it does it does better than just about anything else thanks
as always for watching everyone do you have an Apple TV 4K and wish it did something it
doesn't do or has it ever let you down I want to hear about that so leave it down in the comments
I'll see you on the next one and until then here's two other videos I think you might like