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Apple TV 4K 2022 Reviews: Faster and More Affordable With HDR10+ Support and USB-C Remote, But Largely Unchanged

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The new Apple TV 4K will start arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday, November 4. Ahead of time, the first reviews of the latest Apple TV have now been shared by select publications and YouTube channels.

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Key new features for the third-generation Apple TV 4K include the A15 Bionic chip, 4GB of memory, HDR10+ support, a USB-C charging port on the Siri Remote, and a slimmer, lighter, fanless design. The ‌Apple TV‌ 4K is now available with 64GB of storage for a lower starting price of $129, sitting below a 128GB model for $149 that also has an ethernet port and support for Thread networking. We have rounded up both written and video reviews of the new Apple TV 4K below.

Written Reviews

The Apple TV 4K's performance improvements were somewhat noticeable to reviewers, particularly when switching apps, but they noted that there is little that can practically take advantage of it other than games. TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington:
If you have a 2021 Apple TV 4K, which I do, you probably aren't feeling the pinch in terms of performance. In fact, I still have a first-generation Apple TV 4K in active use, and despite it now being six years old, I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and my 2021 Apple TV in a blind test.

That said, the 2022 Apple TV 4K does seem to generally make things snappier when it comes to navigating between the Home Screen and apps, and even potentially within apps as well. It also definitely offers a boost when it comes to using the Apple TV as a gaming device, helping it keep up with the most graphically-demanding Arcade and App Store titles available. With expanded controller support via the most recent tvOS update, the Apple TV is a better gaming console than ever combined with the A15's performance prowess.
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On the other hand, CNET's Eli Blumenthal found gaming on the Apple TV 4K underwhelming and noted that the A15 Bionic chip still does not help the Apple TV rival games consoles:
NBA 2K23 loaded quickly, and the game finally has commentary which brings some console-like quality that was lacking in earlier editions, but that's where the similarity ends. In my few games, the title looks and feels a bit slower than the console version. Even with an Xbox controller paired to the Apple TV 4K, there is no direct passing and animations lack the fluidity and sharpness of the game on Xbox One, let alone Xbox Series S/X.

Face models are fine, but lack detail in players' tattoos like D'Angelo Russell and Marcus Smart. Standard basketball game staples like instant replays and quick or batch substitutions also remain absent as do 2K23 game modes like The City.

Gameloft's Asphalt 8 Plus similarly loaded quickly and played fine using the Apple TV's included Siri Remote. But there isn't ray-tracing or other modern graphical improvements that would make anyone confuse this title for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series S/X game.

All told, there doesn't appear to be anything extra that the A15 Bionic brings to gaming on Apple TV 4K...
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The Verge's Chris Welch said that while the USB-C charging port of the new Siri Remote is a welcome change, there is still much more that the remote could do:
Other than ditching Lightning for USB-C, the included Siri Remote is identical to the prior generation. This is largely positive: it's ergonomic and easy to use, and once you get down the clickpad's rotational gesture for quickly scrubbing through a movie or show, you'll rarely bother with the old less efficient way of fast-forwarding and rewinding. I do badly wish that Apple had included a U1 chip in the new remote that would've made it easy to hunt down with precision using a nearby iPhone. Failing that, even a built-in speaker would've been nice for a "Siri, find my remote" command. This remote isn't as easy to lose as the previous stupidly thin version, but it still happens to the best of us. You can add backlighting and a raised nub on the play / pause button (making it easier to find by feel) to my wish list for the next iteration of the Siri Remote.
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Video Reviews and Unboxings







Article Link: Apple TV 4K 2022 Reviews: Faster and More Affordable With HDR10+ Support and USB-C Remote, But Largely Unchanged
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/apple-tv-4k-2022/
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Well, it’s $129 after all, to compete with PS5 / Xbox X at least two things would have to happen: a hardware push with an ”ultra” Apple TV version for gaming with say an M2 Pro chip with active cooling (and perhaps ray tracing hardware acceleration) at the PS5 price point; and a content (financial) push to bring IP and AAA titles from studios similar to the one they’ve done to build the Apple TV+ streaming service.

The Switch has hardware similar to an 2016 iPhone and is a success due to content. But Apple has refused to pay / finance ports and hasn’t launch or acquire first party studios either, so, no wonder it’s not competing.
 
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dantracht said:
Far and away the best streaming box and I have all the others. Apple is my go to. The os is the best, the experience is the best. No comparison. Worth the price.
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I went from a Roku, to Apple TV HD, to a Fire TV Cube, then a Roku Ultra, and am getting a new Apple TV 4K. By far the Apple TV HD was the best experience. I feel like I’ve wasted money finding a streaming box and should have just spent the money on the Apple TV to begin with and saved myself a lot of grief.
 
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Reading the story, I am a bit confused. Does only the higher end model have an Ethernet port? As to the faster clock, I have seen the Disney app lag quite a bit with the current model. (That is, when the Disney app was not crashing.)
 
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apparatchik said:
Well, it’s $129 after all, to compete with PS5 / Xbox X at least two things would have to happen: a hardware push with an ”ultra” Apple TV version for gaming with say an M2 Pro chip with active cooling (and perhaps ray tracing hardware acceleration) at the PS5 price point; and a content (financial) push to bring IP and AAA titles from studios similar to the one they’ve done to build the Apple TV+ streaming service.

The Switch has hardware similar to an 2016 iPhone and is a success due to content. But Apple has refused to pay / finance ports and hasn’t launch or acquire first party studios either, so, no wonder it’s not competing.
Click to expand...
At this point I’m positive that Apple has no desire to compete with consoles. However, if you have Arcade and younger kids, it maybe be perfect for plopping them down in front of the TV for game time while preparing dinner. I myself am not any kind of gamer at all but enjoy the occasional Arcade game. Apple doesn’t seem to have any desire to really compete on AAA gaming, and that’s fine.
 
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Man, I’m still peeved they locked HDR10+ support behind a hardware upgrade, when it easily could’ve been implemented in software for all Apple TV 4Ks (and was originally promised as such). Maybe more people would complain if HDR10+ wasn’t such a dead format, outside of Samsung TVs
 
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I ordered the 128GB version and it has not shipped yet. While this device may seem like a disappointment if you already have an Apple TV 4K, to those without one (me!) this seems like a solid upgrade from my current non-Apple device.

I’m not sure what else Apple can do to a streaming device such as this. It’s not a great experience for many apps, and it would be a completely different kind of device if it were to handle AAA gaming. I think the beefier processor is for connecting Apple’s rumored upcoming VR goggles as well as just consuming off-the-shelf available chips. Otherwise, a snappier user experience and a better casual gaming experience is a fine upgrade, IMO. (I’ll just be happy to have a device where the audio doesn’t lose sync every other day)
 
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Orange Bat said:
I went from a Roku, to Apple TV HD, to a Fire TV Cube, then a Roku Ultra, and am getting a new Apple TV 4K. By far the Apple TV HD was the best experience. I feel like I’ve wasted money finding a streaming box and should have just spent the money on the Apple TV to begin with and saved myself a lot of grief.
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I've been very happy with the latest Roku Ultra, no issues at all. Like you said though, the experience on the AppleTV is the best. It has the cleanest interface with no ads.
 
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This is the ultimate Tim Cook Apple move. Release an updated Apple TV 4k in 2021 with a new remote, same price. Remote is $50 alone, so users can justify upgrading just for the remote and just moving their old box elsewhere. Then next year, drop the price, introduce a slightly better remote and slightly better main product. Crazy profit margins last year to now subsidize the wider reach of the cheaper hardware this year.
 
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mattopotamus said:
I've been very happy with the latest Roku Ultra, no issues at all. Like you said though, the experience on the AppleTV is the best. It has the cleanest interface with no ads.
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There’s an audio sync issue with my Ultra and my TV. I have to restart my TV everY other day, usually in the middle of what I’m watching. It’s become super frustrating.
 
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I am very happy with my ATV 4K 21. I love the simple, straight forward interface that has only the apps i need to watch whatever I want. The Google TV home page on my Sony TV is a pure mess. Looks like crap. Scrolling through all the crap on the screen is not smooth. Ads all over the place. Hard to navigate and find things especially in Google settings, which are located in different places neither of which is intuitive to find.

As for audio pass through, I don't mind how it is now as it plays Dolby Atmos and Dolby Surround without any issues and both sound great on my HT system. 4K HDR, whether Dolby Vision or plain HDR look fantastic as well. The only downside is that some streamers don't pass Dolby Vision thru the Apple TV, like Amazon or Fox Sports. But the HDR from Amazon looks very good and if I really really want to watch Amazon DV, I just use the Amazon app on my Sony TV. But some apps on the ATV are much better than the counterpart on the Google TV internal app, like ESPN. The ATV ESPN app allows the multi screen option which is not available on the Google TV app. So, all in all, I am very happy with the ATV 4K.
 
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