Powerful Apple TV 4K looks to reset set-top box
Apple’s TV set-top box is a curious device. It used to be the only place you could watch your itunes film and TV buys and rentals, and was also the only place to see Apple TV+ shows for a while.
That has all changed as Apple has decided to expand those services across as many devices as possible – you’d be hard-pressed to find a smart TV these days that doesn’t have the Apple TV+ app.
Which begs the question – what’s the point of the Apple TV device in 2022?
Apple has updated it this year with the A15 Bionic chip – that’s the same chip you’ll find powering the iphone 14.
It’s a powerhouse, and one that could be considered overkill on a device like this. It means you can stream very high-quality 4K video without issue – and all the major streaming services have apps for the platform. It also means the system overall is snappy and responsive – apps open quickly and all on-screen menu items animate fluidly.
Key to the whole thing, though, is when you are using an app that isn’t designed for watching video, everything works just as well.
Games, for example, are able to exploit the power of that chip to produce what can only be described as a console-like experience.
It should make developers of third-party applications, not just games, sit up, take notice, and start supporting this excellent device with a lot more enthusiasm than they have shown up to this point.
I’d like to see some more blockbuster games come to the platform – it is interesting that the wildly popular game Football Manager 23 has made its debut on the Apple Arcade subscription game service this week. As a result that game will be playable across all Apple platforms, including iphone, ipad, and for the first time Apple TV.
More like that, and Apple will have a much more compelling platform on its hands.
The 2022 Apple TV 4k starts at £149 and is available now