Apple TV 4K vs Apple TV 4th Gen for AirPlay

[jake.klusewitz]

Hi! I own an iPhone and MacBook Pro and want to be able to seamlessly AirPlay my devices to my TV.

I already have a 4K TV, capable of running 4K apps, so I don't really need the Apple TV for the 4K capabilities. If I ignore the 4K aspect of the new Apple TV, and only want to use it for AirPlay, should I get the new model, or stick with the 4th generation? I wasn't sure if any of the upgrades they did to the 4K edition would improve the Airplay feature, and I can't seem to find anything online about this.

Thanks!

 

[benji888]

Yeah, that's because AirPlay 2 has been delayed, which should support 4K, (and multiple audio devices). AirPlay 2 was pulled during the iOS 11 beta process and now they are saying it will be coming in a future iOS 11 update, with no time specified.

If you own any HD iTunes movies or TV shows, apple is upgrading to UHD for free, for titles released in UHD, but, for streaming only, no downloading, (TV shows coming soon, movies are already being added). (So, no, you can't airplay it in 4K from your Mac, as far as we know apple is only allowing 4K iTunes streaming on ATV 4K.) So, this could be a reason for ATV 4K.

If your iPhone is capable of taking 4K videos, then, when airplay 2 is added to iOS 11 and tvOS 11, you'll be able to stream your 4K iPhone videos in 4K on your ATV 4K. You may be able to stream other 4K content from your iPhone in 4K with airplay 2, but, not sure about this.

So, if you don't have any iTunes HD movies, and you don't care about 4K videos from your iPhone, then get the ATV. If you want to airplay in 4K, get the ATV 4K, airplay 2 is coming soon.

 

[jake.klusewitz]

That's incredibly helpful!! Thanks! Any idea if it will run smoother/faster for non-4K content, compared to the 4th Gen? Or are they likely to run about the same?

Yeah, that's because AirPlay 2 has been delayed, which should support 4K, (and multiple audio devices). AirPlay 2 was pulled during the iOS 11 beta process and now they are saying it will be coming in a future iOS 11 update, with no time specified.

If you own any HD iTunes movies or TV shows, apple is upgrading to UHD for free, for titles released in UHD, but, for streaming only, no downloading, (TV shows coming soon, movies are already being added). (So, no, you can't airplay it in 4K from your Mac, as far as we know apple is only allowing 4K iTunes streaming on ATV 4K.) So, this could be a reason for ATV 4K.

If your iPhone is capable of taking 4K videos, then, when airplay 2 is added to iOS 11 and tvOS 11, you'll be able to stream your 4K iPhone videos in 4K on your ATV 4K. You may be able to stream other 4K content from your iPhone in 4K with airplay 2, but, not sure about this.

So, if you don't have any iTunes HD movies, and you don't care about 4K videos from your iPhone, then get the ATV. If you want to airplay in 4K, get the ATV 4K, airplay 2 is coming soon.