For years, Apple TV has been sort of a
constantly unheeded kid, eclipsed by its overachieving siblings, the iPhone and
iPad. Design-wise, it hasn't modified in the slightest degree since 2010, and
it has been bound with one amongst the foremost archaic Apple interfaces
around, that harkens back to the iPod days. All the whereas Roku and even
Amazon have stepped up their game significantly. Now, with the
fourth-generation Apple TV, the set-top box that is been deemed simply as a
"hobby" by its parent has finally acquire its own. it's additional
powerful hardware, a considerably redesigned remote Associate in Nursingd
Associate in Nursing package that is warrant an Apple product in 2015. and
eventually, there is a real app store, that turns Apple TV into a legitimate
platform for diversion and play in your front room. it's not quite the
"future of television" that Apple is promising, however it's
obtaining there.
Apple TV (2015)
PROS
New interface is refined and engaging
Siri remote may be a much-needed
upgrade
Voice search works well
Solid app and diversion support
CONS
No 4K support
On-screen keyboard remains clumsy
SUMMARY
The new Apple TV offers the foremost
refined streaming interface nevertheless, with a foreign that is a step before
the competition. Its voice search truly works well, and even at this early
stage, there square measure lots of worthy apps and games. If you wish 4K tho',
look elsewhere.
Hardware
Since
it's probably going to be stuck somewhere under your TV, it makes sense why
Apple didn't change up the Apple TV's design much. It's still made of black
plastic, but it's significantly taller than before, almost like two of the
older Apple TVs stacked on top of each other. On the back, there's the
obligatory HDMI port, along with Ethernet, USB-C and power ports.
Unfortunately, you're out of luck if you're still relying on optical audio
cables; the Apple TV relies entirely on HDMI for audio now. That shouldn't be a
problem for most people, but if you've got a budget soundbar, or if you haven't
upgraded your home theater in the past decade, be ready to pick up an
HDMI/optical cable splitter.
Apple's
A8 chip powers all of the set-top box goodness, and according to developer documents, it's also running
2GB of RAM. That means it should be an even more powerful device than the
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which have half as much RAM. It's unclear how fast the A8
chip is running in the Apple TV, but it was clocked at 1.4 GHz on the iPhone 6
and 1.5 GHz on the iPad Mini 4. You've got a choice between 32GB of storage for
the $149 model or 64GB for the $199 model. While its nice to have a larger
storage option, the 32GB model should be fine for most people, as you'll be
streaming most of your content anyway.
While
the Apple TV looks a bit familiar, the new Siri Remote is another story
entirely. It's bigger than before, with a smooth trackpad that sits atop a
glass panel on the front. The back is a single piece of metal. It looks like
the bastard lovechild of the iPhone
4 and thenew MacBook -- and that's a good thing. It simply
feels great in your hand. And even when it's laying flat on your couch or
coffee table, it simply looks attractive. The remote has a menu and play/pause
button like before, but now there's also a home button, Siri voice search
button, and volume controls. It's also wireless, finally, so you don't have to
worry about pointing it at the Apple TV.
Basically,
it's as if Apple jumped ahead several generations from the last Apple TV
remote, which was all about minimalism. That remote was originally designed to
handle media on older Macs, not a set-top box sitting in your living room, so
it never felt adequate enough for the Apple TV. There's now a microphone
built-in for voice searches on the new remote, along with an accelerometer and
gyroscope for Wii-like motion controls. You can also stop stocking up on watch
batteries, as it charges over Apple's Lightning cable. I haven't used it long
enough to drain the battery so far, and that's after a week of watching a ton
of Netflix and Hulu, as well as playing a wide variety of games.
One nice bonus: You
can now control your TV or audio receiver volume from the Siri remote. If your
system supports it, the remote can actually turn everything on and control
volume over HDMI. Otherwise, you can train the Apple TV to recognize your TV or
receiver remote's IR input, and it'll duplicate it like a universal remote. The
only problem with that option is that you'll need to point the remote to the
Apple TV to change the volume, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a
wireless input device.
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