4 things I wish everyone knew before buying an Apple TV 4K

The Apple TV 4K is my favorite streaming box on the market, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect for everybody. There are many drawbacks to know about before making the purchase, and while some of them are small, it’s still something you should know. There are quite a few things I didn’t know about the Apple TV 4K before I bought it, and I don’t want other people to be in the same boat.

Keep in mind that a lot of these issues may not apply to you, especially if you own more Apple products than just the Apple TV 4K. If it is your first entry into the wider ecosystem, then a few of these things will hit a lot closer to home. This is something that could happen since the Apple TV 4K is frequently called the cream of the crop. To be fair, it works perfectly fine as your only Apple product, but you are leaving a few things on the table.

Your Google products don’t play nicely

It’s Apple only around here

Apple tends to work best when you pair the company’s products with other Apple devices. That’s the case with the Apple TV 4K because without an iPhone, you can’t FaceTime or use the Find My Remote feature on your Apple TV. That’s not a big deal if you’re just looking to watch TV and movies, but it’s something you should know ahead of time.

Another thing I was unaware of is that the Apple TV doesn’t support casting from an Android device. It’s not a problem my Roku Ultra has, and in hindsight, I should’ve suspected this considering the closed Apple ecosystem. This is tough if you’re coming from a Google household where you have Nest Hubs and Homes, like I was. Luckily, my TV supports casting, so it’s not the end of the world.

It doesn’t have audio passthrough

A frustrating oversight

If you have a surround sound setup paired with a receiver, you’re likely familiar with audio passthrough. What this does is take the audio from your TV and let your receiver handle it. This typically results in the best audio you can get, so it’s important to know that the Apple TV 4K doesn’t allow this. The Apple TV 4K supports Dolby Atmos, which is nice, but if what you’re watching is in a different format, it’s a problem. The Apple TV takes the audio and handles it itself instead of letting your receiver do it, and it results in a less-optimal listening experience. It’s ridiculous that we don’t have this, but it is what it is.

Most of the time, my receiver lists Multi-In as my format since the Apple TV 4K doesn’t recognize what it’s receiving. Fortunately, the audio still works, but it’s annoying that Apple won’t just let my receiver handle the job. There were some encouraging signs that Apple was going to right this wrong, but it hasn’t panned out yet.

You have to change this setting

Get rid of the pesky black screen

Credit: Apple

There’s an annoying thing with the Apple TV 4K that I don’t experience on my Roku Ultra, and it’s a flashing black screen any time I go from something with HDR to something with regular SDR. Any time this happens, which is practically guaranteed when watching YouTube, you’ll get a black screen that flashes on the screen for a second or two. It’s very annoying, but you can fix it by changing some settings.

What you have to do is dig into your settings and toggle on the 4K SDR mode. Yes, this turns off your HDR, but if you leave match content on, it won’t result in any problems. This means anything you watch in HDR will still work as intended, but you won’t see the switch from HDR and SDR anymore, and it means you won’t see that flashing black screen. This was such an annoying thing that I didn’t find the fix for long after I bought my Apple TV 4K, so make sure this is one of the first things you do when you buy one.

Buy a new model if you can

I went used, and I paid for it

I wanted to save some cash with my Apple TV 4K, so I ended up picking up a first-gen model. This saved me a lot of money, but it has come with some major drawbacks. The notable thing here is that I’m missing out on all the major updates, and even ones that don’t seem very major. Snoopy backgrounds, Liquid Glass, and additional aspect ratios are all missing on my Apple TV 4K.

My first-gen Apple TV 4K still works, and if all you need is streaming apps, it’s a good purchase. If you want something that continues to feel relevant, I recommend going for the third-gen model, as even the second-gen model doesn’t get all the updates anymore. It feels like the end of the road for the older generations.