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Pros
- Powerful ProcessorWide Variety of Apps
- Smooth UI
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Cons
- ExpensiveQuirky remote
Apple addresses most of the issues users have had in the past few years with the new Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation) media hub. The new device features a faster processor, a smaller profile, and—most importantly—a significant price cut. The Apple TV 4K starts at AED529, which is almost AED200 less than the previous generation. However it still costs more than twice as much as compelling options such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and the Chromecast With Google TV 4K (both under AED 200). Given its premium price and targeted compatibility within its own ecosystem, the third-gen Apple TV 4K remains best reserved for dedicated Apple households.
Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) 64GB WiFi
A Smaller Puck
The Apple TV 4K is a puck-like device with the same rounded corners, matte black finish, and unobtrusively flat profile as the previous version. You easily might think they were the same, but this one is a bit smaller, measuring 1.2 by 3.7 by 3.7 inches (HWD) versus 1.4 by 3.9 by 3.9 inches for the outgoing model. An indicator LED sits on the front, while the back houses the power connector and an HDMI port (and an Ethernet port if you get the AED599 Ethernet model).
More powerful than ever
Internally, the Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip, the same processor in the iPhone 14 and an upgrade from the A12 Bionic used in the previous model. The Wi-Fi-only variant includes 64GB of storage, while the Ethernet-equipped version upgrades storage to 128GB. Both models support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, and infrared.
A USB-C Remote
The remote is identical to the previous model save for one upgrade that Apple has slowly begun rolling out across its products: USB-C. The new remote ditches Apple's proprietary Lightning charging port in favor of the standardized USB-C connector. Otherwise, the remote carries over its one-piece aluminum design with a circular navigation pad near the top and a button that doubles as a touchpad. The power button and pinhole microphone are positioned above the touchpad, while back, mute, play/pause, and volume up/down buttons are below it. The dedicated Siri button is on the right side.
Out of the box, the remote can be awkward. For example, the touchpad is overly sensitive. Since you press it like a button to select anything on the screen, it’s easy to unintentionally push the cursor around and select the wrong thing. Also, by default the TV button on the remote opens the Apple TV app instead of jumping to the home screen. Since there’s no dedicated home button on the remote, you have to press and hold the back button to return to the main screen, which feels unintuitive. Fortunately, both behaviors can be reprogrammed in the Apple TV 4K’s settings menu: Under Remotes and Devices, change Clickpad to Click Only and change TV Button to Home Screen.
Simple Setup for iPhone Users
If you have an iPhone (and if you’re considering the Apple TV, you probably do), setting up the Apple TV 4K is incredibly easy, particularly compared with other media hubs.
As long as your iPhone's Bluetooth radio is on and it's connected to the same Wi-Fi network, simply hold it near the Apple TV 4K. A prompt will appear asking if you want to set it up. Enter the code that appears on your TV, and your phone will automatically send your Wi-Fi and Apple login information to the media streamer. Just a minute or two after doing this I was looking at the Apple TV 4K home screen with my apps already installed; I never had to enter any credentials through a frustrating on-screen keyboard. That's Apple's first-rate integration at work.
Making Sense of tvOS, Apple TV, and Apple TV+
There are three overarching aspects of interacting with the Apple TV. At the highest level is tvOS, the platform that powers the Apple TV hardware. tvOS has its own user interface for finding and running apps. Apple TV is one of those apps, but it's also an entire service unto itself. It encompasses the basics for renting and buying movies or TV shows from Apple's store, as well as ferreting out viewable content on competing streaming services. Lastly, there's the Apple TV+ streaming service (found within the Apple TV app), which is where you can discover and watch Apple original movies and shows like Greyhound, See, Severance and Ted Lasso for AED 27.99 per month. This tiered arrangement could be better defined.
The tvOS interface itself is simple and iOS-like, but with more rectangular icons than square ones. The home screen shows five quick-launch apps (which you can easily rearrange) on the bottom quarter; the rest of the screen space is filled with the selected app’s logo or promotional video or stills. Scroll down from the main screen to browse the rest of your apps, which are scattered about in order of installation, though they can be rearranged to suit your preference. You can also set up folders to organize types of apps (such as games) if you wish, but tvOS won’t do it for you automatically like iOS and iPadOS do.
Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) 128GB Wifi+ Ethernet
The tvOS App Store has come into its own. It now offers most competing video streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, OSN+, Starzplay, Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube as individual apps. There are also plenty of music services beyond Apple Music, including Amazon Music, SiriusXM, and Spotify, though YouTube Music is missing. (This last omission is puzzling because YouTube has no fewer than three apps on tvOS, including YouTube TV and YouTube Kids). Naturally, the Apple TV 4K supports Apple AirPlay 2 for streaming directly from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
If you like games, you can buy them individually from the App Store or access hundreds through a subscription to Apple Arcade. Few media streamers support games of any kind. Many of the games are mobile ports, but there are some notable gems like Shovel Knight Dig and Wonder-Boy and the Dragon’s Curse, which you can play with a compatible Bluetooth gamepad. However, even with the A15 Bionic onboard, you aren’t going to get PlayStation or Xbox gaming power, and the selection doesn’t come close to that of dedicated gaming hardware like the Nintendo Switch.
Fitness fiends take note: The Apple TV 4K might be one of the best media streamers for working out. Apple Fitness is available as an app and it provides access to Apple Fitness+ (AED36.99 per month), which offers guided exercises and meditations. It can also track your progress by connecting to your Apple Watch.
The Apple TV Streaming Media Experience
The third-generation Apple TV outputs in 4K resolution and supports high dynamic range (HDR) content in Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and hybrid log gamma (HLG). It’s also compatible with Dolby Atmos, along with lossless media formats including Apple Lossless and FLAC.
Despite interface quirks, the Apple TV 4K is downright snappy to use. Switching between apps is quick, and while the tvOS home screen doesn’t offer much to work with compared with the content-rich Apple TV app, it offers rapid access to any individual service or app installed on the device. I had no problems switching between apps and the home screen; for example, jumping from Twitch to Apple TV to YouTube feels brisk. Video loads quickly as well, with most 4K content hitting native resolution almost immediately upon playback.
A More Accessible Apple TV?
The third-generation Apple TV 4K is a capable media streamer that’s more appealing than its pricier predecessor. Despite its AED 200 price cut, however, nearly every other major streaming device is cheaper by a significant margin.
Still, if you primarily use Apple products, the Apple TV 4K is an excellent media streamer thanks to its seamless integration across the ecosystem.