Apple TV 4K review – Your Ultra HD telly is in for treat…well almost

• PROS – Easy To Install – Cheaper 4K Movies From iTunes – Powerful
• CONS – Apps Still Limited – More Expensive Than The Competition – Needs More 4K Content

Walk into any local electrical superstore and you’ll be confronted by rows of 4K TVs bursting with bright and beautiful content.

These latest televisions always appear incredibly impressive, but take one home and your experience may not be quite what you were hoping for.

4K content is in short supply with only a few services offering programmes in this gloriously rich format.

However, things might be about to change for owners of Ultra HD TVs with Apple launching its first ever 4K compatible set-top box.

This mini TV streaming device not only pumps content to your television in 4K but also adds HDR (High Dynamic Range) as well.

4K HDR offers the ultimate viewing experience with pin-sharp image, more pixels, bright colours and richer blacks.

But is really worth investing in this latest Apple TV?

Express.co.uk has been testing this new streaming box and here’s our full review.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Apple TV 4K is how easy it is to set up.

Simply plug in it, switch it on and place your iPhone alongside it.

This instantly sets up your Apple account and within seconds you’ll be up and running and ready to watch some of the very latest content.

As before, Apple’s tvOS operating system is clean, fresh and simple to navigate – with all of your content made accessible by a slightly updated touch remote.

Apple refreshed its remote on the last Apple TV and this new version keeps its wafer-thin size and touch pad design.

The only difference is the new remote now has a white and slightly raised ring around the menu button.

This makes sure you can find this useful button even when the room is dark and it also helps users keep the remote the right way up.

Most of the other features found on this new streaming box are very similar to the last Apple TV with a Siri button which helps find content quickly and even lets you fast forward and rewind shows via simple voice commands.

Apple has boosted the performance of the new TV with its A10 X Fusion processor now around two times faster than the previous-generation.

But of course the biggest change is that Apple now lets you watch 4K movies and shows on its new TV box.

And when you find this content it really is breathtakingly good.

Colours are rich, the picture is pin-sharp and, as long as you also have an HDR ready TV, you’ll get one of the best viewing experiences on the market.

There’s really no doubting that 4K is stunning and makes watching the latest Hollywood blockbusters an absolute joy.

Apple has also said it won’t charge any extra for watching in 4K with prices staying the same as its current HD content.

We headed to the updated iTunes Store and were able to buy movies such a LEGO Batman for £9.99 in full 4K quality – that’s considerably cheaper than what other services, such as Amazon, charge for their 4K content.

Plus, if you already have a collection of HD movies in your iTunes library, Apple will automatically upgrade them to the 4K HDR version when they become available, at no additional cost.

This is a very good move from the US technology giant and it certainly makes the 4K TV box much more appealing.

However, before you get overly excited about settling down to a weekend of 4K television there are some things worth knowing.

Apple is really pushing this latest format and there are already around 100 movies available on the iTunes store.

But things are still limited with many movies not yet ready to watch in Ultra HD.

Things will clearly improve over the coming months as more content is added but, right now, you aren’t going to find a huge catalogue of 4K films.

The Apple TV 4K is compatible with Netflix, which also has plenty of 4K content, although this does cost £8.99 per month rather than the standard £5.99.

Amazon Video, which also offers movies and shows in 4K, is coming to the Apple TV soon but there’s no current release date.

Finally the BBC iPlayer app, which come pre-installed, hasn’t yet announced when it will begin broadcasting in 4K and YouTube’s Ultra HD videos are not yet compatible, which is another huge disappointment if you buy this new streaming box.

So Apple’s new TV might be 4K ready but it seems many content providers either want to charge more money or aren’t ready to be included on this set-top box revolution.

VERDICT

The Apple TV is a great little streaming device.

It’s easy to setup, is incredibly simple to use and is now faster than any of its predecessors.

The Siri remote continues to offer a great user experience especially as it’s rechargeable via a standard lightning cable.

4K compatibility is, of course, the stand-out feature and when you find a movie in this format prepare to very impressed.

The fact Apple hasn’t raised prices in the iTunes Store and will upgrade all your old HD movies to 4K is also hugely impressive and makes this an attractive option.

As time goes on we have a feeling the Apple 4K TV will get better and better but there is a problem if you buy it right now.

iTunes currently has a limited amount of 4K films and, although Netflix 4K is available, Amazon Video is still nowhere to be seen.

Even if you aren’t that bothered about 4K you’ll still notice services such as All 4, ITV Hub and My5 are all missing from the app store, meaning you can’t catch up on any shows from these channels on the Apple TV.

The US technology firm is launching its TV app later this year which brings content from many of these broadcasters together in one place and even allows you to start watching on your phone and carry on from where you left off on your Apple TV.

We’ve seen a demo of this TV app and it will improve the experience of the Apple TV but it’s not available right now.

We really like the Apple TV 4K for its simplicity and, as long as you have a decent internet connection for streaming these huge files, it is finally making Ultra HD content more accessible.

But with TV and film companies still making it difficult for tech firms to broadcast their content, sadly this still isn’t the ultimate streaming box.

Apple TV 4K will continue to improve but, if you buy one today, be aware that it’s not going to transform your television…just yet.

Apple TV 4K is available to pre-order now and comes in two options with the 32GB model costing £179 and 64GB costing £199.