Apple TV is a product that has grown notably over time in both capabilities and functionalities, between the 3rd generation Apple TV and the 4th generation there is a world of possibilities in between. However, it is a device of the most mysterious of the Cupertino company due to the small doses with which they update it and especially to the few rumors that usually accompany their decisions for the future. We bring you the definitive guide about the Apple TV of this year 2020, what we have available right now and what news we expect for Apple TV in the future.
What Apple TV is available?
Apple TV is a multimedia center that has a variant of iOS (tvOS) as an operating system. However, at the level of exterior design we can end up being wrong if what we want is to buy an Apple TV, and that is that despite being almost identical on the outside, inside they hide an important difference, the ability to broadcast at UltraHD or 4K resolution as it is commonly known, we are going to see what are the different Apple TVs currently available on the market and we will emphasize what their differences are.
Apple TV HD
We started with the "affordable" model of the Apple TV, although at its launch there were different variants, currently this Apple TV HD with the ability to play content up to Full HD resolutions costs 159 euros. This Apple TV has the processor Apple A8 and Bluetooth 4.0 for your connectivity. In the back we have an Ethernet port, an HDMI port and the connection to the electrical network, minimalism per flag for a change.
We obviously have a maximum resolution at Full HD (1080p) with a single storage version. This Apple TV HD is only sold with 32GB of total storage for our content and applications. Regarding connectivity, we have 802.11 ac WiFi in addition to the aforementioned Bluetooth.
As for the control, it is identical in both versions and both have voice control system thanks to Siri. The rest of the features of the remote such as the motion sensor and the trackpad are also identical on both devices, in fact we can purchase the remote separately and it will continue to work on your Apple TV regardless of the version. This is the "entry" device available both in the Apple Store and at various outlets.
Apple TV 4K
Things change with the Apple TV 4K, as its name suggests, we can access higher resolutions. Of course, this time we start from two versions, we can acquire the Apple TV 4K with 32 GB of storage from 199 euros, or a version with double, that is, 64 GB of storage for 219 euros. In this case, it is undoubtedly worth the small investment to acquire a much more considerable storage space, since this way we make sure that we will not run out of space and we will be able to download movies at the highest resolution available in the device, which is UHD or 4K.
In this case, we will find an experience of consuming advanced multimedia content, we will have the latest technologies at the software level but all this is due precisely to the fact that the Apple TV 4K hardware is superior. This Apple TV 4K is powered by the Apple A10X Fusion processor and also has Bluetooth 5.0 so that we can connect any type of player or accessory such as video game controllers. At the WiFi level, we have the same card that offers 802.11 ac connection without any more technical flaunting than the one already mentioned.
We continue with the software, even though it runs TvOS 13 no problem, a big difference is the rest of the functionalities. At Apple TV 4K we will be able to view and listen to content cSupports HDR10, Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, the best HDR and surround sound standards available. This is because the Apple TV 4K was launched in 2017, when this technology was in full swing, and it could not be missing. Honestly, it is worth accessing this type of content if we have a compatible television for the difference in price that it represents between Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K, although we must also consider whether our TV is compatible, of course.
What future plans are there for Apple TV?
Unfortunately the Apple TV has not been updated at the design level since 2015, but it has not suffered any kind of hardware retouch since 2017 in the case of Apple TV 4K. For now, it is a product that by far meets the demands of the current market both in terms of power and content, offering itself as one of the best multimedia centers on the market, especially if you are an "Apple" user.
However, some functionalities are missing on the Apple TV, such as an external storage connection now that iOS supports a file system. These are some of the features that may come to Apple TV soon:
- Replacing the power port with a USB-C port.
- Added USB-C ports to connect external storage devices thanks to the new file system available in iOS 13.
- Added a new optical audio connection port.
- Ability to add a second HDMI connection or a USB-C Thunderbolt.
However, despite the rumors, the latest information only details an improvement of the processor, which would become the Apple A12, the same one that is inside the iPhone XR. Little is said about the few connections available on the current Apple TV and the fact that it is one of the few Apple products that resists receiving a charging port through a USB-C adapter. This 2020 may be the year chosen by Apple to renew a product that is on its way to its third year without any news despite the fact that it has all the ingredients to be spectacular.