I don't game and my previous-gen Apple TV 4K is still working fine so no need for this - at least not in my house. I have to laugh when reduced size and weight are listed as improvements. Most people just place the unit beside or behind their TV set or monitor and leave it there.
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New Apple TV Now Available at Apple Stores With These 10 Changes
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Starting today, the new Apple TV 4K is available for pickup at select Apple Stores around the world, with no pre-order required. Pricing starts at $129 for the 64GB model without Ethernet and Thread support, while the full-spec 128GB model costs $149.
The new Apple TV is also available for walk-in customers at Apple Stores that have stock, but we recommend arranging a pickup just in case.
To order a product with Apple Store pickup, add the product to your bag on Apple.com or in the Apple Store app, proceed to checkout, select the "I'll pick it up" option, enter your ZIP or postal code, choose an available Apple Store location, select a pickup date, and select a 15-minute check-in window. Payment is completed online, and a valid government-issued photo ID and the order number may be required upon pickup.
Here's a recap of 5 changes with the new Apple TV:
- A15 Bionic chip: The new Apple TV is equipped with the A15 Bionic chip for up to 50% faster performance than the previous model with the A12 Bionic chip. Apple says this results in improved responsiveness and faster navigation. Apple adds that graphics performance is up to 30% faster for smoother gaming.
- 4GB of RAM: The new Apple TV is equipped with 4GB of RAM, compared to 3GB in the previous model, for improved responsiveness.
- 128GB storage option: The new Apple TV is available with up to 128GB of storage, compared to a max of 64GB for the previous model.
- HDR10+ support: In addition to Dolby Vision, the new Apple TV now supports HDR10+ content in supported apps.
- Lower pricing: The new Apple TV starts at $129 with 64GB of storage, while the previous model started at $179 with 32GB of storage. While you need to spend $149 to get an Ethernet port, Thread support, and 128GB of storage, that's still cheaper than any of last year's models.
Article Link: New Apple TV Now Available at Apple Stores With These 10 Changes
Hey MacRumors, I fixed it for you. The other 5 "features" you mentioned are not usable features. They are inconsequential.
HDR10+ support is only good for Samsung TVs that refuse to have Dolby Vision but I left it in there as this is important to a number of people.
Cheers!
Cheaper shipping allows Apple to make more money ... helps reduce pricing for actual products.
Baseline: People should buy whatever they want to buy for whatever reason. They don't need to justify it to me, or anyone else. Cool? Cool.
That being said... watching people twist and construct reasons why they need to replace either of the previous 4K ATVs with this one is amusing. Apple is a master of leveraging consumer culture and feeding people's perceptions about new/more = better. The new ATVs didn't merit anything more than an update to a spec sheet—A solid mid-cycle upgrade that likely serves design and manufacturing efficiencies. Yet, Apple put a bow on it, declared it amazing, and MacRumors, et al. line up to carry their water and promote it for free. What a fascinating time to be alive.
That being said... watching people twist and construct reasons why they need to replace either of the previous 4K ATVs with this one is amusing. Apple is a master of leveraging consumer culture and feeding people's perceptions about new/more = better. The new ATVs didn't merit anything more than an update to a spec sheet—A solid mid-cycle upgrade that likely serves design and manufacturing efficiencies. Yet, Apple put a bow on it, declared it amazing, and MacRumors, et al. line up to carry their water and promote it for free. What a fascinating time to be alive.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
IMO, your thinking is mostly solid. Lighter could actually be a problem here as rigid cables might be able to push this off a shelf as they sometimes straighten out a bend. On the other hand, some people will velcro these to the back of a TV and lighter weight puts less strain on velcro straps and glue/tape.
Thinner seems nearly solely tied to less manufacturing waste. However, some people velcro these to the back of a TV and a wall mounted TV is often very close to the wall. Thinner can squeeze into tighter spaces better than thicker.
Personally, I see neither as a benefit at all for my own purposes. But others might.
Very lame that they dropped Thread support from the base model.
I'll buy one, in fact I can't wait to buy one..
..just as soon as they add full audio passthrough support.
(I might have a very long wait)
..just as soon as they add full audio passthrough support.
(I might have a very long wait)
I tried to get my kids into it but they don't seem interested. They would much rather play Roblox on the iPad and have a messenger open to talk to their friends at the same time playing together.
Apple needs more multiplayer type games.
Would be pretty great if we could get emulators like AetherSX2 on AppleTV.
The A15 should have more than enough performance, but would require jailbreak.
Being fanless will reduce costs, make the device quieter, and improve long-term reliability (less parts that can fail, less dust ingested into device, etc)
Besides, the A15 is powerful enough and cool enough that it just doesn’t need a fan. Did you ever wish your iPhone or iPad had a fan?
I would love to use it to stream Steam games and Sony PS Now and maybe even that Microsoft thing.
Yes I don’t understand the storage. I would love it if it mirrored my photos or something with all that space.
MATTER SUPPORT
You missed that in the list [again] so I helped you out there a bit.
You missed that in the list [again] so I helped you out there a bit.
All AppleTVs are already able to stream your iCloud Photo Library regardless of storage.
This would be like having a 600hp car and only using it to check your mail every day.
Yeah, wouldn't that be great? Except whoops, that's an existential threat to Apple's App Store money punching bag, so no game streaming apps or even a web browser for the ATV for yuo.
An interesting little box, the ATV is. I certainly enjoy mine. The extent to which it's utterly neutered and kneecapped is such a shame, though.
Its easier to get people to upgrade that way. You expect them to develop better games and other use cases that make use of the better processor? 😆
I believe tvOS 16 already provides support for Matter on the 2021 4K Apple TV.
AFAIK, that’s part of the 16.1 update and not unique to this new Apple TV…
Yes I know…one of our primary uses. But it is real janky and maybe would be better if it just copied the files given all that space.
Not for upgrading purposes....
But for Marketshare the lower price might help.... ATV is the WORSE selling streaming device in the market and always has been. HDR10+ support has been in $25 streaming sticks. The only thing ATV did others did not was add useless storage as 98% of people aren't buying and downloading digital movies or gaming on it.
The real story is made the price almost competitive.... but still a miss IMO as it's great for that 2% that needs storage and games on it. They really needed to get this $99 or less.
Apple has really tried to sell an ecosystem device that I don't think matters to most people. It's great you can view your photos and access your Apple Music Library.... but most people aren't listening to music through their TV's without a good audio system or looking at photos. Airplay to me never works as well as Google's cast.... which is buttery smooth, and you can still share most if not all that content from an Apple device to other streaming devices which makes it more niche which makes the premium price not something people have been willing to pay.
$129 price point with storage is accessible to most budgets. It still is a hard sell when you compare it to some $50 streaming sticks if you have zero use for storage which is most people.