Apple TV 4K (2021): Is It Worth Buying?
Recently we did an article thoroughly explaining why Apple TV 4K (2017) is still worth your money if you get the right deal. Apple now has released the 2021 version of their Apple TV 4K, changing some of things from their previous version and adding some upgrades.
This article will help you to figure out about the specifications and upgrades of the Apple TV (4K) and then you can decide yourself if this new TV is truly worth buying or not.
What is in the box?
In Brad Pitt’s voice…
- Apple TV 4K
- Siri Remote
- Power cord
- Documentation
- Lightning to USB cable
Yes, you are not going to have a HDMI cable with this. It means you have to use a one you already have or you have to buy a new one, separately.
When talking about an HDMI cable, this might be a good choice for you.
Anker 8K@60Hz HDMI Cable
This is a 6.6ft long, HDMI cable made from both metal and nylon — which means it is quite strong and durable. This supports not only 4K@120Hz but even for 8K@60Hz. The bandwidth (48Gbps) is two times faster than the previous model and that helps you to enjoy HDR and Dolby Atmos Audio without any interruption. Will be perfect for TVs, PlayStations and Xboxes. Tested and confirmed as an authentic product by the HDMI forum.
Specifications
- Processor : A12 Bionic chip
- Storage : 32GB or 64GB
- Connectivity : Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, InfraRed, Bluetooth 5.0, HDMI 2.1
- Audio : Supports Dolby Atmos
- Video : 4K High Frame Rate HDR
What is new?
EVERYTHING!
Except for the look of this TV box, almost every other thing is an upgrade, even the remote is different from the 2017 version.
The A12 chip is faster and smoother than the previous one. You can swift through programs easily and smoothly because of this advanced chipset even the most complex and heavier apps won’t be a problem to this. The OS that runs in this TV has a super user-friendly interface. Everything it quite understandable and simple.
For the first time in their history, there is an option called Color Calibration that helps you to adjust the colors of your TV just by using your iPhone. You just have to hold your phone in front of the TV, and it will take a moment to calibrate the colors using the front camera of the iPhone. After the process you can see a preview of what calibrated color looks like and what was before it. This color calibration feature helps you to get the best out of any frame, it is really better than you think.
Another newly added feature is the Apple Fitness connectivity. If you are having an Apple Watch and you are already doing workouts or something like that with the help of it, you can simply connect the watch with the Apple TV. It will help you to go through a vast collection of professional workouts and you can view all the fitness details (like heart rate and calories burnt) in your big screen without a worry.
There is a limited collection of High Frame Rate HDR content, but more will be added in the future for sure. Maybe HDR is not everyone’s choice for viewing but it is quite an experience, high frame rate makes it more interesting and of course seamlessly smooth.
I do not have to say how brilliant is Dolby Atmos sounds. Just like the High Frame Rate HDR content, Dolby Atmos (or the 5.1 or the 7.1 sounds) is only available with limited content, more will come (mostly newly released movies and such). It is a treat to have a Dolby Atmos supporting TV but to enjoy the treat in a rightful manner you must have a Dolby Atmos capable device too.
The quality of the Audios and Videos heavily depends on your internet connection. Unless you have a very stable and quite fast internet connection there is no advantage getting a Apple TV 4K for Dolby Atmos and High Frame Rate HDR.
Also, you can access a good collection of games via the Apple TV. You can even use a controller (have to buy the controller if you don’t have one already) to play some of those games.
Just like the previous version this one also comes in two storage choices, 32/64GB. My recommendation is for anyone is to go with the 64GB version because in the future, who knows what may need to eat up the storage. Especially you are into games or have to interact with lots of apps, bigger storage is the most suitable option, and it doesn’t cost much in addition. Think twice before making the decision.
There are some other features like AirPlay and Apple EcoSystem. AirPlay is what they call when you share 4K HDR videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Apple TV. It is actually available in other TV models too. Apple EcoSystem lets you to connect with all the other Apple devices, just like the 2017 version you can even monitor your security cameras and control your lights using the Apple TV. If you don’t want to disturb other people’s work, you can also share the audio with two AirPods.
Apple is renowned for their User Privacy Policies. Unlike the other TV models, you will not get any annoying advertisements from third parties, but you have to enable the Privacy options yourself. It doesn’t come on by default.
The Remote
In the previous Apple TV 4K (2017) version, the remote attracted so much hate towards it because the designing was so awful. Apple recognized their weakness and managed to avoid it this time. This newly designed gained lots of praise from both users and electronic enthusiasts.
The old remote was completely black, this new design has given the remote a silver body color with black buttons. With squared corners and rounded back, this remote can never slip away from your hand — in other words the grip is great.
There are only few buttons; navigations, play/pause, home, mute, back and +/-. In addition to all those buttons there are two newly added buttons; the power button and the button to enable Siri mounted in the side. Designers got rid of the old track pad and introduced a really cool navigation buttons to replace them. You can use the circular gesture in the round navigation buttons to rewind or fast forward videos or to swipe through tabs. You only have to move your finger in the navigation button in a circular motion.
Just like in the iPhones, the side mounted button for Siri is really convenient and useful. You can just press it and ask it for play anything for you.
As I said before a huge improvement from the previous design.
Conclusion
Apple TV 4K is indeed expensive when comparing with the other TV versions available in the market. But I doubt any of those comes with Dolby Atmos and High Frame Rate 4K HDR and strong privacy policies. So, if you are concerned about the three facts I just mentioned above or you are already an Apple device user for everything (in the EcoSystem) and you have a Dolby Atmos capable device already at home, this surely is a great product for the price. For those who are not concerned about the 4K there is a 1080p version too. Just go with what you feel right for you.
Buy Apple TV 4K or HD (2021) in here
Hope this article was helpful for you in some way. Just leave a comment if you have to add anything more to this article or for us, we will look forward to it.
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