All Image Credit: Apple

Coming November 4th Apple plans to release its third generation Apple TV 4K. An upgrade that is barely apparent from its outward appearance and arriving with little fanfare from Apple. Costing less than its predecessors and looking virtually identical to last years model it comes with the same Siri remote, but now the lightning port is replaced with USB-C for charging (a charging cable is not provided) and navigates an upgraded tvOS 16.1 operating system. This updated operating system, tvOS 16.1, is to be rolled out on the 24th October and it is said to give Apple’s smart assistant a whole new look. It will be available for the Apple TV HD (fourth generation) and all versions of the Apple TV 4K.

The biggest change is the upgrade of the processor to the A15 Bionic chip which Apple claims is 50% faster than the A12 chip used in its predecessor. This should translate into speedier navigation and an overall improvement in responsiveness. The chip is also 30% more energy efficient and therefore runs cooler than the previous generation player. As a result, Apple was able to remove the internal fan, making for a slightly thinner and lighter device that weighs half as much as the current second-generation model. 

Apple claims that the new chip results in “greater responsiveness, faster navigation, and snappier UI animations”. This is a result of increased RAM (upped from 3GB to 4GB) and an updated GPU (graphics processing unit) that is 30% faster than the previous generation. Storage has also been doubled to 64GB and 128GB, which should help with downloads.

The bigger news for HT fans is that the new player now supports three HDR formats: standard (static) HDR10 and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, both of which use dynamic metadata to improve HDR video performance on a frame-by-frame basis. The player also supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound with a suitable speaker system.

The previous Apple TV 4K 32GB/64GB models both supported Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet. The new Apple TV 4K will be available in two versions; the 64GB version is just Wi-Fi only, while the 128GB model comes with Wi-Fi and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Both support Wi-Fi 6 for more reliable and fast wireless connections and support Thread mesh networking for compatibility with other Thread home devices.

The new compact design of Siri on Apple TV allows users to quickly view results without leaving the action onscreen.

Apple also points out that there are various upgrades and improvements to its Siri interface that will make it easier to control and interact with Apple TV. The first such upgrade since it was launched back in 2015. Siri will be able to recognize each user’s voice to access their movies, music, and apps quickly and even offer personalized recommendations of what to watch. Siri still supports control of Homekit devices like lights, doors etc. can simultaneously display multiple cameras and analyze video to recognize faces, animals, cars, and package deliveries.

Finally as with the earlier generation, SharePlay works on the Apple TV by starting a FaceTime call on an iPhone or iPad. The playback is synced on all participant’s devices, where everyone has shared playback controls to play, pause, fast forward, or rewind and can use voice controls with the Siri Remote.