The Apple TV 4K will go on sale Friday. This should make it a huge seller. Apple has dramatically reduced the price on all models, doubled storage, and added features to make it the best Apple TV Value ever.
However, the Apple TV’s new model is largely unchanged from its predecessor. Over at Chris Welch, The Verge praises the new A15 chip as “more snappy and responsive than ever before” but also admits that “the only area where I’ve noticed the extra speed this time is when pulling up the multitasking view.” He also notes that apps are faster to load, but “you’d be hard-pressed to feel that difference if you’re upgrading from the prior 4K.”
CNET Eli Blumenthal tested the new processor with the NBA 2K23 Apple Arcade Edition and found that animations lacked “fluidity and sharpness” despite the extra power. And TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington noted that while the chip did “generally make things snappier when it comes to navigating between the Home Screen and apps,” he also said he’d be “hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and my 2021 Apple TV in a blind test.”
HDR10+ was also added to the TVs, which many reviewers found very pleasing. It’s mainly a feature for Samsung TVs, however, as that’s only of the only manufacturers that doesn’t support Dolby Vision. The Siri Remote works the same regardless of the additions to USB-C. So you won’t get a U1 chip for precise location tracking. And while it’s lighter and a touch smaller than previous versions, Welch noted, “ it looks like the same old Apple TV with a matte top and glossy, dust-magnet sides.”
We’ll have our own review of the Apple TV 4K soon, but in the meantime, you might want to consider Amazon has the 2021 model at $100 (79 percent off)..
