The Cupertino company yesterday left us the presentation of a Apple TV 4K less flashy but more relevant than we could imagine. This product seems the same at its core, however the Siri Remote has undergone a radical change, satisfying the numerous complaints from users received throughout its almost five years of life.
The new Apple TV 4K (2021) has come to stay a long season, these are all the news that it hides and that you should know. Let's take an in-depth look at Apple's new home media center.
We are in the sixth generation, and the Apple TV 4K has been growing over time, despite not receiving a renewal in almost any technical aspect since 2017. With everything and with that the Apple TV 4K (2017) continues to defend itself and performing as the best of the multimedia centers of other brands, and that is partly the fault of the A10X Fusion processor, the same processor that received the first iPad Pro, so even at this time we are quite clear that if something is wrong missing the Apple TV 4K is power, however, now there is much more.
Much inside, nothing outside
We start with the technical aspect of the Apple TV 4K (2021). For this, Apple has wanted to take a leap of approximately two years (yes, we already know that the Apple TV 4K has been on sale for five years), this is because it goes from using the 10 A2017X Fusion processor to the Apple A12 Bionic processor, the top-of-the-range processor of the Cupertino company for 2019. All this will be reflected, in theory, in improvements at a practical level but especially in terms of the capabilities of the content to be reproduced.
We say in theory because the brand's advertising claim is that the new Apple TV 4K plays 4K HDR Dolby Vision content up to 60 FPS. The reality is that the previous model through HDMI 2.0 already reproduced 4K HDR content at 60 FPS in a color range of up to 12 bits, superior to HDR and theoretically compatible with Dolby Vision. This means that we should not notice any difference, especially in the streaming platforms that we will use, whose compression will detract from all this audiovisual technology. For its part, the iPhone 12 now allows you to record HDR Dolby Vision 60FPS in 4K, and this we can reproduce in its native quality through AirPlay.
- Size: 3,5 x 9,8 x 9,8 cm
- Weight: 425 grams
For its part, the back of the Apple TV 4K continues to maintain the same size and connectivity, we are left in the back with a port ethernet, the power connection and an HDMI port that this time will be HDMI 2.1, something in which it has seen growth from the previous 2.0 that included the Apple TV in 2017. For its part, at the connectivity level, Bluetooth 5.0 is maintained as well as the XNUMXth generation WiFi with MIMO and simultaneous dual band (2,4 GHz and 5 GHz). Regarding storage, a version of 32GB and another 64GB version only.
- With an iPhone on iOS 14.5 (pending launch) we can automatically adjust the color calibration of the screen.
This section is quite controversial, especially since Apple eliminated the USB ports of the device. Not even now, in its growing implementation of USB-C Thunderbolt, does Apple allow us this possibility. It seems to me the least striking that while Apple has eliminated HDMI from almost all of its products, it does not include a USB-C Thunderbolt in the Apple TV 4K that at least gives us the possibility of placing a dock. It would have been a real success to put two USB-C ports on the back for image and mass storage audiovisual content.
Siri Remote, the real big change
There was a lot of rumor about the arrival of the new Siri Remote, In fact, not a few media ventured to say that the term Siri Remote would disappear. In this case, Apple has wanted to subtract some prominence from Siri in the command by moving it to a somewhat less relevant place, but it maintains the peculiar name in reference to the virtual assistant of the Cupertino company, which we remember, was a pioneer in this technical section in its moment despite the slow development that this technology is having.
The new Siri Remote has grown remarkably, more than a centimeter high, it is almost twice as thick and yes, somewhat thinner. In fact, It has also gained weight for obvious reasons up to 63 grams, which is almost 1/3 of the previous Siri Remote. This new remote control for the Apple TV is bigger in all aspects, and it is that the excessive simplicity of the original Siri Remote caused a good battle of complaints from users who even years later continue to adapt and have seen in this new Siri Remote from 2021 a breath of fresh air.
- Sizes: 13 x 3,5 x 0,92 cm
- Weight: 63 grams
The new device adds buttons and moves others. The design of the lower button panel is maintained, where we have the volume selector at the extreme right, accompanied by the new «Mute» button at the bottom and the traditional Play / Pause in the middle area. Just above it is placed a new "Back" button that replaces the old "Menu" although it performs the same function. The same happens with the "TV" button that will take us to the TV + application or the Start Menu according to our tastes and established settings.
Just above comes a traditional element, the Apple Click-Wheel that many users love so much, a sort of trackpad with selector inherited from the iPod. This will make it more natural to move through the menus, and despite the fact that a small trackpad is maintained, the feeling of speed will be significantly improved compared to the Siri Remote from 2017. Just above the Click-Wheel is the microphone that will pick up the commands when we invoke Siri and finally a «Power» button, which, as happens with the long press of the «TV» button on the Siri Remote in 2017, will proceed to suspend the system and turn off the TV, or turn it on as appropriate. This remote will continue to charge through a Lightning port (cable included).
And the button to invoke Siri? Do not worry, Apple has removed it from your sight, now it is on the side of the controller.
Pricing and release date
Regardless, embarrassingly the new Apple TV 4K (2021) still does not include an HDMI cable in the package, do not forget that for € 199 you can get the 32GB version and for € 219 you will have the 64GB version.
You can book it from next April 30 and the units will be received during the second fortnight of the month of May.