New Apple TV (4th Generation) Released, Available Now

Oct 26, 2015 - 16 Comments

New Apple TV

Apple has released the new 4th generation Apple TV, an all new Apple TV that includes more powerful hardware, a touch controller, and Siri voice interaction. Content arrives to the devices from the App Store, iTunes Store, and apps that serve as everything from playable games to channels from Netflix, HBO, ESPN, PBS, YouTube, Hulu, and the like.


The new Apple TV runs on an A8 CPU with 2GB of RAM, and has either 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage, depending on the model size you purchase.

An HDMI cable is sold separately, but you can buy a cheap one on Amazon.

Aside from the difference in storage specs, both models are the same, and both can support 1080p video at 60 frames per second. The devices also support third party wireless controllers through Bluetooth, which should be a nice bonus for gamers. The new Apple TV also includes Siri for interacting with the television, asking and has embedded gyroscopes for a variety of motions to register as actions on the TV in apps and games.

new-apple-tv-2

If you’re a heavy iTunes movie and music consumer, the device will likely be right up your alley, and it can also function as a great set-top box replacement for Netflix addicts. Whether or not the gaming abilities will be able to compete with something like the Xbox One and Playstation 4 remains to be seen, but the targeted gaming market seems to be more for the casual crowd.

The Apple TV also supports AirDisplay video mirroring, which lets an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, transfer their home screen and display wirelessly over to the television set which the Apple TV is connected to. It’s a neat technology, but perhaps a little less critical now that Apple TV has native app downloads and a native app store.

For those who don’t yet want to plop down the $150-$199 to buy an Apple TV quite yet, but still want to view their iPhone or iPad on a TV, you can connect the two devices with HDMI and an adapter as described here. The HDMI solution is obviously not wireless, but it’s simple and widely compatible with nearly every TV, projector, and display out there.

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Posted by: Paul Horowitz in Apple TV, News

16 Comments

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  1. Phred says:

    I have both an Apple TV and android TV. Guess witch one is hooked to my TV? You got it. Not the Apple. It is too locked down to be usable.

  2. Patrick M. says:

    In for two, patiently waiting for them to darken my doorstep. They’re replacing a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen, whose interfaces are way overdue for a makeover.

  3. Mobile Montessori ® will be among the first to bring Educational apps to Apple TV!

    Check out http://www.mobilemontessori.org/blog to see what this company has cooking for the new Apple TV. They’ve published tons of educational apps for children on the iPad. Now, they’re working on changing your TV from being a waste of time to an educational experience for children.

    Their first app, The Hundred Board – Math by Mobile Montessori will be available on the first day of the Apple TV release!

    Thanks,
    Harin

  4. FlyingMooseMan says:

    As much as I like Apple — a hauppauge tv card in my PC connected to my TV gave me much more flexibility. And storage. And $5 for a rental? No way. There is netflix, redbox, and amazon prime. The three of them combined should give you access to any movie that is released. Just sayin’.

  5. desertman says:

    I recently replaced my jailbroken Apple TV 2 with a Fire TV (on which I installed Kodi) but I would ditch this in a second if there would be a possibility to install Kodi on the Apple TV 4.

    The Fire TV basically works quite OK (including Kodi) but the user interface is just the crappiest crap that I had to deal with since many years.

    Please, please, please Apple, let us have Kodi on the Apple TV!

  6. noah says:

    I use my Apple TV pretty regularly, and I just can’t figure out what I need storage for. It works really well as a streaming device, and then I don’t have to manage its storage.

    Maybe if I’m traveling and want to hook it up to a TV in a hotel? If that’s it, big deal…

  7. Typical Yuppie says:

    Looks great, I want one, but then I price it out, and I think about what I would do with it. Apple TV is basically a conduit for iTunes Store, right? But I don’t really do anything with the iTunes Store. So maybe my use case is too limited?

    I like renting movies, but I use Redbox and so does everyone I know. They’re at nearly every grocery store and on all over cities, you walk a short while and you’ll find one, or you can grab a movie while picking up a 6 pack and a pizza from your local grocer. Apple TV would be more competitive if it had a Redbox app or would let you rent a nightly rental for $1 like Redbox does. But right now you’re paying $150 for a box that charges $5 per rental. That’s 155 Redbox rentals just to get the Apple TV with a single movie rental! It would take me probably four or five years to watch that many movies at $1 per rental!

    Apple, why not charge $1 for nightly iTunes rental? I mean, $5 rentals on iTunes? Sometimes you find a deal for some dusty old movie for $3, but nobody wants to see those. That’s awfully steep to pay 5x the price for some convenience, and think about how ubiquitous RedBox is? They are on every corner. For me, no thanks on the iTunes rentals, I’ll walk two blocks and go to the Redbox, pick up a dinosauric DVD which I can slide into my PS4, and I add some steps onto my Watch Activity tracker towards my daily activity goals. Even Amazon Prime app is cheaper for video than iTunes, which works great on PS4 and XBone too, and with the fast delivery it’s a really great multipurpose service.

    • Not a Pirate 👀 says:

      Agreed. I can’t imagine Apple makes much money on movie rentals. I have never and I’m a mild AFB. I also think bringing the price down will put more money back into the movie industry. Less expensive, less piracy.

      $1.00 for SD, $2.00 for HD is agreeable.

  8. Michael says:

    I like the idea, but I already spent $3000 on Apple hardware this year; MacBook Pro, iPhone 6S Plus, Apple Watch. If I could trade the Apple Watch for the Apple TV, I suppose I would do that.

  9. Joe Ojon says:

    Looks interesting but I will sit out for this one for the time being. Wait until it gets in user hands, maybe it will be more exciting.

    Maybe we will finally get some real games on the Apple TV?

    I’m a bit worried about that app limit though, 200MB limit does not allow a game like Vainglory which is 1.5GB to play on Apple TV. Also, an HD movie is 8GB or more, so I guess you need heavy reliance on your broadband internet because it’s going to be caching the stream and then deleting it when done?

    The size limit Apple placed on the developers is a little odd, maybe someone can tell me for what reason? And the 32GB storage is…. small. Base should be 64GB, other should be 128GB. Kind of like the iPhones (hint hint, 64GB is minimally usable size iPhone!). By comparison, a new Xbox or Playstation comes with 500GB of storage but at nearly twice the price. Both make a great media center for the living room too.

    • Andy Norman says:

      The 200MB limit isn’t the total limit for the app. It is the initial download size limit.

      Apps can download more data after install, if I remember correctly they can start doing this as soon as they are installed. The OS will manage that extra downloaded content though, deleting it if needed when the Apple TV runs out of space (the app can then re-download it if needed in future).

      So you’re 1.5GB game will be fine, assuming the controls make sense on the Apple TV remote that is…

      • Mat says:

        Can’t you use the iPhone as a remote too? Did I read that somewhere or am I making that up because it sounds like something we should be able to do with Apple TV? I’m intrigued… waiting for good reviews first.

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