We’ve just upgraded our TV to an OLED 4K. Obviously, I want to get the best out of it, given the investment.
My question is: Should I upgrade our current Apple TV gen2 to a gen5 Apple TV 4K now or should I wait, bearing in mind that it came out in 2017?
I don’t know if we’ll see a substantial hardware upgrade to the Apple TV 4K anytime soon. It already supports 4K and HDR, so I don’t know that there’s a lot they could add, at least in terms of the TV experience.
What I think is more likely is that when Apple launches their streaming TV service we’ll either see new, lower-cost hardware or a price drop on the current hardware (possibly something like bundling the Apple TV hardware with a year of the Apple TV service).
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I think 2019 will see some big changes for Apple in its TV distribution. The top TV manufacturers are integrating Apple TV content into their televisions, and Apple is gearing up with billions of dollars in shows it’s producing right now. Makes sense that in order to make its content more available, if not ubiquitous, it will make the boxes cheaper and more competitive. Maybe a cheaper 4K stick, maybe just lower prices, maybe tiers (with a new high-end machine including game controllers).
But the current 4K model will probably be good for the next few years of use. If you need something now, get it, and sell it is something significantly more attractive comes along.
FYI in the US Apple is selling refurb Apple TVs for $150 and $170 ($30 off), with full, as-new one-year warranties.
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I think you are correct. If Apple wants to reach a broad audience with their new video service, requiring a $150+ device, or a new TV, to try it out will be a non-starter for a lot of people. I suspect they will need to offer an Amazon FireStick 4K type device for $49.
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Or get their TV streaming service on the Fire Stick (same as they got Apple Music on the Echo).
I don’t know that we’ll see any significant hardware improvements any time soon.
Sure, there might be a cheaper version out later this year, but I don’t see it happening before WWDC or probably the fall.
So I’d go ahead and get (a refurbished) one now if you can benefit from it.
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Thanks for finding this. I hope someone in our community can take advantage of this great offer.
Unfortunately, what’s available in the US Store isn’t there in the European stores. My country store is the Spanish one and ATVs appear VERY rarely as refurbs.
I’m going to fly against the grain a little here. I believe Apple Arcade games will work across iPhone, iPad, Mac and AppleTV. Is the current generation powerful enough to support rich gaming experiences?
No, it’s not if you’re thinking of 3D. It pretty much sucks and games are low frame rate and horrible to play. Mind you, a 3000€ iMac is the same. So, I’m not holding my breath on them releasing anything capable of really immersive gaming anytime soon.
The only devices that are quite capable right now are newer iOS devices, but even the latest iPad Pros only have the graphics power of a 2005 XBox 360.
I’ll be sticking to my XBox One X if I want immersive games.
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Update: Managed to get a 64GB ATV 4K on the Apple Refurb Store (hooray!) for 15% off MRRP. It took a lot of patience, but that finally brought results.
I am still happily running a previous gen Apple TV which gives me Netflix, YouTube and the Film/TV library, most tech does not need to be renewed as often as the manufacturers would like you to.
The problem for me is mainly is that games on AppleTV usually make me feel dizzy because of the low framerate. Sure, 2D games run well and there are some good ones in the App Store. In addition, it is great for kids as most the games are designed for a younger audience in mind, and are are not full of gore like most console titles.