Apple TV 4K

The best video streamer you can currently buy

The Apple TV 4K looks almost identical to the previous Apple TV, but has a more powerful A10X chip. Its 32GB storage in the standard model (£179), and 64GB in the version (£199) sounds paltry, particularly as it can’t be expanded by adding an external hard drive – but as the Apple TV 4K streams movies, TV shows and music instead of downloading them, the only storage it needs is for the apps.

Typically slick

Once switched on, you’re treated to a typically slick Apple experience, particularly if you have an iphone or other IOS device. The Apple TV 4K detects if your TV supports 4K resolution and adjusts its output accordingly. It also tests for HDR support by sending an HDR signal to the TV. The device no longer upconverts standard dynamic range to HDR and will now match the native frame-rate of your content.

The menu system itself is neat, clean and intuitive, and Siri has been cleverly tailored to the video streaming focus, proving more intuitive and useful than the equivalent Amazon voice controls.

Apple TVS in the UK now also get an app called ‘TV’, which consolidates all of the content available across your apps. It allows you to dip back into the last thing you were watching or find something new to watch via an algorithm based on your favourites and recent activity. One issue is that Netflix isn’t integrated into the TV app, and if that’s your primary streaming app, TV may be a bit lacking.

The main UK catch-up services are here, with BBC iplayer, ITV Player, My5 and All 4. But the Apple TV 4K’s biggest selling point is its library of 4K HDR movies. The catalogue is expanding at an impressive rate and currently includes more than 200 films, including blockbusters such as Mission Impossible: Fallout, Deadpool 2 and A Quiet Place.

But an Apple TV 4K stream is no match for the equivalent UHD disc when it comes to picture quality. Play Deadpool on 4K Blu-ray and there’s an extra layer of crispness and detail in the foulmouthed anti-hero’s red suit.

There’s a little more punch and insight into the darker areas of the picture too, which is an unavoidable consequence of streaming. However, 4K movies streamed via itunes look lovely in their own right. Compared with a Full HD stream, there’s a clear step up in sharpness and definition, giving the image much more solidity and depth.

Detail is also lifted significantly, making clothing textures, such as the furs and leather in the early scenes of Wonder Woman, appear more natural, realistic and distinct.

In for a treat

The addition of HDR is an even bigger upgrade, as it makes movies pop from the screen. Whites are pure and bright, colours are more vibrant and vivid, and blacks deeper and more solid. It’s simply a more exciting and enticing picture. If you haven’t experienced 4K HDR from Netflix before, you’re in for a treat. The performance is essentially the same as that provided by your TV.

That the Apple TV 4K no longer upconverts content to HDR really is cause to be thankful, as some older content looked artificially bright.

Everything is still upscaled to 4K, and the Apple TV 4K is an accomplished upscaler, boosting resolution to match your TV without everything looking peculiar or over-sharpened.

Apple is taking a similar approach to audio, having recently added Dolby Atmos support. The addition of this super-advanced, object-based audio format is a bonus for owners of serious sound systems, particularly as there’s already a lot of content from the itunes Store, Netflix and Amazon with Atmos.

The Atmos delivery here is impressively accurate and awesomely atmospheric, but whichever format you use, the Apple TV 4K is a clear, weighty and precise performer, with greater punch and dynamic range than the more affordable video streamers you might be also considering.

That exclusive catalogue of 4K content continues to be the Apple TV 4K’s greatest strength, and it’s growing fast, embarrassing rival services for choice as well as price. The only rival that comes close to mounting a serious challenge to the Apple TV 4K is the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which is superb value for money. But between the superior performance and unrivalled selection of 4K HDR movies, Apple’s streamer more than justifies the extra outlay.