If Apple TV 4K sales are so good, why would Apple produce a cheaper device? Personally I would love an Apple 4K stick for the size/transportability aspect but I’m surprised Apple would cut into those fat profit margins if it’s not necessary.
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Apple TV Gaining Traction in 4K Streaming Device Market
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Gah the 32GB 4K Apple TV hasn’t dropped in any sales in price.
But the Nvidia Shield TV has! I can get one in the UK for £50 less then the 4K Apple TV!.... off Amazon.
Hmm need to think about this hmmm...
But the Nvidia Shield TV has! I can get one in the UK for £50 less then the 4K Apple TV!.... off Amazon.
Hmm need to think about this hmmm...
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Roku is really hard to beat. It just works so so well with a great price. It's very mature and solid. By far the best and most apps. I have my apple tv 4k in the bedroom and for playing plex or emby, it comes up way short since it transcodes mkv's
On the high end, nothing touches nvidia shield
On the high end, nothing touches nvidia shield
I had a Shield before, but sold it. I had and still have my first gen Fire TV. But it’s wearing a bit down hence seeking a replacement, and as everything runs Amazon Prime now it opens up the options.
What’s the Shield like compared to the Apple TV? I’ve only played with one in the store and Apples interface is nice.
Nothing is just I’m to late in the cycle I’d rather buy the new version rather then buying it and being outdated straight away
The 4K TV won’t be outdated any time soon. It’s too capable for what it does now. Any new version will likely be a slimmed down device with less features and less power rather than an updated model.
The remote is so terrible. The touchpad is hard to control and unintuitive. Normal buttons would have been fine.
A 3 year old can figure out how to use a Roku remote or the old Apple TV remote. Adult guests in my house just give up watching tv if they have to use the new Apple TV remote, it’s so terrible.
Look I’m not saying the Apple TV remote is perfect but surely anyone who is fluent with a smart phone can work it out fairly fast?
The 32 is the right answer for almost everyone. You don't really store things on the Apple TV the way you do on iPhones/iPads. It uses the storage more like cache, pulling down app assets as needed. All the large "files" (movies and such), you're streaming off the Internet (Apple/Netflix/etc), or from a local fileserver/NAS. So it doesn't need much local storage.
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I quite like the Siri Remote - in the form I use it, it's my favorite remote. I've got it in a Griffin SurvivorPlay silicone case, with Apple's "Remote Loop" wrist strap, attached solely to give it a tail. These two additions make it harder to misplace, easier to grip, easier to orient in the hand without looking, and easier to pick up off flat surfaces. Now, I shouldn't have to add aftermarket bits to the remote - Apple should improve the shape and the material - but, in this form, it's absolutely great, it has just the buttons I need, I don't have to reach over several rows of unnecessary buttons to get to the ones I want, and everything falls naturally under my fingers. I also find the touchpad really easy to use and intuitive (there are options in the settings to vary the sensitivity of the touchpad).
Same here - fluorescent blue case and Apple Remote loop. The touchpad is great and is very much like an iPhone, the learning curve is steep initially mainly because most of us try it without the attachments that orient the remote. Considering how little a remote is used due to autoplay, it is worth the initial effort to learn.
do you not run in an HDMI cable for a receiver other devices? Hows the rest of your stuff plugged in?
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really dont understand this.
Do you not use the remote app on your phone? I like the appletv remote and Siri is nice.
Returing something over a remote seems pretty dumb to me. My harmony works fine with the appletv's also but I mostly use my watch or phone as the remote.
The older remotes arent any better unless you prefer the wheel click button. I prefer a track pad
I've seen so many others complain of the Siri remote. I'm not the only one. It looks and feels out of place.
Touch remotes are usually just so unreliable they are either too sensitive or not sensitive enough (either way using the remote or remote app).
It's not dumb at all, it was such an annoyance to use. In saying that there were other reasons I returned it that I can't remember. The ATV 3 still works perfect so why change
Im not sure why you think the 4th gen is underpowered it has a much better chip than the 3rd gen.
If you prefer the old os to the new than thats you I do not. Having an App Store is HUGE I have no idea why you dont think thats a big selling feature thats the main feature you'd want. You can get many more apps that arent offered on the standard old ones.
Ive had every appletv since the 2nd gen. Jailbroke that one, third and up I didnt. I side loaded a few apps on the 4th gen and the newer4k appletv(kodi, popcorn time, safari, emulator). The interface is better IMO than the older appletv's and I like the option to choose light mode or dark mode now.
Speed wide my appletv4k is slightly faster than my 4th gen I use both daily.
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I mean I guess if other people dont like it then might as well not like it. Ive always used the remote app on my older gens also but I really dont see why people dont like the remote. Once you get used to it I like it more then the old small basic one without Siri. Id want a newer gen just for the App Store thats the main reason I got the new ones. A remote is so small to me in terms of using it because I have a harmony remote I use for everything or the remote app. I like the normal remote for Siri and I actually like the track pad its not bad at all.
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I really dont understand how anyone cant figure out how to use the remote. Its not rocket science.
Yes, the remote is typical Apple-oversimplified crap. I paired my Samsung TV's remote to my ATV4K and it works really great. Maybe all the functions available on the Samsung remote are also there on the ATV4K remote but I like simple buttons rather that double-tap-slide-whatever.
BTW using Infuse I can stream media located on my Mac Pro just like I should have been able to do with the ATV4K right out of the box.
All of my TVs don't have anything plugged into them except an Apple TV.
Based off your post, you didn't read mine very well. I listed a bunch of reasons to use tvOS, and I also addressed everything you mentioned.
I just think that people shopping for an ATV should go for the ATV4K and not the ATV4 unless they can get a really good deal on the ATV4.
Besides, just because the ATV4 has a better/newer A-chip in it than the ATV3, doesn't mean that it wasn't underpowered at launch. The ATV3 uses a very basic and simple UI, and the A5 chip is perfect for what it does.
At launch, the ATV4 got a chip that was already a few generations old, the rumors were that the ATV4 was to get the A9, or at least the A8X that was in the iPad a year earlier. Instead, it got a much older (for tech) chip.
Now, compare that to the ATV4k's A10X Fusion chip at launch. The ATV4k was done right. Even, with the huge improvement of hardware over the ATV4, it only costs $30 more.
I am not sure if they are.
I also don't think that ATV sales are that good, regardless with what this article says.
Almost everyone I talk to have no idea what an ATV is. They all think it is an actual television. I think Apple's marketing for the ATV really sucks.
But, almost everyone I talk to knows what a firestick and Roku is.
While there is a huge market for the Apple TV at about $100 below its current price, there is not much for apple itself in it. Even if profits are minimal, what Apple chip will be cheap enough to go into such a device and stand the tasks? The Apple Watch chips?
Apple doesn't care for ad revenue from the stick devices, so after-sales profit is also not in play.
I don't see Apple making such a device.
I understand your point, and probably would have agreed to it a few years ago.
But, today's Apple seems to be trying to cash in every chance they can get, especially with services. Services revenue has increase a lot over the past few years, and maybe Apple plans on further increasing this revenue with a TV service (assuming it is not free).
Capturing more market share by selling cheaper ATVs at a cheaper margin would probably be the best way for Apple to profit from a paid TV service.
I personally would rather them have a better product with lower market share, which was typical of Apple of the past, than to have a FireStick type product.
Although, I still think the ATV in it's current state is a little over priced.
I agree that Apple's lowest streaming device should be the ATV4 onwards, because of the excellent quality it delivers.
It is not really overpriced - the thing is like an iPad Pro without the display.
Apple can and should take a hit on the profit here if it plans to use ATV as a conduit for "services" it plans in the future.
As for a "Stick" ATV, regardless of the success other manufacturers have with the sticks, most are just stuck in an HDMI port from day one. People who claim that they could use it while traveling are kidding - a hotel room that provides a HDTV also has enough free content; and I mostly use my hotel room to crash, sleep, S/S/S and start the next day.
The current ATVs at a price point of about $50-60 less would be good.
I can agree with this. The current pricing structure doesn't make any sense to me anyways. At a minimum, I think the ATV4 should have dropped to less than $100.
IDK about this. I bring an Apple TV with me when I travel, I have for years. I don't see what the big deal is with traveling with the current size of the ATV, it is not that big, and a stick would only save a tiny bit of space.
This is where we disagree. If you would have said ATV4K, I would have agreed, but the ATV4 launched with a much older A8 chip, compare that to the original iPad Pro which had the A9X, which is much more powerful.
Apple made a huge mistake promoting and defaulting to HDR turned on full time. It ruins most programs which are not natively HDR. 4K SDR is the proper setting with auto chroma match turned on. I personally opt for 1080p SDR, as there is so little true 4K out there, and it saves on bandwidth and load time, with both Apple and Netflix supporting 1080p HDR.
Most people don’t need a full ATV 4K box. The vast majority of installed TVs are still HD, without smart features, that millennial cord cutters just want to stream services on, and there are many cheaper options to Apple, especially considering they are likely Android customers as well.
Add to that Apple plans to launch a free for Apple devices streaming service of original programs. All it takes is one GOT sized hit to make that platform a success. But they need eyeballs for that to happen.
When you consider Apple TV sold the ATV 3 for $69 when the ATV was released, it’s not hard to imagine this dongle for that price, especially if it leaves out things like AirPlay for a consumer base that’s already not interested in it, or can’t use it.
Further, a dongle makes sense because people seem resistant to taking up space for one more box plugged into their TVs. The Apple TV is cumbersome, with a cable to power, and then more cables to the TV. A single device plugged into a port on the TV would be clean and simple to set up, and more appealing.
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I should've been specific - apologies. I meant the ATV 4K and the iPod Pro 10.5" in the comparison.
This is interesting - I have never tried traveling with one. Wonder if you baffled the TSA when they X-rayed the ATV in your luggage, especially, when it was in your carry-on.
This is interesting - I have never tried traveling with one. Wonder if you baffled the TSA when they X-rayed the ATV in your luggage, especially, when it was in your carry-on.
I’ve taken a frozen block of vegetables through TSA and they wanted to take a look, but no issues. When it comes to electronics, though, they pretty much know what they’re looking at.
Traveling with an ATV can be a challenge. Mine has never worked right without an internet connection, and depending on the WiFi login method, won’t be possible in some locations since the ATV does not have a web browser. When it works it’s great, but it’s still cumbersome to travel with and set up. I tend to travel with a Lightning to HDMI adapter for that reason, since I can usually plug into the HDMI cable connecting to a TV, and just plug my iPhone directly in. I’d definitely be interested in a smaller more transportable ATV dongle, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t have the same limitations for connecting with WiFi networks that the current model does.
ATVs are not a problem for the TSA.
Actually, when ever my wife and I travel together, we bring a bunch of "marital aids" with us. I always put them in my wife's bag just in case some thing happens, which I would find it hilarious to watch her explain what they were. But, it has never happened.
I'm sure it looks funny on the X-ray though.
A lot of people don't know this, but you can connect your ATV to most hotels' Wifi, even if they have a browser login. You can also use AirPlay.
I am just copy and pasting a post I did a few days ago on a thread with a person with a similar issue:
I take my Apple TV with me when ever I travel, and I can always connect it to the corporate chains' Wifi.
Every hotel room I have stayed in at least the past 6 years has instructions in the room on how to connect to their Wifi, and they all have a phone number listed on their for help. Call the number, tell the person what you are trying to do. They will ask for your ATV's MAC address, and they enter it in their system. Then just select the network name on the ATV and it will connect.
Now, whether AirPlay will work, I am not sure if it will on every network, but I have used AirPlay in two place after having the Helpdesk connect my ATV, and it worked both times.
Anyways, try it out, it doesn't take long. Every time I have done it, it took longer to read out the MAC address than to get a hold of the Wifi support rep as a person almost always answer the line for me and I don't have to be put on hold.
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