Since I returned the first AppleTV 4K, the replacement unit has worked flawlessly. The interface is excellent & easy to use. The quality of the video content is first-rate & the audio is stunning. I added front height speakers to enable Dolby Atmos sound from my system. It is truly amazing to hear. If you've been thinking about adding Atmos speakers, wait no longer. You won't believe the improvement in sound.
So, my original grade of 3 stars has been moved up to 5 stars. It is another excellent product from Apple.
I love all things Apple. I have 2 iPhones (my wife & I), a MacBook Pro, an Apple TV3 in my bedroom & an Apple TV 4K in the living room. Unfortunately, I had to return my first Apple TV 4K. I experienced what many buyers of the ATV 4K have - the picture would flicker off & then back on occasionally. This would continue for a while & then the next time the ATV would go off, the video never came back on even though the audio would continue to play. Nothing could fix this except to unplug the ATV to do a hard reboot. The whole process would then start again.
I received my second ATV 4K 2 days ago. So far, this unit has performed as it should. Until I have proof that this unit won't start doing the same thing, I can't give the ATV 4K more than 3 stars.
When it is working, the picture & sound are fantastic. I thought 4K, UHD, and/or DolbyVision were primarily improvements in video quality. But, wow - the audio improvement may be more dramatic than the video improvement. I love there ATV 4K when it works. It produces excellent video & audio. Apple needs to determine what is causing so many of their units to cut out. Apple recommends using a particular Belkin cable to ensure proper data transfer. I've bought one of these cables & it should arrive today.
I will return to this review if the circumstances change concerning the performance of the ATV 4K.
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Compare Apple TV products
| Price | From: - | From: - |
| Ratings | (16,601) | (18,359) |
| Capacity | 32GB, 64GB | 32GB |
| Video Output | 2160p, Dolby Vision and HDR10 | 1080p |
| Audio Output | Up to Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound | Up to Dolby Atmos 360-degree cinema sound |
| Processor | A10X Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture | A8 chip with 64-bit architecture |
| Siri Remote |
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Reviews with images
Expensive, yes. Still my favorite streaming box? Of course
I have two Apple TV 4K models, both 32gb each. I bought the first one at Target in September 2019 after owning an Apple TV 3rd gen for 6 years.This second Apple TV 4K was bought for a pretty stupid reason: Apple Fitness+ and Apple's unwillingness to let us AirPlay Fitness+ to even HomeKit enabled TVs.This wasn't a purchase I was going to make when I bought the 4K TV in my bedroom; it is $180 so I bought a $50 Fire Stick for streaming for the bedroom TV.But as I lose weight and get into better shape by monitoring what I eat, going into a caloric deficit, and exercising with Fitness+, the lack of AirPlay for that service meant I needed to get another Apple TV 4K.Could I have just used the Apple TV in my living room? Sure, but the hardwood and floor level blinds make me leery of doing so. Exercising in my bedroom is my preferred way to do things as there is carpet.Now, how does it perform? How does it stack up to my (now no longer owned) Fire Stick 4K?The interface is buttery smooth on this box. It was smooth on the Fire Stick as well, but I had more internet connection errors on the Fire Stick. I have a mesh wifi system with one beacon outside in the utility closet, which is close to my bedroom, and one in my office. For whatever reason, sometimes the Fire Stick would tell me I didn't have an internet connection but my Apple TV in the living room did.The interface on the Apple TV is just better. Full stop. It's clean, the UX is better even if it isn't the greatest it's still decent and easier to navigate than the Fire Stick.Voice control with Siri is hit or miss for most people. Depending on what I am asking for, Siri will either find it or give me some convoluted nonsense. The Fire Stick was a bit better but not by much. Where Apple pulls ahead in the voice assistant feature of the streaming box wars is being able to search across multiple apps and services, something I sorely missed when when using Alexa on my Fire Stick.The resolution is great; I have two 4K TVs from LG, with HDR and HomeKit, one 49" in the living room and a 43" in the bedroom mounted to the wall. The picture may vary from TV to TV but I find it incredibly sharp. One thing to note is with this box you need an HDMI 2.0 cable that is able to handle 4K data streaming to actually get the best picture.I use mainly streaming services and keep my TV provider for sports and ID channel (yeah I am one of those women haha) and this means I can, and do, use my HomePods for stereo sound, now coming with Dolby Atmos.I recently bought a HomePod Mini for the bedroom Apple TV which sounds great. In order to use HomePods as default speakers for your Apple TV, you need two in a pair. If not, you can always press and hold the TV button on the remote to bring up AirPlay menu and select your HomePod.The biggest, and I mean BIGGEST flaw of this box is the remote. OH. GOD. It's terrible. You accidentally touch the touch surface and you scrub through a video by accident. Scrolling down long lists of YouTube channels takes FOREVER whereas on my Fire Stick remote it was BANG BANG, down the list, as that remote has physical buttons. A big miss here by Apple.All in all, as someone with an ENORMOUS cadre of Apple gear, this is another win from Apple.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021
This second Apple TV 4K was bought for a pretty stupid reason: Apple Fitness+ and Apple's unwillingness to let us AirPlay Fitness+ to even HomeKit enabled TVs.
This wasn't a purchase I was going to make when I bought the 4K TV in my bedroom; it is $180 so I bought a $50 Fire Stick for streaming for the bedroom TV.
But as I lose weight and get into better shape by monitoring what I eat, going into a caloric deficit, and exercising with Fitness+, the lack of AirPlay for that service meant I needed to get another Apple TV 4K.
Could I have just used the Apple TV in my living room? Sure, but the hardwood and floor level blinds make me leery of doing so. Exercising in my bedroom is my preferred way to do things as there is carpet.
Now, how does it perform? How does it stack up to my (now no longer owned) Fire Stick 4K?
The interface is buttery smooth on this box. It was smooth on the Fire Stick as well, but I had more internet connection errors on the Fire Stick. I have a mesh wifi system with one beacon outside in the utility closet, which is close to my bedroom, and one in my office. For whatever reason, sometimes the Fire Stick would tell me I didn't have an internet connection but my Apple TV in the living room did.
The interface on the Apple TV is just better. Full stop. It's clean, the UX is better even if it isn't the greatest it's still decent and easier to navigate than the Fire Stick.
Voice control with Siri is hit or miss for most people. Depending on what I am asking for, Siri will either find it or give me some convoluted nonsense. The Fire Stick was a bit better but not by much. Where Apple pulls ahead in the voice assistant feature of the streaming box wars is being able to search across multiple apps and services, something I sorely missed when when using Alexa on my Fire Stick.
The resolution is great; I have two 4K TVs from LG, with HDR and HomeKit, one 49" in the living room and a 43" in the bedroom mounted to the wall. The picture may vary from TV to TV but I find it incredibly sharp. One thing to note is with this box you need an HDMI 2.0 cable that is able to handle 4K data streaming to actually get the best picture.
I use mainly streaming services and keep my TV provider for sports and ID channel (yeah I am one of those women haha) and this means I can, and do, use my HomePods for stereo sound, now coming with Dolby Atmos.
I recently bought a HomePod Mini for the bedroom Apple TV which sounds great. In order to use HomePods as default speakers for your Apple TV, you need two in a pair. If not, you can always press and hold the TV button on the remote to bring up AirPlay menu and select your HomePod.
The biggest, and I mean BIGGEST flaw of this box is the remote. OH. GOD. It's terrible. You accidentally touch the touch surface and you scrub through a video by accident. Scrolling down long lists of YouTube channels takes FOREVER whereas on my Fire Stick remote it was BANG BANG, down the list, as that remote has physical buttons. A big miss here by Apple.
All in all, as someone with an ENORMOUS cadre of Apple gear, this is another win from Apple.
Size: 32GBVerified Purchase
Expensive, yes. Still my favorite streaming box? Of course
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021
I have two Apple TV 4K models, both 32gb each. I bought the first one at Target in September 2019 after owning an Apple TV 3rd gen for 6 years.Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021
This second Apple TV 4K was bought for a pretty stupid reason: Apple Fitness+ and Apple's unwillingness to let us AirPlay Fitness+ to even HomeKit enabled TVs.
This wasn't a purchase I was going to make when I bought the 4K TV in my bedroom; it is $180 so I bought a $50 Fire Stick for streaming for the bedroom TV.
But as I lose weight and get into better shape by monitoring what I eat, going into a caloric deficit, and exercising with Fitness+, the lack of AirPlay for that service meant I needed to get another Apple TV 4K.
Could I have just used the Apple TV in my living room? Sure, but the hardwood and floor level blinds make me leery of doing so. Exercising in my bedroom is my preferred way to do things as there is carpet.
Now, how does it perform? How does it stack up to my (now no longer owned) Fire Stick 4K?
The interface is buttery smooth on this box. It was smooth on the Fire Stick as well, but I had more internet connection errors on the Fire Stick. I have a mesh wifi system with one beacon outside in the utility closet, which is close to my bedroom, and one in my office. For whatever reason, sometimes the Fire Stick would tell me I didn't have an internet connection but my Apple TV in the living room did.
The interface on the Apple TV is just better. Full stop. It's clean, the UX is better even if it isn't the greatest it's still decent and easier to navigate than the Fire Stick.
Voice control with Siri is hit or miss for most people. Depending on what I am asking for, Siri will either find it or give me some convoluted nonsense. The Fire Stick was a bit better but not by much. Where Apple pulls ahead in the voice assistant feature of the streaming box wars is being able to search across multiple apps and services, something I sorely missed when when using Alexa on my Fire Stick.
The resolution is great; I have two 4K TVs from LG, with HDR and HomeKit, one 49" in the living room and a 43" in the bedroom mounted to the wall. The picture may vary from TV to TV but I find it incredibly sharp. One thing to note is with this box you need an HDMI 2.0 cable that is able to handle 4K data streaming to actually get the best picture.
I use mainly streaming services and keep my TV provider for sports and ID channel (yeah I am one of those women haha) and this means I can, and do, use my HomePods for stereo sound, now coming with Dolby Atmos.
I recently bought a HomePod Mini for the bedroom Apple TV which sounds great. In order to use HomePods as default speakers for your Apple TV, you need two in a pair. If not, you can always press and hold the TV button on the remote to bring up AirPlay menu and select your HomePod.
The biggest, and I mean BIGGEST flaw of this box is the remote. OH. GOD. It's terrible. You accidentally touch the touch surface and you scrub through a video by accident. Scrolling down long lists of YouTube channels takes FOREVER whereas on my Fire Stick remote it was BANG BANG, down the list, as that remote has physical buttons. A big miss here by Apple.
All in all, as someone with an ENORMOUS cadre of Apple gear, this is another win from Apple.
Images in this review
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