The finest video streamer available? The Apple TV 4K streamer is arguably the best one that money could buy, and with another Apple event on the horizon, there are more than just suggestions that a new model will be announced this year.
But how can Apple improve on its compact streaming wonder?
Here’s where the Apple TV 4K could be better
For one, they could bring the price down just a smidge. At £149 / $129 for the basic model and £169 / $149 for the model with the bells and whistles; it’s the most expensive streamer out there. How about a £20 / $20 discount for the next one, Apple?
In the UK we’ve got BBC iPlayer, but a glaring omission for a 4K streamer is that the Apple TV 4K still does not support HLG HDR for the iPlayer app. There’s Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, and though the Apple TV 4K technically supports HLG, for whatever reason, Apple hasn’t bothered to upgrade the version of iPlayer it supports from the ‘legacy’ version to the ‘Standard’ one that’s available on pretty much every other device.
Why Apple has done this, I’m not sure. But surely this would be incredibly easy to rectifiy, unless there are some shenanighans going on.
What I would also like, is a HDMI input.
That feels very un-Apple like, to allow another product to plug into one of its products. Apple is all about its walled garden. It’d prefer if you didn’t traipse outside its ecosystem to get something you might like. It prefers a closed environment that it, and only Apple, can control, whether it’s for security, quality or other reasons.
But it’s not very user-friendly.
This is unlikely to happen, but considering Amazon’s Fire TV Cube has a HDMI input for plugging in a set-top box or even a gaming console if you’re short of HDMI inputs on your TV; it’s an area that Apple can extend its reach into. It’s an excellent device if you’re an Apple user, but at some point, Apple needs to appeal to more than just the already converted.
What I don’t want from a new Apple TV 4K
There’s arguably no reason for Apple to launch a new 4K streamer, aside from the obvious one. AI.
It’s likely the main reason why the Apple TV 4K is getting a launch, because of Apple Intelligence. With its most recent products making use of AI, it makes sense (to Apple at least) to deepen that integration across all its products by releasing new devices with chips that can cope with AI.
Problem is, Apple Intelligence doesn’t seem to be all that good.
Like a lot of AI at the moment, there’s no real use for it for everyday purpose. The tools it provides might be interesting to some but it’s not made the most of whatever potential AI has. I don’t want to be bombarded by messages asking me to use AI to complete this task.
The hardware is more than solid. If there’s one thing that can upset the experience, it’s shaky software.
