You may have forgotten about it, but the latest version of the Apple TV 4K is officially slated to launch to buyers on Friday. Ahead of that release, the first reviews of the new Apple TV 4K have been published, alongside a collection of hands-on videos. Head below as we round them all up. The Verge: The $129 Apple TV 4K is a worthwhile upgrade for anyone still stuck on the ancient HD model. It’s a speed demon of a streaming box that ticks off all the crucial boxes if you want to enjoy the richest possible home theater experience. And the price is now more reasonable. It’s still more expensive than the budget Roku and Fire TV streaming sticks of the world, but that added cost frees you from ads plastered on the homescreen and comes with some reassurance that Apple isn’t as interested in tracking your viewing habits at every waking moment like some rivals. If you count yourself as an A/V nerd, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend the extra 20 bucks for the 128GB model that includes ethernet and Thread support. It will only help the Apple TV 4K last longer in your media cabinet. That step-up $149 model is stillcheaper than the previous-gen 4K, which sold for $179 and only came with 32GB of storage. TechCrunch: If you have a 2021 Apple TV 4K, which I do, you probably aren’t feeling the pinch in terms of performance. In fact, I still have a first-generation Apple TV 4K in active use, and despite it now being six years old, I’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and my 2021 Apple TV in a blind test.
That said, the 2022 Apple TV 4K does seem to generally make things snappier when it comes to navigating between the Home Screen and apps, and even potentially within apps as well. It also definitely offers a boost when it comes to using the Apple TV as a gaming device, helping it keep up with the most graphically-demanding Arcade and App Store titles available. With expanded controller support via the most recent tvOS update, the Apple TV is a better gaming console than ever combined with the A15’s performance prowess. TechCrunch also points out an upcoming feature that will soon come to the new Apple TV 4K via a software update: Another excellent video quality feature that Apple has introduced here is something called Quick Media Switching (QMS_VRR), which gets rid of the momentary blackout that currently occurs when switching between different frame rates for different media. If you have the ‘Match Content’ for frame rates turned on, you’ll be familiar with this, since it happens almost any time you start streaming an actual show or movie from most apps.
QMS will get rid of that blackout — once it arrives via a software update later this year. I also wasn’t able to test this, since it’s not available, but it sounds like a nice-to-have feature, with the caveat that it only applies to switching frame rates, and not to switching color spaces like from standard- to high-dynamic range content. The Street: The latest generation Apple TV 4K doesn’t diverge that far from the previous generation. It’s still a black box, but it’s smaller and, quite surprisingly, much lighter than the model that came before it. It’s 20% smaller in its overall size, and that mostly comes with the height of the unit.In terms of other design changes, there’s no longer a fan here. Yep, the previous Apple TV 4K had a fan, though as someone who has used it day in and day out for many many months, I’ve never once heard it kick in. That’s gone here, though, and it’s a testament to the efficiency of the new A15 Bionic chip inside. The new Apple TV 4K goes on sale Friday and it should be a big seller. Apple has dramatically cut the price by $70 on all models while doubling the storage and adding features, making it the best Apple TV value ever. But for the most part, the new Apple TV is still largely unchanged from the previous model. Over at The Verge, Chris Welch praises the new A15 chip as “more snappy and responsive than ever before” but also admits that “the only area where I’ve noticed the extra speed this time is when pulling up the multitasking view.” He also notes that apps are faster to load, but “you’d be hard-pressed to feel that difference if you’re upgrading from the prior 4K.” Eli Blumenthal at CNET tested the new processor with the NBA 2K23 Apple Arcade Edition and found that animations lacked “fluidity and sharpness” despite the extra power. And TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington noted that while the chip did “generally make things snappier when it comes to navigating between the Home Screen and apps,” he also said he’d be “hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and my 2021 Apple TV in a blind test.” The other big change is the addition of HDR10+, which reviewers were glad to see. It’s mainly a feature for Samsung TVs, however, as that’s only of the only manufacturers that doesn’t support Dolby Vision. And the Siri Remote is the same despite the addition of USB-C. So you won’t get a U1 chip for precise location tracking. And while it’s lighter and a touch smaller than previous versions, Welch noted, “ it looks like the same old Apple TV with a matte top and glossy, dust-magnet sides.” We’ll have our own review of the Apple TV 4K soon, but in the meantime, you might want to consider picking up the 2021 model for $100 ($79 off) at Amazon. Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh. Is the Apple TV 4K box worth it?Apple's latest TV streaming box is faster, smaller, more efficient and cheaper than its predecessors, making it one of the best and most reliable smart TV experiences you can get. The third-generation Apple TV 4K costs from £149 ($129/A$219). Does Apple TV 4K improve picture quality?If you own a compatible television and have access to 4K and HDR content, Apple TV can indeed be worth it for picture quality. The combination of these technologies can provide a more immersive and visually stunning experience. Is Apple TV 4K really 4K?Apple TV 4K is built to take full advantage of 4K HDR so you can enjoy TV in the highest quality ever. What is the best setup for Apple TV 4K?
TO THE BASIC SETTINGS ON APPLE TV 4K: It is best to set the resolution firmly to 4K/50Hz/SDR, as the menu is displayed in SDR anyway, as well as all available standard FullHD material from the various providers. Then the automatic SDR/HDR switch and automatic frame rate adjustment are activated in the settings. | 
