“Apple’s long-awaited fourth-generation Apple TV was almost a slam dunk. The only problem? It didn’t have 4K,” Devindra Hardawar writes for Engadget. “That was a notable omission since both Amazon and Roku released streaming players supporting the new format in 2015.”
“Now, Apple is finally ready to enter the ultra-high-definition fray with the Apple TV 4K. But, as usual with 4K hardware, the real star of the show isn’t the resolution bump over 1080p — it’s support for high-dynamic range (HDR) video,” Hardawar writes. “And in typical Apple fashion, they’ve also figured out a few ways to make all of this new technology more accessible than the competition.”
“I’ve only spent a day with the Apple TV 4K so far (our full review is coming next week), but I can already tell that it’s the streaming box I’ve been waiting for,” Hardawar writes. “Also making a reappearance is the slim remote that came alongside the last Apple TV… the new model won’t win over people who didn’t like the last version… There are still potential downsides to Apple’s new set-top box. Its support for surround sound audio tops out with Dolby 7.1 — not the newer and more immersive Atmos format. And, at the moment, Apple isn’t offering any iTunes TV shows in 4K. But those are both things that can change over time with some licensing deals and software updates.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s too bad Apple didn’t see fit to really redesign that horrid Siri Remote, a design abomination* if there ever was one. Virtually every Apple TV 4K review mentions it as a downside. For a premium-priced streaming system, users should expect a premium remote control.
So, each of our Siri Remotes are immediately clad in $6.79 Akwox Remote Cases (we don’t use the supplied wrist straps) that allow us to immediately tell which side is up by touch, correcting one of Apple’s many Siri Remote design flaws. The Siri Remotes are for family members and visitors to use. We’ll mainly be using our Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad Remote app to control our Apple TVs.
*With the Siri Remote, users can’t tell which end is up in a darkened room due to uniform rectangular shape. The remote is still too small, so it gets lost easily. All buttons are the same size and similarly smooth. Only the Siri button attempts to be different to the touch, but the slightness of its concavity is too subtle to matter; a raised dot on the button would have been much easier for users to feel. The tactile difference between the bottom of the remote vs. the upper Glass Touch surface is too subtle as well; this also leads to not being able to tell which end is up. A remote with a simple wedge shape (slightly thicker in depth at the bottom vs. the top), as opposed to a uniform slab, would have instantly communicated the proper orientation to the user.