Verdict
With fantastic performance , all the big apps and a slick UI mostly barren of pestiferous adverts , the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is an easy - to - urge streaming box – even if you do n’t use an iPhone .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is the latest feature - ample streaming offering from the makers of theiPhone 14andAirPods Pro 2 .
As has been the object of the late Apple boob tube boxes , this fresh model aspire to proffer a high - last experience that pulls no punches and leaves no streaming stone unturned .
upgrade over the premature framework let in a smaller consistency , wider HDR support and a chipset that ’d give the best phones around a run for their money .
Design
The Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is a well - designed cyclosis boxful that should correspond snuggly into most multitude ’s setups . The mordant color and lack of overt branding – by from a small Apple logo on the top – give it a pernicious , stealthy look I appreciate . There ’s a small light-emitting diode on the front to show when the boxful is turned on , but that ’s it .
It ’s a much modest , lighter gadget than the old Apple TV , which likely wo n’t make much difference of opinion to many as this is very much a gimmick you ’ll plug in and leave . But if you were to journey with the Apple TV ( perhaps to punch in at a hotel ) then the smaller dimensions are welcome .
The Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is squatter than the Fire TV Cube ( 2022 ) yet being a cyclosis box , rather than a stick that plug directly into an HDMI larboard , it ’s still larger than something like theChromecast with Google TV .
There are in reality two models of this Apple TV available and the big differences between the two are find around the back . While the basic variation ( £ 149/$129 ) has HDMI and power embrasure on the back , the pricier £ 169/$149 example adds in a Gigabit ethernet port that ’s capable of faster speeds than the ethernet port on the Fire TV Cube ( 2022 ) .
Plugging the Apple tv set into pumped up internet , rather than relying on Wi - Fi , gives a more stable , faster connecter that ’s preferable if you ’re rain buckets 4 K video .
The higher - end model also has 128 GB memory board , as oppose to 64 gilbert , and support for theThreadnetworking tech that power the newMattersmart home standard . Considering the price difference is minimal , I conceive the top - end model is the better pickax .
You wo n’t find an HDMI cable television service bundle with either Apple TV , but you will feel the Siri remote . This is a basic remote control , with a antiphonal capacitive pad , a bit of clicky button and speedy voice controller . The Siri remote control is wide-eyed , yet it works well and can control certain TVs volume and ability .
It ’s nice to see Apple ’s switching toUSB - Ccontinue on , with the Lightning port find on the former Siri remote control ditch for the far more New choice .
Having used this Siri remote for over a year now , there are a few extra I would have care to see add together . The neat design leaves no way for shortcut button , and the want of a backlight hit it fiddly to use in the darkness . Having spent lots of time with Sky Stream and its backlit remote , I wish Apple had tote up it here .
It also find like Apple should have carry across some of the changes it made for the AirPods Pro 2 to the Siri Remote . Being able to find the remote control in the come up My app would alleviate those billet where it gets lost down the back of the lounge .
Interface and Apps
In term of app support , the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is right up there with the best streamer on the market . All the vainglorious services are here in both the UK ( iPlayer , ITVX , Now TV etc ) and the USA ( Showtime , HBO Max , Peacocketc ) along with the usual suspects likeNetflix , Prime Video , Plex , YouTube andDisney Plus .
Video apart , there are big music apps ( Spotify , Tidal ) plus peck of game include FM 2023 Touch that ’s uncommitted through Apple Arcade . you may easily plug into up a controller , a PS5 pad for example , or play canonic games with the remote or a connected iPhone .
Many of Apple ’s service have star apps here too . Apple Music can output lossless audio and show language on screen door for a pseudo - karaoke arrangement , while Fitness Plus has plenty of exercise procedure and combines well with an Apple Watch .
All your apps , games and services are seeable on a very dim-witted homescreen . Icons are bragging and easy to spot and the UI get a pot of them into view at once . If you desire a more content - focalise homescreen then the Apple TV app mix suggestion and recently watched films and show from a telephone number of enceinte services – but not Netflix .
The Apple telecasting app is great and I have base the content it suggest very smart and in strain with what I would commonly watch . This app also includes original content fromApple TV+ , plus anything you ’ve previously purchased from iTunes .
Searching for cognitive content is best done via Siri . you may press the mike button on the side of the remote control to bring up the part assistant , and then merely speak the name of a flick , show , actor or military service into it . Siri on the Apple TV 4 potassium is very quick and accurate , and I find oneself myself using it a lot . Some apps even have extra Siri functionality , like being able to display actor information on screen door or vamoose backwards and ahead .
There are , of course , lots of benefit here for those who use an iPhone or are knee - trench in the Apple ecosystem . AirPlaylets you send video and audio from a sound or iPad , while a keyboard will mechanically pop up on a tie iPhone when you give up a password or hunting box . ConnectedAirPodspop up when in range and can connect in an inst – nonpareil for private hearing .
Unlike a intersection such as the AirPods though , I really do n’t retrieve anyone should be put off buying this because they do n’t have any other Apple gear . This is an excellent machine , even for those rockingAndroid phonesand Windows laptops .
Performance
I test the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) with three unlike televisions . A very basic Hisense 4 K set , aDolby Vision - totingSony A80J OLEDand anHDR10+capable Samsung Q85A. This is the first Apple TV to patronise HDR10 + , an HDR format much like Dolby Vision that ’s supported tv set from Panasonic , Samsung and Philips .
Adding HDR10 + completes the backing this machine has for bighearted HDR formats , and dilute up The Rings of Power ( an HDR10 + compatible title ) on the Samsung TV find out an image produced that was noticeably better than the regular HDR10 yield of the former gen Apple TV .
Across all three tv , the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) produced a sensational image . There ’s a color calibration instrument uncommitted that gets a little flake more oomph out of lower - end sets , and it added some extra color to the Hisense set .
The Brobdingnagian majority of apps usable drive out content in the best available quality – well , aside from two notable omissions .
While the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) supports the HLG HDR monetary standard , the BBC iPlayer app does n’t make utilization of it . This think the growing leaning of hot and on - need 4 K HDR contentedness available on the app wo n’t be viewable in the highest character . The Fire telly Cube , on the other handwriting , sustain this fine .
There ’s also a lack of support for 4 K HDR flow in the BT Sport app , with HDR missing completely unless you ’re AirPlaying from an iPhone .
Powering the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is an A15 Bionic chipset , an SoC ( scheme on microprocessor chip ) that pop the question far more tycoon than anything ever date inside a streaming stick or box before . This is the same chip that power the iPhone 14 – one of the fastest phones you’re able to bribe .
The nippy silicon go to exceptionally truehearted performance across the board . Apps open here are far quick than a Chromecast with Google TV I used to equate – opening Netflix was twice as tight on the Apple TV – and zipper around the UI offered dead no lag .
Having such a able solidification of internal component will reserve this box to receive update for years to come , and continue to make for top game if they were to become uncommitted .
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Should you buy it?
heavy app excerpt , top format backup and a sleek UI that ’s a delight to use – the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is fantastic .
While it ’s trashy than the former good example , this is still one of the most expensive streaming boxes around and there are cheaper option available if you do n’t take all the features .
Final Thoughts
The Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is one of the few Apple products this yr to come in at a low price than its predecessor , and it ’s also light and smaller .
total to that the benefits of HDR10 + cyclosis , a fast chipset , optional ethernet and Thread smartphone support and you ’ve catch a fantastic cyclosis machine whether you ’re an iPhone user or not .
There are of course cheap options useable , notably Chromecast with Google TV , various Fire Sticks and choice from Roku , however if you want the very good streaming experience then the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is the elbow room to go .
Trusted Score
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FAQs
Included with the Apple TV 4 K ( 2022 ) is a power plug and Siri remote . You ’ll require to provide your own HDMI cable and your own USB - degree Celsius cable to point the remote control .
