We’ve been expecting something new from Apple’s Apple TV and the Apple TV 4K is it. It’s an update on the last box, with not much difference in terms of design. As usual, the company’s made more changes on the inside than out. Though… it’s not completely the same as the last version.
Meet the new Apple TV 4K
Apple’s stuck in a new processor, the company’s powerful A12 Bionic chipset, which will allow their little streaming box to support high frame-rate HDR — something that various broadcasters are setting up to support in the States. It’ll handle 60fps footage, either from a broadcaster or in Dolby Vision, as recorded by an Apple iPhone 12 Pro.
The Apple TV 4K also has a new colour balance setting, which uses an iPhone’s light sensor to analyse your screen and adjust the little streaming box to compensate for your TV’s possibly-not-great quality. This cool-looking feature does rather rely on you owning one of Tim Cook’s handsets, but you’re reading this so you probably already do.
The major redesign is a new Siri remote, which is a little smaller, slicker and er… clickier. The remote’s circular ring can be used as a jog control, letting you scroll though content by circling your thumb around it. Handy if you want to feel like you’re editing video for Universal, we guess? It handles power and mute functions for most TVs, and Siri works from the remote in more countries now. South Africa still isn’t one of them, though. Boo.
There are 32GB and 64GB versions on the way, with a late May 2021 launch set internationally. Pricing is $180 (R2,600) for the 32GB model and $200 (R2,900) for the 64GB. Local info will turn up later.
