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A number of reasons.

1) Tighter integration with my other apple devices. I can airplay photos from my phone to my Apple TV to show my friends, I can access Apple Music and podcasts, games via Apple Arcade, and there are niche third party apps from developers which you normally wouldn't find preloaded on a smart TV (for example, I am using the "Play" app, which is something like an RSS feed for YouTube videos). Heck, Zoom even recently released an app for the Apple TV, though I admittedly haven't had a chance to play around with it yet (and maybe I never will).

2) I like the idea of my smart TV not being connected to the internet ever and limiting the manufacturer's ability to track me.

3) Once you have 1 Apple TV in the house, it's pretty easy to set up subsequent ones. It just feels more convenient that way, and I don't really hate the tv remote design either.

This in itself justifies the price of adding an Apple TV set top box to my TV, plus it isn't really that pricey either.
Does the Apple TV give you better picture/audio than the TVs native app for stuff like Max and Netflix ?
 
Yes, I'm aware all streaming devices have a small amount of storage space for the OS and the streaming service apps and stuff, but I was referring specifically to the storage space used to store purchased media content. I guess I wasn't clear enough when I wrote

"I also would like to see Apple offer an Apple TV without storage for around $50 to compete against Roku devices and Amazon Fire sticks. Great for those who just want to stream (not purchase) content"



Are we talking about the same Apple that charges $200 for 256GB of storage on a Mac? That's $100 per 128GB.

Remove the 128GB storage from the Apple TV 4K which is priced at $149 and you get a $49 Apple TV.
That’s not how margin’s work. Also there is no way Apple is going to offer a $50 ATV. They don’t market to the low cost tier, like ever.

My Apple TV in operation is the last model featuring optical out. No way I would give that up.
Optical doesn’t support Atmos. I’m pretty darn happy with Atmos out of the ATV4K and I have a discrete Atmos setup, not some soundbar upfiring BS. Either way, optical is dead to most with HDMI being king. I’ve had optical and I don’t miss it, too limited these days.
 
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Are we talking about the same Apple that charges $200 for 256GB of storage on a Mac? That's $100 per 128GB.

Remove the 128GB storage from the Apple TV 4K which is priced at $149 and you get a $49 Apple TV.
You realize those are just made up costs that Apple is adding? Macs use integrated storage these days and the cost difference between 128GB and 256GB during manufacturing is almost zero.
 
They better keep an ethernet port on at least one of the versions.
I didn't even think of that being an option and if this happens, damn you for speaking it into existence

I'm obsessed with hardwiring everything. Which is a challenge or problem when you have no idea how to run cabling in walls etc lol
I can't say I've ever watched anything on Apple TV+, nothing looks decent!
You're really missing out! Silo is amazing, stick with it! For all Mankind was great for the first couple seasons. Severance is supposed to be awesome along with several other really good shows. Coda was an incredible movie, everyone should watch it. They don't have the quantity Netflix does but almost everything they have is good to really good.
Who is ever first with AV1 support be it a new apple tv or new nvidia shield I will buy 2. All my other apple devices support av1 and i would like to switch my server from H265 to AV1 or just jump straight to H266.
We aren't getting another Shield

I'm all in for AV1 support though, mostly give us audio passthrough and all DV profiles for local files
Just cause almost nobody has an 8k TV doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. With that logic we’d never get to 6k monitors or any advancements in tech.

Plus it’s absolutely worth it if you have recordings in 8k+

If you’ve seen true 8k content on an 8k TV it’s beautiful.
bro chill on the 8K lol

TV is still 720p. If you're lucky you're getting programs in 1080p, but thats not even the standard as plenty of things/sources are 720p. Lot's of stuff isn't even available in 4k streaming. Almost zero sports content is 4k, most football/sports are 720p. That's slowly changing to 1080p with some rare 4k sprinkled in. 4k isn't even the standard on streaming content. Plenty of shows/docs aren't in 4k.

4K has been a thing between 10-20 years depending on when you want to say it started, and we are probably nowhere near 50% of content even being available in 4k. I'm sure a huge % of people that watch stuff in 4k don't even know it or wouldn't notice a difference. 8K content isn't coming anywhere near soon to justify paying for 8K stuff. Sony used it as marketing on the PS5 box and they even removed it. Honestly 8k may never really come. People won't be able to tell the difference, it will costs too much, file sizes will be insane with little benefit, lots of 4k movies aren't even real 4k-especially non CGI/animated stuff. The jump from 4K>8K isn't going to be near the previous jumps we've seen. Average people won't have ways to watch it either.

I'm Mr Give me the 100% best quality on earth possible. Biggest most expensive OLED, 100% OG quality pure uncompressed 4k Dolby Vision with Atmos...but 8k isn't anywhere close to even thinking about being a thing. Probably never will be.
That’s not how margin’s work. Also there is no way Apple is going to offer a $50 ATV. They don’t market to the low cost tier, like ever.


Optical doesn’t support Atmos. I’m pretty darn happy with Atmos out of the the ATV4K and I have a discrete Atmos setup, not some soundbar upfiring BS. Either way, optical is dead to most with HDMI being king. I’ve had optical and I don’t miss it, too limited these days.
Ya Apple isn't doing that. I'd be moderately surprised if we get a $99 one. That's been rumored for years without happening. apple isn' in the business of offering mediocre product that noticeably isn't that great out of the box. Apple always has great margins and of many reasons I just don't see them offering a poverty streamer or something that cheap.
 
Why is Apple so bad at naming some of its product lines? I’m looking at iPads, Pencils and Apple TV’s.
 
If its just a spec bump, then why bother? I had an apple tv HD for 9 years and was still going strong. I gave it to my parents when I bought the new 4K one with the updated remote control.

These things are incredibly well made and blow away the TV's UI. Now if you're going to add new features like a facetime camera, or also make it a smart speaker with new Apple Intelligence, then yeah.
Personally, I don't want a camera or anything else added to it. I'd really only like it if they brought back the optical port for audio listening. I have an older receiver that doesn't have HDMI and it would be nice to just throw an appleTV on it and be able to stream music to it that way even without the screen kind of like the old Airport Express.
 
It has been nearly two years since the Apple TV last received a hardware upgrade, so you may be wondering when a new model will be released.
WHY would we wonder that? The existing Apple TV is perfectly adequate for all 4K streaming tasks, and will continue to be for years to come. Why this perceived need for "new" versions? To feed the insatiable need for corporate profit growth?
 
A camera in the AppleTV for FaceTime would be convenient but
1. My AppleTV is currently placed in a way that would not be good for getting the picture or the sound
2. I don't want another uncontrolled camera or microphone in my home
 
I could do with a new Apple TV Pro with Ethernet and Optical out to enjoy lossless audio on my stereo. I mean, they are pushing Lossless audio and Classical Music but then don't offer hardware to go with that.
I bought an HDMI audio extractor. It gives you an optical and HDMI output. No degradation in audio or video quality. Very cheap to buy too.
 
Owner of 3 4k AppleTVs: The 2 seconds a faster processor will save me in loading up a 2 hour movie is not worth the $XX price?

Is there something I’m missing? Surely this cant be all? Better processing?

Idk seems odd to upgrade from the previous model?
 
Plenty of good to great shows on Apple TV+. Just to name a few...
  • Ted Lasso
  • Slow Horses
  • Masters of the Air
  • Silo
  • Severance
  • Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
  • Black Bird
  • H/jack
Nope. None of them appeal to me. I currently have a free 6 month Apple TV+ subscription and I seriously can't find anything at all I'd want to watch.
 
Support for UHD would be very welcome. Especially as our satellite dish seems to have died and BBC iPlayer has some great content in UHD - especially nature programmes. UHD is only supported on TVs directly (eg LG) AGAIK.

Thinking about it more though - this maybe an app issue with iPlayer rather than the Apple TV?
I asked the BBC about the problem and they said they support MPEG-DASH encoding, Apple uses its own protocol, HLS - which the BBC does not support. Consequently the BBC only makes available the more basic streaming quality on AppleTV - their programming is not even 1080i/p, it's 720p and definitely no UHD. Given the BBC is the UK's primary broadcaster and viewers are required to pay a license fee, it's a truly appalling situation.
 
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are we due for a new Apple TV? the 2021 version is still good for modern requirement
Heck, the 2015 model which I currently have is still good today. As someone else mentioned, we are still dealing with 1080P for the most part. Amazon, Netflix and Apple TV+ do have 4K content but for the most part most of the stuff is still 1080P.
 
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With smart tv's having every streaming app available (including Apple TV+), what is the point of an Apple TV nowadays?
The problem Apple solves is the lack of long term support by manufacturers and streaming services.

Every *TV maker* / *Streaming Service* can’t support a million different TV’s forever, so after a few years your smart TV won’t be so smart anymore.

This is where Apple (and other streaming boxes) come in.

Also, most Smart TV’s UI is complete trash even from the start.

I recently bought an 65” LG G4 and even though it’s supposed to have their new super fast CPU and they offer one of the better UI’s out there (it’s ad free at least) it’s still very ugly and slow compared to my 2021 4K Apple TV.
 
I asked the BBC about the problem and they said they support MPEG-DASH encoding, Apple uses its own protocol, HLS - which the BBC does not support. Consequently the BBC only makes available the more basic streaming quality on AppleTV - their programming is not even 1080i/p, it's 720p and definitely no UHD. Given the BBC is the UK's primary broadcaster and viewers are required to pay a license fee, it's a truly appalling situation.
Worse than that they don't have have subtitles on Apple TV BBC iPlayer at all. It is on iPhone and iPad and coding should be same and I have asked BBC many times and they keep saying same response that it is very technical challenge problem and apparently Apple TV don't support same subtitle file, no idea if true though. I end up taking Dad older Roku just for BBC iPlayer and everything else on Apple TV.
 
I asked the BBC about the problem and they said they support MPEG-DASH encoding, Apple uses its own protocol, HLS - which the BBC does not support. Consequently the BBC only makes available the more basic streaming quality on AppleTV - their programming is not even 1080i/p, it's 720p and definitely no UHD. Given the BBC is the UK's primary broadcaster and viewers are required to pay a license fee, it's a truly appalling situation.
Thanks for that. Fortunately our LG TV supports iPlayer with UHD over cable, but it’s annoying as it’s the only app we use on the TV!
 
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With smart tv's having every streaming app available (including Apple TV+), what is the point of an Apple TV nowadays?

UX and privacy.

Your smart TV "fingerprints" your screen every second to record what you are watching or playing and then Samsung/Sony/LG/etc sell that data - along with your location - to advertisers.


As a result, many people are buying new smart TVs, but never connecting them to the internet, allowing the Apple TV to handle all of your streaming needs. I'm one of them.
 
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I didn't even think of that being an option and if this happens, damn you for speaking it into existence

I'm obsessed with hardwiring everything. Which is a challenge or problem when you have no idea how to run cabling in walls etc lol

You're really missing out! Silo is amazing, stick with it! For all Mankind was great for the first couple seasons. Severance is supposed to be awesome along with several other really good shows. Coda was an incredible movie, everyone should watch it. They don't have the quantity Netflix does but almost everything they have is good to really good.

We aren't getting another Shield

I'm all in for AV1 support though, mostly give us audio passthrough and all DV profiles for local files

bro chill on the 8K lol

TV is still 720p. If you're lucky you're getting programs in 1080p, but thats not even the standard as plenty of things/sources are 720p. Lot's of stuff isn't even available in 4k streaming. Almost zero sports content is 4k, most football/sports are 720p. That's slowly changing to 1080p with some rare 4k sprinkled in. 4k isn't even the standard on streaming content. Plenty of shows/docs aren't in 4k.

4K has been a thing between 10-20 years depending on when you want to say it started, and we are probably nowhere near 50% of content even being available in 4k. I'm sure a huge % of people that watch stuff in 4k don't even know it or wouldn't notice a difference. 8K content isn't coming anywhere near soon to justify paying for 8K stuff. Sony used it as marketing on the PS5 box and they even removed it. Honestly 8k may never really come. People won't be able to tell the difference, it will costs too much, file sizes will be insane with little benefit, lots of 4k movies aren't even real 4k-especially non CGI/animated stuff. The jump from 4K>8K isn't going to be near the previous jumps we've seen. Average people won't have ways to watch it either.

I'm Mr Give me the 100% best quality on earth possible. Biggest most expensive OLED, 100% OG quality pure uncompressed 4k Dolby Vision with Atmos...but 8k isn't anywhere close to even thinking about being a thing. Probably never will be.

Ya Apple isn't doing that. I'd be moderately surprised if we get a $99 one. That's been rumored for years without happening. apple isn' in the business of offering mediocre product that noticeably isn't that great out of the box. Apple always has great margins and of many reasons I just don't see them offering a poverty streamer or something that cheap.

No I won’t chill on the 8K. I stated before people have 8k video recordings.

If it’s not relevant to you don’t sweat it.

Apple isn’t known to not push the envelope to expensive standards such as their 6k pro displays.
 
ATV is hands down the worst piece of Apple gear I own. Forever having to reboot, reinstall apps, and wait for spinning wheels. It’s horrible.
 
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Just cause almost nobody has an 8k TV doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. With that logic we’d never get to 6k monitors or any advancements in tech.

Plus it’s absolutely worth it if you have recordings in 8k+

If you’ve seen true 8k content on an 8k TV it’s beautiful.

Let me repeat.....it's not worth it and I'll add, consumers and even experts within the field, are down on 8K having any sort of widespread adoption in the foreseeable future. Also, again, you have to have screen sizes that are huge to notice any difference between 4K and 8K and that's not going to change.

Nobody doubts that it's beautiful, but there is little to no incentive to push support for 8K 60 when the number of people that would actually be able to take advantage of it could be counted on two hands.
 
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