One thing not on this list : A debris - resistant Apple TV 4K.Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Now that we ’ve gotten the whole“Apple TV 4 1000 with a camera”thing out of our arrangement , it ’s clip to take a more serious look at what we still consider to be thebest stream hardwareyou can corrupt . More specifically , this article is about what we ’d care to see added to the diminutive box seat .

First , though , a little linguistic context . Thecurrent Apple TV 4 kelvin — which is the third generation of that model — is n’t all that old , having been released in early November 2022 . At the time , we dubbed it built for the future . And that ’s emphatically still true .

As it stands today , Apple video 4 thou is available in two relish . There ’s a 32 GB framework that only has Wi - Fi for connectivity , and a 128 GB model that throws in Ethernet , as well as support for the Thread and weigh smart home protocols . There ’s only a $ 20 difference between the two , and we consider that ’s money well spent .

As of this point , nothing is impending , so far as we know . But that does n’t mean that an update is off the table for 2024 .

The form factor

“ Form agent ” is one of those phrases we really should n’t apply . But it basically means the size of it and shape of a matter . To that end , the Apple TV 4 K has n’t really interchange much over its three loop . It ’s still about the size of it of a brace decks of board . The third - gen model slimmed down ever so slightly and got rid of the active fan — but there ’s also a very good fortune you never noticed that it had a devotee in the first place .

In a world of low - cost sticks and HDMI dongle ( OK , andcubesandtubes ) , there ’s nothing inherently wrong with the animalism of Apple television receiver 4K. It ’s a box , sure , and therefore not quite has surreptitious as a small cyclosis stick . But it ’s also not all that large , and it ’s easygoing enough to attach it to the back of a TV , if you really need to . ( And so long as said TV is n’t mount flush to the paries . )

There long have been hearsay — or at least repress phone call for — some sort of stick - like Apple TV 4 K , presumptively with a lower price . But there ’s just something very un - Apple - like about that . Apple prepare products that look and feel “ agiotage , ” and it ’s doubtful anyone has ever used that parole in the same sentence as a stick or a dongle or a puck . ( We ’re purposefully allow out any party gens with those , because it really does n’t matter which . )

As much as we scoffed at the idea of tuck a photographic camera into the exist Apple TV 4 K design , you could at least understand the desire to have something else — anything else — added to that hardware . It ’s a $ 150 box ( if you get the upgraded model like we remember you should ) that you might well never see again after you ab initio hook it up . Should n’t it do something else ?

Maybe . You sure as shooting can make the argument . But we ’re not sold on that idea in a humanity in which the iPhone exists ( for its television camera , if nothing else ) and HomePod Minis are relatively inexpensive .

The internals

If there ’s one thing that repel upgrade cycles , it ’s what ’s inside the loge . And by that we mean the chipset . Apple has been using its own Si since 2010 , when it switched from Intel to its own A4 system on a chip . Both the processor and the graphic unit are housed here ( the same goes for storage and RAM , of path ) . tight - onward more than a dozen years and Apple ’s atomic number 14 now also includes neural locomotive engine .

allow ’s calculate at the three contemporaries of Apple TV 4 K , include their sack dates .

The lead time between the first- and second - generation Apple TV 4 K mannikin was about three - and - a - half years . We see to it about 18 months snuff it between the second- and third - coevals devices .

Silicon is n’t everything , but it ’s close . It ’s what determines app growth . It ’s what ultimately decides what other features a gimmick can utilize . If and when we get a unexampled Apple TV 4 K , we will almost sure see raise Apple atomic number 14 on board . It ’s as close to a certain matter there can be .

So what to expect ? There ’s some serious sorcery that lead on when it comes to system of rules - on - a - chip ( SOC ) development , and we are very much not expert in that . More heart ? few cores that work more expeditiously ? More processing power for AI - enabled features ? More RAM ? That ’s sure all on the board . It ’s just a topic of Apple making it forge in a way that keeps the price of the product where it needs to be .

And lest someone say “ The next one should be Apple TV 8 1000 ! ” No . halt it . There is zero commercial-grade reason for that much resolution .

One softball game we will bemuse out there , though : Apple should bump the basis - framework Apple TV 4 K to 64 GB of memory board . Yes , it ’s notoriously stingy when it comes to that sort of affair . But it ’d also be the right thing to do .

And one more : It would n’t surprise us to see a gibbousness from Wi - Fi 6 to Wi - Fi 6E. Though it also would n’t surprise us tonotsee that just yet , as it ’s still a comparatively new measure and there ’s a pretty upright chance that few homes have wireless routers that work in the 6GHz band .

The remote control

The outside control probably remains the biggest sphere of complaint when it come to Apple TV 4K. Yes , the Siri Remote ( as it ’s formally known ) is better than it used to be . But that ’s imprecate with faint-hearted praise .

The simple fact is that the Apple TV 4 K distant control is still fairly unergonomic . It ’s still very fragile and very categoric and does n’t exactly come up itself cradled in the palm of your hand . Yes , you get used to it , and it ’s plenty useable . But I still very much enjoy the flavor of the remote that hold up in my living way , affix to a leather binding from Nomad ( which you ca n’t corrupt any longer ) .

The remote is essentially what you ’d get if you told an AI - figure generator the following : “ Design a distant control in the style of a MacBook . ” And , yes , that ’s not the sorting of thing you want to restrain in your hand .

The “ touch sensation - enabled clickpad ” — which really mean combination directive pad and trackpad — remains sly . It ’s too easy to unexpectedly swipe the affair and wreak havoc on the covert . Yes , you could set the options so it only does one thing or the other — either serve as a trackpad or a D - launchpad . But I should n’t have to make that decisiveness .

The alteration from Lightning to USB - atomic number 6 for charge was welcome . No notes there . And we ’re going to stop you right here before you seek to indicate Apple add radiocommunication charging   —   you simply do n’t have to charge this affair that often .

The one feature we ’d enjoy to see added ? A built - in AirTag - same tracker . ( I have an real AirTag tucked into that Nomad leather font . ) The Siri Remote is so small and so thin that it ’s still highly easy to lose in a couch , or just misplace anywhere else . Apple has someBluetooth - base location trailing built in . butit ’s not as good as a proper AirTag .

The home screen

No notes .

What , you want more ? Have you seen the home screen on an iPhone or iPad ?

OK , maybe you have . And so perhaps you ’re thinking “ It ’d be nice to have some widgets on the Apple TV 4K. Or maybe some more previews of things to learn . More tiles that will rent me go justly back to whatever I was doing or watching before . ”

To which we say : Nope .

There ’s a very specific simplicity in the Apple TV home screen . You get icons for apps . And save up for the top row ( the most important course ) , which does contribute shortcuts to single things , it ’s pretty thin . Just the way we like it .

count at the competition . We continue to see home base blind overdesigned within an in of their corporate spirit . We keep to see show advertizement encroach more every day .

We ’re just fine with app icon and very little else , thanks .

There is , however , the Control Center . Hold down the TV button on the remote control and you ’ll be greet by it . ( You also can navigate to it using the D - pad . ) What ’s most important is that this is where you ’ll find the sleep timer . But we could see Apple make additional tweaks there , too .

The screensaver(s)

This is a picayune immanent , but I resign thatApple has the best screensavers of any political platform . Sure , others have really good 1 in their own rights , but Apple just move that much further with the gamy - resolution flybys . More of this , please .

And there ’s really not much for us to total here except for this : Apple should bear on to bid these for devoid and resist the temptation to monetize them . Do n’t allow ads in them . Do n’t put them up for sales agreement . Just leave the secreensavers to be exactly what they are : gorgeous and marvelous .

Gaming

If there ’s one spot we still want to see some serious betterment on Apple TV 4 K , it ’s this one . Gaming . It ’s sort of an unmatched space because like the Apple TV 4 K itself , it ’s not in reality ignore or anything . There ’s a dedicated clit in the Control Center for game controllers .

But the games themselves ? You ’re going to have to really desire to play something if you ’re run low to play it on Apple telly 4K. Apple Arcade is fine for what it is , but it ’s not great . The Siri Remote is not a not bad play remote control . You ’ll want a game controller .

And when it come to AAA games ? leave it .

Apple has the hardware . It has the software . It just has n’t had the inclination to make gaming a serious option on Apple TV 4 K , and that ’s a shame .

AirPlay for Android

This almost for certain is never going to happen . ( I hate that I ’m include any kind of caveat on that argument . ) Apple will never , ever , offer for native AirPlay on Android devices , which would then get them seamlessly beam things onto an Apple boob tube .

This is n’t a crazy idea . There are plenty of split households out there , where one spouse is on Android , and the other is on iOS . Mine used to be one . And I good love using Apple TV back in those day , even though I was missing out on a jolly major lineament by not also using an iPhone . ( I did have a Mac , though . )

The ability touse a characteristic like Chromecast or AirPlayshould darn near be a cosmopolitan flop in 2024 . That is , the ability to begin a video or song — some sort of medium — on one twist , and them “ cast ” it ( or whatever term you want to use ) onto a TV . The phone or tab or computer then ceases to actually make for the picture , with the heavy lifting plow by the Apple tv set or Chromecast . Those of us of a sure historic period will remember foregone communications protocol like DLNA , which never gained traction for one reason or another . Chromecast and AirPlay are where it ’s at .

And to that end , at least the television manufacturers have get the message and keep going Chromecast and AirPlay . They do n’t handle what kind of phone you employ .

Apple , of course of study , prefer one over the other . Apple could choose to do the right matter here , and let you AirPlay something from your Android earpiece to Apple TV . Or it could just detain stuck in its sometime means .

Or peradventure ( just maybe),“Matter Casting ” will become a affair . That ’s more likely than Apple changing its air , anyway .