Stuff - UK (2021-08)

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LONG-TERM TESTLONG-TERM TEST

DAY 08

Having properly gorged on content,

we can confirm picture quality is

superb across the board, from Loki

on Disney+ to Samurai Jack on All4.

The new Colour Balance feature

uses an iPhone’s sensors to match

your TV’s picture to ‘industry

standards’; the calibrated image

seems too warm to begin with, but

after a while we prefer it.

All the apps are here, of course:

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video,

Disney+ and Apple TV+, all with

4K HDR and Dolby Vision. You’ll

also find BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub,

All4, My5, BT Sport, BritBox, Now

and more. Apple Music comes

with on-screen lyrics, plus there’s

Apple Fitness+ and Apple Arcade.

DAY 14

We’ve rather enjoyed our fortnight

with the new Apple TV 4K, but it’s

pricey – and baked-in smart TV

interfaces have caught up.

Still, if you’re a big Apple user

you won’t find a more convenient

media hub. All our iTunes files sit

alongside a full house of apps and

Apple Arcade games, and you

can ping anything not there from

your iPhone via AirPlay. The 4K

streaming is as good as anything

out there, while the new remote

makes aimless flickery more fun.

DAY 02

Diving into some specs, the A12

Bionic chipset is an upgrade, but

also iPhone XS-old. Apple claims

improved graphics performance;

that’s questionable, but it is zippy

and Wi-Fi 6 gives connectivity a

noticeable boost.

We’ve sourced a new HDMI lead,

but there’s not much 60fps HDR

content and Apple has pointed us

towards the Red Bull TV app for

review purposes. HDMI 2.1 does

mean 120fps 4K support, and

even 8K 60fps footage, but content

seems way off.

DAY 04

Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Dolby

Atmos are a big tick. Apple’s new

Spatial Audio upgrade (see p21)

also works, and when tvOS 15

arrives later this year you’ll get

Atmos content with virtual

surround sound and dynamic

head-tracking on AirPods Pro

or AirPods Max.

Ah, that’s interesting: this box

supports Thread, the low-power

mesh network designed to make

it easier for your smart home

devices to interact with one

another. It’s a significant step

for gadgets to function without

a hub... but this one will only talk

to HomeKit-enabled products.

STUFF SAYS

Only a minor

update, but

this is still one

of the best

4K streamers

money can buy

++++,

HDR formats
Dolby Vision,
HEVC, HDR10, HLG
OS tvOS 14.6
Processor
A12 Bionic
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth
5.0, HDMI 2.1,
USB, Lightning,
IR, Ethernet
Storage
32/64GB
Dimensions
98x98x35mm,
425g (box);
136x35x9.3mm,
63g (remote)

Tech specs

01 Comes with the excellent

new Siri Remote

02 There’s a great selection

of apps

03 The 4K picture quality

isn’t in question

04 Not the biggest chipset

upgrade, though

05 Netflix is here, but not

via Apple’s app

06 Not much 60fps HDR

content to watch

Donut of Truth™