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A black field and a silver distant on a desk
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An influence adapter port, an Ethernet port, and an HDMI port
Samuel Axon
The brand new Apple TV 4K is just about identical to the final one for most individuals, and meaning it’s nonetheless the very best streaming field you should purchase if cash isn’t any object—doubly so in the event you already dwell in Apple’s ecosystem.
Extra importantly, a considerable value lower helps make it extra interesting. That lower’s nonetheless not sufficiently big to make it the very best deal on the town, although.
When it was first launched in 2017, the Apple TV 4K was positioned as a rethinking of how we strategy TV. As I wrote then, it fell far wanting these ambitions as Apple ran up in opposition to the entrenched and disparate pursuits of the varied gamers within the tv enterprise. Nonetheless, the Apple TV 4K has a killer interface, excellent image high quality, a powerful stack of options, and impeccable app help.
Since we’ve mentioned prior fashions at size earlier than, this overview will focus totally on what’s new this time round—and that begins with new costs and configuration choices.
Pricing and configurations
Let’s handle crucial factor first: This new Apple TV 4K is a greater deal than its predecessors. Its base configuration has 64GB of storage, up from 32GB within the second-generation Apple TV 4K. Higher but, that 64GB mannequin begins at $129, in comparison with $179 for the previous 32GB mannequin.
You’ll be able to double the storage to 128GB for an additional $20 at $149; the 128GB mannequin additionally incorporates a bodily Ethernet port (the bottom configuration depends fully on Wi-Fi) and help for the Thread good house networking commonplace.
Thread help is fairly area of interest, and most of the people received’t want Ethernet, both. Additionally, the Apple TV 4K doesn’t obtain movies (it solely streams them), so until you’re planning to obtain dozens and dozens of video games, you received’t want 128GB of storage. In different phrases, the $129 64GB mannequin is the correct decide for most individuals.
This drop in value is crucial factor in regards to the third-generation mannequin. The Apple TV 4K has been the very best streaming field you should purchase for no less than a few years now, however it has all the time value much more than roughly comparable streaming packing containers from Google, Amazon, or Roku, making for a questionable worth proposition. The brand new mannequin remains to be dearer than these rivals, which do an admirable job of streaming video in 4K and HDR, so the cost-conscious will nonetheless need to keep away from this one. I’ll get into why the additional value should still be value it for many individuals shortly, although.
It is value noting that there is no such thing as a HDMI cable included within the field, by the best way.
