Apple TV 4K
APPLE’S HIGH-RES STREAMING BOX IS SIRI-OUS ABOUT SEARCH.
THE SELL FOR Apple’s latest update to its living room media hub is that it can lean on Siri’s voice recognition to search for shows instead of having to labour away using the expectedly difficult 10-foot interface controls. This works really well when looking for shows since Siri’s voice recognition skills have come far enough to get titles right almost every time, but also because the Apple TV is able to search across all of the connected streaming and catch-up services you are signed in to. Using voice recognition is a little trickier when it comes to login details and passwords, which requires you to instead use the rather cumbersome straight line alphabet selection interface and the directional touchpad at the top of the new remote. When not using it for text input, this remote feels sophisticated and user-friendly with most actions being a matter of swiping the powdery touchpad while giving you all the essential, volume, home, menu, play/pause and Siri buttons just below it. (You can also use an iPhone app, which shares the same functionality as the remote.) The Apple TV 4K is a little light on connection options offering just power, HDMI and Ethernet inputs, excluding the option of playing locally stored media, but you can still connect to a local server via Ethernet. You get a good selection of apps and games from the App Store including media servers like Plex, all the local free-to-air catch up services, Netflix and Stan. Foxtel Now subscribers won’t be able to connect directly, but you can always use AirPlay to cast from a Mac.