Apple TV 4K Review: Steps to a 4K HDR future

I’ve used the 4th Generation Apple TV as my main platform for watching video content for the last two years.

My experience hasn’t always been smooth during that time, however. I’ve run into issues with the Siri Remote disconnecting, finicky menus and have also experienced bouts of tvOS lagging, and in some cases, completely stalling.

“Apple’s new 4K-capable Apple TV is a necessary and expected update for the tech giant.”

Some of these issues are my fault since I often opt to run Apple’s beta tvOS software, as well as switch regions to access streaming services that are not officially available in Canada (for research purposes, of course). In general, though, tvOS has never felt as solid as the company’s other operating systems.

Apple’s new 4K-capable Apple TV is a necessary and expected update for the tech giant. In many ways, this is also Apple playing catch-up with its main competitors in the space in terms of 4K and high dynamic range (HDR) support, two burgeoning forms of video technology that are set to skyrocket in popularity over the next few years.

For instance, Google’s Chromecast Ultra was released last November and supports 4K content as well as the two main competing HDR formats, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, all for just $90 CAD. The same can be said about Roku’s $89 CAD Premiere+ Streaming box, which supports 4K, as well as HDR10 and Dolby Vision, the industry’s two competing high-dynamic range formats.

Now, the new Apple TV 4K supports both these new video formats as well, but only if you have a television capable of outputting that level of visual fidelity.

Here’s what’s new

I’ll start this review by stating that if you don’t have a 4K TV, or a 4K TV that supports HDR, there’s very little reason to upgrade over the current iteration of the Apple TV.

That said, the new Apple TV 4K is significantly more powerful than its predecessor thanks to the set-top box’s A10X Fusion processor — the same silicon featured in the recently released 10.5-inch iPad Pro — which Apple claims features two-times faster CPU performance, and four-times faster graphics rendering.

The new Apple TV also makes the HDR and 4K set-up process simpler than other devices I’ve used in the past, by automatically outputting the highest resolution, which means you won’t have to spend time messing around in the set-top box’s settings.

“Finding an affordable television that supports true wide colour gamut 4K is a much more difficult task.”

For example, when I hooked up my Apple TV 4K to my television, a notification instantly popped up asking me if I wanted to test out HDR compatibility. If you click ‘yes,’ the screen flickers black for a second, then if your TV set-up is compatible with high-dynamic range, the settings permanently change. The entire process took only a few minutes for me to setup and was more simple than I expected.

Finding an affordable television that supports true wide colour gamut 4K is a much more difficult task, however.

Apart from the new processor, Siri’s ability to universally search content seems improved, though this is likely more due to tvOS11 than the actual set-top box (I’ll be talking more about tvOS11 later).

Other improvements include a gigabit ethernet port, a surprisingly useful raised white ring around the Siri Remote’s Menu button that makes it easier to find, and support for automatically connecting AirPods. The set-top box also comes with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, includes Bluetooth 5.0 and supports HDMI 2.0a out of the box, which is a good move on Apple’s part (more on this later).

In a controversial move that makes very little sense, the Remote Loop is still sold separately for $17 CAD, which is ridiculous.

As an amusing side note, the Apple TV 4K’s UI, as well as its screen savers, are rendered completely in 4K, complete with wide colour gamut support — Apple claims this is a first for any set-top box.

tvOS 4’s incremental refinements

In my experience, the most significant updates present in tvOS11 relate to stability improvements. While I did encounter a few instances of lag when rapidly multitasking with 4K HDR video running, Apple’s updated set-top box operating system feels significantly more polished than tvOS10.

Apple has also added a number of interesting enhancements to the OS, most notably easy access to iOS Apple TV remote functionality via iOS 11’s new Control Centre. As someone who has a love-hate relationship with the Siri Remote — I think it’s great for games and very little else — this is good news.

Easy access to the remote app allows me to quickly type in passwords as well as navigate the Apple TV 4K’s menu when the Siri Remote inevitably falls between my couch cushions and disappears. The remote has also been updated with a new 3-axis gryo that Apple says it expects video game developers to take advantage of.

AirPlay 2 has been added with tvOS 4 too, though the new protocol’s improvements likely won’t become useful for most until the HomePod is released. Another minor, but still great quality of life improvement is the automatic switching of dark and light user interface modes based on the time of day.

Finally, Apple has removed the USB-C port located on the rear of the Apple TV, likely in an effort to prevent flashing custom firmware on the device. While I rarely utilized the port, it was useful for my review of the 4th Generation Apple TV and allowed me to capture original screenshots and video of the operating system.

TV App comes to Canada

Apple’s interesting but ultimately not that useful TV App has also unexpectedly made its way to Canada.

The overarching idea behind Apple’s TV app is to combine all of the disparate apps you watch content into one interface, and to some extent, this is exactly what it does.

For example, the ‘Up Next’ section displays movies you’ve purchased or rented, surfacing the latest episode automatically. Content is also hand-picked by a team of experts, similar to Apple’s new App Store, and based on the apps and services you’re currently subscribed to — so it isn’t constantly trying to sell you new streaming platforms like a used car salesman.

Other sections include new releases on iTunes, both television shows and movies, as well as the curated ‘Discover a New Favourite’ section.

Unfortunately, in the Canadian market, the only apps currently included in the TV App are as follows: City, FX Now, Treehouse, CBC, ICI Tous.tv and Crave TV. As you’ve likely noticed, Netflix isn’t included in this list, which is a glaring omission on both Apple and Netflix’s part, especially in the Canadian market where we have so few video streaming options. 

“Depending on what apps you spend most of your time using on the platform, it likely won’t be very useful to you.”

Other apps like Sportsnet Now, unfortunately, aren’t included with the service, though Apple mentioned it could come in the future. Additionally, Apple says that a dedicated Amazon Prime Video Apple TV app is coming to Canada with 4K content by the end of the year, though it’s unclear if it will also be included in the TV app.

Apple’s TV app is also available on iOS and syncs across the company’s tvOS operating system. While the app is a decent effort and it’s great to see it come to Canada, depending on what apps you spend most of your time using on the platform, it likely won’t be very useful to you.

So what’s HDR10 and Dolby Vision?

Let me be clear, HDR10 and Dolby Vision are a mess right now, so I’ll take a moment here to break down the current issues surrounding getting high dynamic range running on the Apple TV 4K, as well as any device that supports the new technology.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and refers to improved contrast, better brightness levels and a wider colour palette. This helps create a more life-like picture with video games, movies and television shows and improves picture quality more than even pixel increase to 4K does. Think of it this way: while 4K adds more pixels to your screen, HDR aims to make those pixels look better by adding better, richer colour.