Meet the latest Apple streaming box and home hub
Apple has unveiled the 2022 edition of the Apple TV 4K, with the streaming box now boasting HDR10+, a USB-C Siri Remote and a lower starting price of $129 / £149.
It represents a relatively sizeable upgrade from the second-gen Apple TV 4K released in April 2021, with the company’s A15 Bionic processor (used in the iPhone 13 range) now running the show instead of the A12 chip.
Apple indicates that the 2022 model will be 50% faster, as a result, while the GPU performance is said to be 30% speedier.
Those boosts should help the entire experience run a bit more smoothly, as should the addition of support for HDR10+. Combined with Dolby Vision, this now gives watchers even more options when it comes to streaming HDR TVs and movies.
Controlling what you watch through the Siri Remote will be largely the same with the new Apple TV 4K, but, as we’ve said, even this is getting a tweak in the form of the USB-C port. This will be a neat addition for many, meaning the days of hunting down a Lightning cable every time the Siri doofer’s battery runs dry are over.
Apple has also reduced the point of entry here by $20 / £20, with the 64GB edition now starting at $129 / £149 and the 128GB model (which also includes a Gigabit Ethernet port) costing you $149 / £169. This is another welcome move, given that Amazon, Google and Roku all offer rival sticks and boxes for much less.
At least at first glance, this doesn’t feel like an Apple TV 4K update that’ll be quite worth it for those with a 2021 box, but, still, those with an older version could do plenty worse – especially with Apple continuing to make the streaming box an integral part of Apple Home.
Announcing the latest model, the company reiterated that Apple TV users will be able to view HomeKit cameras and control nearby devices (as shown in the above image), with support for Thread and Matter also in tow. This isn’t an exclusive feature, though, with the 2021 Apple TV 4K devices also capable.
You can pre-order the Apple TV 4K today, and it’ll release on 4 November.
