Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
should I buy now apple TV 4th gen.?
- Thread starter ToM7
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Nobody knows Apple's timing. With 
TV, the average is about one ever 2.5 years, but that doesn't really mean anything either. We've had upwards of 4 years between updates.
If you want what it does, buy one and enjoy it now. If money is tight, buy a refurb or even a used one. Note too that this is "black Friday" month and many stores will likely do something with this product to sweeten the deal. If an update comes out sooner than expected, sell it and buy the updated one if you want that one.
Basically, at even the price of new vs. used (re)selling prices, you might risk upwards of maybe $100 at the very most if you buy now. $100 over 10 months is risking $10/month. $100 over 20 months is risking $5/month. One less Starbucks or McDonalds meal per month mitigates up to all of that monthly risk. AND you get to enjoy the benefits of anTV now.
More simply: price vs. resale is just too low to sweat this particular decision much. Get one if you want one. It's packed with a ton of great benefits. Enjoy them for cheap.
TV, the average is about one ever 2.5 years, but that doesn't really mean anything either. We've had upwards of 4 years between updates. If you want what it does, buy one and enjoy it now. If money is tight, buy a refurb or even a used one. Note too that this is "black Friday" month and many stores will likely do something with this product to sweeten the deal. If an update comes out sooner than expected, sell it and buy the updated one if you want that one.
Basically, at even the price of new vs. used (re)selling prices, you might risk upwards of maybe $100 at the very most if you buy now. $100 over 10 months is risking $10/month. $100 over 20 months is risking $5/month. One less Starbucks or McDonalds meal per month mitigates up to all of that monthly risk. AND you get to enjoy the benefits of an
TV now.More simply: price vs. resale is just too low to sweat this particular decision much. Get one if you want one. It's packed with a ton of great benefits. Enjoy them for cheap.
Will you use it? How will you use it? You really need to answer those questions for the AppleTV or any streaming box. If you only care about Netflix, you can accomplish that with a $40 FireTV Stick or Roku. If you want to AirPlay you need an AppleTV. If you plan to use Plex, they all support it, but the AppleTV app is top notch.
I am a huge fan, and use 2 of my 3 AppleTVs every single day. The 3rd is used less often only because it is in my basement home theater which gets less use in general than the day-to-day sets.
So for 2 of my 3 boxes, they cost me about $0.30/day for my year of use. Yeah, good value.
I am a huge fan, and use 2 of my 3 AppleTVs every single day. The 3rd is used less often only because it is in my basement home theater which gets less use in general than the day-to-day sets.
So for 2 of my 3 boxes, they cost me about $0.30/day for my year of use. Yeah, good value.
Just snagged a refurbished 32gb 4th gen on eBay for $119 with free shipping and couldn't be happier.
I had a 2nd gen I purchased at launch which has been acting up recently. Constant Netflix and Hulu crashes, so I was mainly using it for screen mirroring, and running the other apps on my PS4 (which I hated doing).
Anyway, to answer your question -- i'd be surprised if and when there's a new AppleTV it will be a major overhaul, based on the previous timelines. I'd say go ahead and grab one, it's totally worth it.
I had a 2nd gen I purchased at launch which has been acting up recently. Constant Netflix and Hulu crashes, so I was mainly using it for screen mirroring, and running the other apps on my PS4 (which I hated doing).
Anyway, to answer your question -- i'd be surprised if and when there's a new AppleTV it will be a major overhaul, based on the previous timelines. I'd say go ahead and grab one, it's totally worth it.
My son is a huge Apple fan and has been for a long time. He meticulously researches a product before purchasing it. He recently purchased the AppleTV 4 and returned it. Had issues, kept freezing up, connecting, etc., next one had issues too. He returned them and purchased a Roku Ultra with 4K support. He is very happy with it. In my opinion for him to do that says a lot. I was utterly shocked he did not purchase an Apple product.