Before I go any further, you should know that this article represents just one half of the Apple TV 4K story. There's also a companion piece that details 13 good reasons why you should think twice before handing over your cash for Apple’s new box of TV tricks.
That said, the Apple TV 4K (available in $179/£199 and $199/£199 versions) is undoubtedly a much more interesting device than its predecessor.
Launched almost exactly two years ago, that predecessor instantly felt behind the TV technology curve, despite some worthy interface innovations. This time round Apple has addressed many of its predecessor’s technical limitations - though, as covered in the 13 Reasons You Shouldn’t Buy An Apple TV 4K article, the way it implements its new technologies is at times problematic to say the least.
Without further ado, though, let’s get on with exploring the Apple TV 4K’s much-improved good side.
1) It supports 4K
The inability of the previous Apple TV to handle 4K-resolution video was a big problem. Even back in 2015 many households around the world already owned TVs that supported 4K, with its four-times-HD pixel count. It was clear then, too, that sales of 4K TVs were about to explode - especially as it was already becoming hard to buy a new big-screen TV that didn’t have a 4K resolution.
It would therefore have been borderline unthinkable for Apple not to provide 4K support this time - and fortunately the brand hasn’t let us down. In fact, it’s even put 4K in the new Apple TV’s name!
The 4K support covers the v.2.0a HDMI output, its video processing power (which includes a controversial upscaling system for turning non-4K sources into 4K) and a pretty extensive selection of content providers. I’ll be talking about these later in this article.
2) It supports High Dynamic Range.
In case you haven’t heard of it before, high dynamic range (HDR) picture technology allows a TV to produce pictures that contain a much wider range of light from their darkest to their brightest parts, giving you much punchier images that more closely resemble the way your eyes see the real world. And unlike the previous Apple TV, Apple TV 4K supports it.
This is actually at least as important as the new Apple TV’s support for 4K, since despite being a relatively new kid on the technology block, it’s already become a feature that AV fans love and are coming to expect as a standard partner for 4K on both content and hardware.
HDR’s impact on picture quality can be truly transformative - provided, at least, that it’s handled well by both the content created in it and the hardware delivering it.
Again, Apple’s HDR support extends to a number of content providers, and is comprehensively handled through Apple TV 4K’s A10X processing chip. The HDR support is not currently exhaustive, though, as discussed in the companion ‘negatives’ article.
For an in-depth exploration of HDR, check out HDR Made Easy: A Jargon-Free Guide To The Next Big Thing In TV Technology.
3) It supports Dolby Vision HDR
The Apple TV 4K doesn’t just support the so-called HDR10 industry standard HDR format. It also supports the advanced Dolby Vision format.
This adds a layer of so-called ‘dynamic metadata’ (extra scene by scene picture information) to help a TV do a better job of handling the complex HDR picture information. And it really does deliver impressive results, as detailed here.
The Apple TV isn’t the first streaming device to support Dolby Vision; the Chromecast Ultra can do it too, as can a few Smart TVs. It’s still a relative rarity in the AV world, though, so it’s good to see Apple trying for once to get at least a little ahead of the main AV quality curve with an Apple TV.
It’s worth noting, too, that using Dolby Vision requires the payment of a licence fee to Dolby, so adding support for it helps justify the Apple TV 4K’s high (versus its rivals) price point. At least a bit.
4) Apple’s own 4K HDR content is game-changingly cheap
This is the Apple TV 4K’s star attraction. After all, while other devices out there offer 4K and HDR content, none of those currently let you watch 4K HDR movies for anywhere near as little cash as the Apple TV 4K.
We’re not talking just a small difference, either. While all previous 4K HDR streaming services routinely charge a considerable premium for 4K HDR movies - $30-$40 to buy one - you can buy 4K HDR versions of films on iTunes for the same price that you can buy the HD versions.
So, for instance, you can get Kingsman: The Secret Service at the time of writing for $9.99 bought, or $3.99 rented.
The price can rise to $20 for the latest blockbusters, such as Alien: Covenant (though you can still rent Alien: Covenant over a 48 hour period for a much more reasonable $6). Even $20, though, is cheaper than you’ll find it elsewhere.
Interestingly and unusually, the 4K HDR pricing situation is even tastier in some non-US territories. In the UK, for instance, remarkably you can buy Kingsman: The Secret Service in 4K HDR for just £3.99, and rent it for just £3.50. And even the most expensive stuff costs just £13.99 to buy or £5.49 to rent.
Overall, Apple’s 4K content pricing strategy is truly game-changing stuff. It brings 4K HDR content into the mainstream, and instantly makes the high prices charged by rival non-subscription streaming services look unsustainable.
It also suddenly makes iTunes a genuine ‘go to’ destination for AV enthusiasts in a way that it’s never been before.
Maybe even more importantly, it makes the relatively high upfront cost of the Apple TV 4K feel more like an investment than a rip-off. You’d only have to purchase a handful of 4K HDR films on iTunes to have paid for the box in the savings you’ve made by not buying the same films on rival platforms or 4K Blu-ray.
As covered in the negative companion review article, sadly not all film studios have signed up to Apple’s ‘4K for HD prices’ strategy. But it’s still a brilliantly aggressive move.
5) HD movies upgrade to 4K for free
If you’ve already bought a few films on iTunes in their HD format, they will be upgraded to their 4K, HDR versions automatically, and for free. Assuming, of course, that a 4K HDR version of the film is actually available.
This is another thoughtful and welcome touch from Apple that saves you - and your wallet - from having to buy a film again in its 4K form. This will sound like manna from heaven to long-suffering AV fans all too familiar with buying favorite films first on DVD, then on Blu-ray and finally on 4K Blu-ray!
6) 4K HDR content levels are pretty decent from launch
Thankfully the general 4K content ecosystem is pretty well developed these days - and Apple has got a decent amount of it organized for the Apple TV 4K’s launch.
There are upwards of 150 films available in 4K HDR/Dolby Vision on iTunes already. The Netflix app also supports 4K HDR (in Dolby Vision and HDR10) streams. So does the VUDU app, and the Ultraflix App.
It's worth noting, too, that so far as I could tell (it isn't easy to be absolutely certain given Apple's 'single video output format' approach), the Apple TV 4K's Plex app supports 4K streaming. Certainly when I played a 4K clip from my Macbook through the Apple TV 4K the Plex app said on screen that the clip was 4K - and it looked 4K in quality, too.
There are two or three notable absentees from the 4K HDR iTunes content list right now (including Disney, as addressed in more detail in the ‘reasons not to buy’ article). Overall, though, Apple has gone further to have 4K HDR content available at launch than I might have expected. Especially with its own iTunes platform.
One last point to add here is that suddenly having dozens of films available in Dolby Vision for the first time comes as an especially pleasant change for previously Dolby Vision-starved AV fans outside the US.
7) The picture quality can be really good
With Apple’s own iTunes platform, at least, the Apple TV 4K’s picture quality can be really good.
Provided a film has a good source 4K transfer (so not Kong: Skull Island!) and your broadband is up to the job (I’d say you’ll need at least 15Mbps) pictures appear with lovely clarity and color refinement. Not just compared with non-4K, HDR content, but compared with many other 4K HDR streaming devices (including smart TVs).
I’ve had slightly more variable experiences with other platforms on the Apple TV 4K, such as Netflix. Sometimes at least, though, these too look outstanding. And oddly the quality from Netflix in particular seems to have improved over the past 24 hours.
Rumor has it that Apple has moved to integrating Silicon Image’s acclaimed HDMI management for the first time with the Apple TV 4K. Apple won’t confirm this, but there certainly seems to be a similar sort of extra refinement with iTunes feeds to that you get with SI-deploying 4K Blu-ray decks (such as the Sony UBP-X800).
To be absolutely clear on this point, I’m not saying iTunes 4K HDR streams look as sharp and clean as good 4K Blu-ray pictures (except, maybe, for some of Apple’s glorious 4K video ‘screen savers’). I just mean that there’s a more refined feel than you get with other streaming devices.
As covered in the companion negative article, though, Apple TV 4K’s picture quality is anything but universally awesome…
8) It’s easy to set up
Apple has a knack for making stuff easy to get up and running, and this continues with the Apple TV 4K. The initial installation process guides you through everything you need to do succinctly and thoughtfully.
Particularly brilliant is the way that if you own another Apple device, such as an iPhone or an iPad, the Apple TV can use it to import your Apple account information and even Wi-Fi network settings.
It’s true - as usual with Apple - that precisely how easy the Apple TV 4K is to set up depends to some extent on whether you’re already invested in other Apple products and devices. But even if you’re not, Apple TV 4K is hardly a difficult system for even the most technophobic of users to get to grips with.
9) Universal video output prevents connection issues
During initial set up, the Apple TV 4K assesses the capabilities of your TV and sets its video output accordingly, to what it believes will give you the best all-round experience. For instance, if you have a 2017 LG OLED TV (such as the LG OLED65E7 reviewed here), the picture will default to Dolby Vision 60Hz.
Once your Apple TV has made this decision, it outputs everything in that picture format. And I do mean everything. Game apps, HD streams, even HDR10 (rather than Dolby Vision) content. Everything will be recognized as Dolby Vision 60Hz by your TV. Or HDR10 60Hz. Or HD standard dynamic range; whatever was recognized by the Apple TV 4K as your TV’s best possible format.
This means end users don’t have to worry about the usual brain-bending modern-day complications of different picture formats coming from different sources.
More importantly, it also means that TVs don’t have to worry about trying to recognize and adapt to constantly changing picture formats. As a result, you shouldn't be troubled by the momentary flickering and blank screens associated with TVs having to switch between playback formats.
Crucially, always outputting the same picture signal also hugely reduces the potential for serious playback/HDMI handshaking problems with different TVs.
Anyone who fell prey to the global - and in some cases, still ongoing - connectivity issues associated with the launch of the PlayStation Pro (reported here, and in numerous subsequent articles) will fully understand the appeal of this ‘one video output for all’ Apple TV 4K approach. Indeed, it’s tempting to wonder if Apple had the PS4 Pro mess in mind when it decided to go down its chosen Apple TV 4K route.
I should add, though, that the decision to only output one video format as standard (though you can manually switch between a huge number of other output settings) also figures large in the ‘Apple TV 4K problems’ article…
10) The menus are polished and 4K
Apple has remastered the Apple TV’s menus for (albeit rather soft-looking) 4K, and tries to run them at 60Hz frame rates where possible - something the Apple TV 4K’s A10X processor seems powerful enough to deliver easily without any lagging or glitching.
So focused is Apple on the Apple TV 4K’s user experience, in fact, that if it’s connected to a TV such as LG’s 2016 OLEDs that can only support Dolby Vision at 30Hz, the Apple TV will actually sacrifice Dolby Vision in favor of a faster frame rate running in standard HDR10.
While you may well question the above decision, there’s no overstating how much its high refresh rate menus help make its 4K HDR experience feel more consistent and engaging.
That said, AV fans will likely not be surprised to learn that Apple TV 4K’s frame rate focus also crops up again in the ‘negatives’ article!
11) Intuitive interface structure
I won’t labor this point, since apart from the introduction of folder support, the menu structure hasn’t for the most part changed dramatically from the app-based look discussed in my review of the previous generation of Apple TV.
Suffice it to say that it benefits from a clean, spacious appearance, unusually intuitive structure, impressive use of lots of dynamic touches (such as the way artwork from films scrolls along behind the Genre browsing menu), and the delivery at startlingly fast speeds of oodles of high quality content stills and artwork.
There are some issues with the Apple TV interface too, of course. And yes, you can guess by now where I cover those. For the most part, though, it all holds together very well considering how much content it’s trying to cover. Especially if you put a little time into creating a few clutter-busting folders for your app collection.
12) Improved remote control
After initially liking it, I ultimately found the 4th-gen Apple TV’s remote control a bit fiddly, too easy to lose down the sofa, and an unfortunate 'forced limitation' on the potential sophistication of Apple TV games. These issues actually remain with the Apple TV 4K’s (very similar) remote too!
However, the edge-sensitive navigation controls of the touch pad feel more effective than the navigation controls of its predecessor, and the addition of a white circle around the Menu button makes the handset easier to use in a dark room. This is important to video enthusiasts, and goes some way to addressing another bugbear I had with the 4th-gen remote.
13) Siri is brilliant
Unlike when the previous Apple TV came out, the idea of in-depth voice control is no longer either revolutionary or something that only Apple does well. However, the huge impact the uncanny accuracy of Siri’s voice recognition system and ‘joined up’ thinking has on day to day use of Apple TV 4K is worth reiterating here - if only to encourage you to try using it as often as possible when you first get an Apple TV 4K, so that it becomes second nature.
Verdict
It's a testament to the new Apple TV 4K box that it wasn't hard at all to come up with this extensive list of good qualities, and Apple is to be applauded for the lengths it's gone to to try and take the complexity and, in some ways, the cost out of the 4K HDR video experience.
The one big question, ironically, is whether Apple has actually gone too far in its simplification processes. For reasons fleshed out in the 13 Reasons Not To Buy An Apple TV 4K article, I personally think that as things stand right now, it probably has.
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If you like this article, you might also like these:
Apple TV Review: 13 Reasons You Shouldn't Buy One
Vudu And Ultraviolet now Available On Apple TV
Amazon Steals Apple's Thunder With Handily Timed Fire TV Leak
Apple TV 4K Falls Victim To Streaming Format War
Apple And Amazon Finally Bury The TV Hatchet
Apple TV (4th Gen) Review: 10 Reasons You Should Buy One
Apple TV (4th Gen) Review: 10 Reasons You Shouldn't Buy One
