Apple TV Can Now Be Purchased on Amazon and Will Deliver When Stock is Available

[MacRumors]

Two years after Amazon first removed the fourth-generation Apple TV from its online store, the retailer today has begun selling both the fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV boxes for customers, although all versions are currently out of stock. Over the last week the devices had received placeholder pages that stated they were "Currently unavailable," but now Amazon customers can add the 32GB Apple TV, 32GB Apple TV 4K, and 64GB Apple TV 4K to their shopping cart.

Unfortunately, each device is temporarily out of stock as of writing. Amazon notes that the Apple TV can still be added to your cart and purchased, and the company will deliver it "when available" and update you via email "as soon as we have more information." If you checkout right now, you won't be charged until the Apple TV ships from Amazon. Prices haven't changed, so the 32GB Apple TV is $149.00, the 32GB Apple TV 4K is $179.00, and the 64GB 4K model is $199.00.

Amazon's original reason behind removing the Apple TV from its website was the product's incompatibility with the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. With Amazon launching its Prime Video app for Apple TV earlier in December, the company is now placing Apple's set-top box back onto its storefront.

The fourth-generation Apple TV launched in 2015 and introduced tvOS, the first App Store on an Apple TV device, the Siri Remote, and eventually supported Apple's TV app for accumulating most of a viewer's video content into one space. The fifth-generation Apple TV 4K launched this past September and includes all of the same features as the previous model with added support for 4K HDR video playback.

Google's Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra devices are also making a return to Amazon alongside Apple TV, but as of writing these devices still have a "Currently unavailable" marker on their Amazon pages. Amazon and Google have been battling over the lack of support that each company has for the other company's products, most recently involving Google's removal of YouTube from Amazon Show and Fire TV devices. Now the companies appear to have made some form of agreement with the return of Chromecast, but Google Home still hasn't appeared on Amazon.

Article Link: Apple TV Can Now Be Purchased on Amazon and Will Deliver When Stock is Available

 

[Carlanga]

good

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Could have been false, but yesterday when these first came up, it was showing the 64GB 4K version in stock. I had set up an "alert me" email from Amazon when they came in stock and checked right after getting the email. Since it seems that pretty much NOBODY has any stock of this one, I found myself wondering if Amazon had been sitting on a small quantity or if some new ones had finally made it into stock.

So then I hop on the Apple site and sure enough, some of the local stores apparently have some in stock again. Shipping options are still showing as 4-5 weeks but pickup options appear to imply Apple has got some in (after weeks of them not being available).

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Isn't the predicate for that statement always true?

I mean, who has orders, available stock, but doesn't deliver?

 

[4jasontv]

Isn't the predicate for that statement always true?

I mean, who has orders, available stock, but doesn't deliver?

Nintendo?

 

[CrystalQuest76]

i am still happily using my Apple TV (second generation) connected to my 8 year old TV. Both devices are paid off (when bought) and provide acquitted entertainment. The devices work as well as the days they were bought. Remember when families made purchases and keep them for twenty years? No need to replace the devices and go into debt.
Saving money is not a crime.
Majority of Americans don't even have 500 dollars saved.

 

[wackymacky]

quid pro quo for Amazon prime app on Apple TV?

 

[Someyoungguy]

Apologies if this has been covered to death already, but what can a 64GB ATV do that a 32GB ATV can’t do? I have an ATV2 that doesn’t keep much, if anything, in local storage (besides configuration).

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Apologies if this has been covered to death already, but what can a 64GB ATV do that a 32GB ATV can’t do? I have an ATV2 that doesn’t keep much, if anything, in local storage (besides configuration).

There's no absolutely tangible answer to this question. Conceptually, "local storage" above 32GB could buffer more on the device if much of the 32GB is filled up with apps. I've seen people post that select "big" games take up a lot of space implying the need for more than 32GB. Apple did just recently up the local storage max to 4GB. Conceptually, if you purchased about 8 such games, they might soak up just about all available capacity.

Apples own guidance: "If you plan to use your Apple TV 4K primarily to stream movies, TV shows, and music or to play a few apps and games, you’ll probably be fine with 32GB of storage. If you download and use lots of apps and games, choose the 64GB configuration. When making your decision, keep in mind that some apps require additional storage when in use."

But fundamentally, pricing difference is $20. So I suspect much of the attraction is that $20 is such a small number for doubling storage- especially in Apple land- why not get it even if you don't think you may fill it?

Else, apply the same question to higher capacity phones, iPads, Macs, etc too. Conceptually, there is NOTHING available for any of those that can't run on the lowest capacity version, so why does anyone buy the higher capacity versions? Yes, there is a tangible difference in that stuff is purposely stored on those devices (such as a bunch of songs from iTunes) but the concept mostly remains the same (one could stream their music instead, stream their movies instead, store their files in iCloud, etc).

 

[4jasontv]

There's no absolutely tangible answer to this question. Conceptually, "local storage" above 32GB could buffer more on the device if much of the 32GB is filled up with apps. I've seen people post that select "big" games take up a lot of space implying the need for more than 32GB. Apple did just recently up the local storage max to 4GB. Conceptually, if you purchased about 8 such games, they might soak up just about all available capacity.

Apples own guidance: "If you plan to use your Apple TV 4K primarily to stream movies, TV shows, and music or to play a few apps and games, you’ll probably be fine with 32GB of storage. If you download and use lots of apps and games, choose the 64GB configuration. When making your decision, keep in mind that some apps require additional storage when in use."

But fundamentally, pricing difference is $20. So I suspect much of the attraction is that $20 is such a small number for doubling storage- especially in Apple land- why not get it even if you don't think you may fill it?

Else, apply the same question to higher capacity phones, iPads, Macs, etc too. Conceptually, there is NOTHING available for any of those that can't run on the lowest capacity version, so why does anyone buy the higher capacity versions? Yes, there is a tangible difference in that stuff is purposely stored on those devices (such as a bunch of songs from iTunes) but the concept mostly remains the same (one could stream their music instead, stream their movies instead, store their files in iCloud, etc).

OK, I'll bite. Does the entire movie buffer in all streaming apps? I know YouTube on the computer only buffers a portion of the video and you have to play it to get more. I've also seen issues with some channels where skipping ahead removes what was buffered previously. Is buffering managed by the os or the app?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

OK, I'll bite. Does the entire movie buffer in all streaming apps? I know YouTube on the computer only buffers a portion of the video and you have to play it to get more. I've also seen issues with some channels where skipping ahead removes what was buffered previously. Is buffering managed by the os or the app?

Note my use of the word "conceptually." Only Apple knows such answers on a definitive level.

 

[Kabeyun]

Funny, they’re in stock at Apple, Best Buy, B&H, Adorama, NewEgg, etc., etc. Maybe Amazon just forgot to get them before offering them up for sale. Yeah, that’s the ticket...

 

[4jasontv]

Note my use of the word "conceptually." Only Apple knows such answers on a definitive level.

So do you actually see a lack of buffering or are we just assuming the space is used for that? Has Apple ever said it does this?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Again, only Apple can answer this question with certainty. Apple does have an ambiguous quote on their website: "When making your decision, keep in mind that some apps require additional storage when in use." Read into that what you will.

I stream most of what I watch from iTunes on my Mac. However, when I've occasionally rented movies in earlier generation of TV, I could start the download, hit pause, and then occasionally check the playback status bar to see how much of the movie had downloaded to the TV. With the new 4K version, this is something easy enough for anyone to test with the "latest & greatest." Basically, rent a movie, hit pause, and regularly check the status bar to see how much has downloaded? If you leave it paused and check regularly, does it only download so much and then stop OR, if you give it enough time, will it download the entire movie to TV?

 

[tallscot]

i am still happily using my Apple TV (second generation) connected to my 8 year old TV. Both devices are paid off (when bought) and provide acquitted entertainment. The devices work as well as the days they were bought. Remember when families made purchases and keep them for twenty years? No need to replace the devices and go into debt.
Saving money is not a crime.
Majority of Americans don't even have 500 dollars saved.

I don’t recommend the new one. The remote is a horror and the UI is also horrible. The little touch pad is a disaster. I’d much rather have the tactile up/down/left/right. And because it’s black and symmetrical, you often press the menu button when you think you are presssing pause. You pick up the remote and whoops, the info panel has slid down. Seriously. It’s the worst ever.

The UI is split between their TV app and their Apple TV menu. Netflix doesn’t work with the TV app so you go back and forth. There is no info about the episode displayed in the TV app. Just a giant graphic. You click on it, it starts playing, oh it’s the one you’ve seen so you’ll exit that and end up going to the app itself anyway, which defeats the purpose of the TV app.

I recommend switching your accounts to direct instead of iTunes, if you have them via iTunes, so you have choice when you do upgrade.
[doublepost=1513870406][/doublepost]

Apologies if this has been covered to death already, but what can a 64GB ATV do that a 32GB ATV can’t do? I have an ATV2 that doesn’t keep much, if anything, in local storage (besides configuration).

Only thing is number of apps. It has games, you know.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

i am still happily using my Apple TV (second generation) connected to my 8 year old TV. Both devices are paid off (when bought) and provide acquitted entertainment. The devices work as well as the days they were bought. Remember when families made purchases and keep them for twenty years? No need to replace the devices and go into debt.
Saving money is not a crime.
Majority of Americans don't even have 500 dollars saved.

I fully get where you're coming from. The way we do it in our family is to start saving at announcement (if we indeed want the product - there never has been an Apple product that I've "needed"), and pay cash for it.

As for your tagline, we're in Steps 4, 5, and 6, and we sleep well at night.

(While we're on that subject, I saved to take flying lessons, and that has made all the difference in the world. When I go up, I know that I'm not burning money I don't have. It's a calming feeling.)

 

[LanceC]

I don’t recommend the new one. The remote is a horror and the UI is also horrible. The little touch pad is a disaster. I’d much rather have the tactile up/down/left/right. And because it’s black and symmetrical, you often press the menu button when you think you are presssing pause. You pick up the remote and whoops, the info panel has slid down. Seriously. It’s the worst ever.

The UI is split between their TV app and their Apple TV menu. Netflix doesn’t work with the TV app so you go back and forth. There is no info about the episode displayed in the TV app. Just a giant graphic. You click on it, it starts playing, oh it’s the one you’ve seen so you’ll exit that and end up going to the app itself anyway, which defeats the purpose of the TV app.
.

Agree 100% about the remote. It’s pretty much unusable. I, too, am always picking it up upside down and the touch-pad is just awful & absurdly over-sensitive. Getting the jump-back/jump-fwd 10sec things to show up in the timeline is a major nuisance and scanning is completely unintuitive. One thing I’ve found that works great though is voice-control. I don’t recall the exact words - and they matter or it won’t work - but I find it easer to say”jump ahead one minute” or “go to 30 minutes” ‘cuz that works flawlessly. Again, I always need to try ‘cuz it might be ‘*skip* to 30...” or even *scan* but it’s a useful feature. Also, very fast scanning always confused me, seeming like sometimes it worked and not others. I finally realized that when the video is paused, you can swipe L-R on the touchpad to very quickly scan forward & back. Hope some of this helps others.