Apple TV 4K: release date, news, price and features

We knew this was coming – Apple TV 4K is the official name of the next Apple TV.

The latest hardware was announced on stage during Apple's September keynote and, as expected, will support both 4K Ultra-HD and HDR streams.

The new Apple TV 4K will include the A10X Fusion Chip (making twice as fast as the current Apple TV) and the latest version of tvOS. For reference, that's the chip currently inside the iPad Pro, and it should provide enough headroom to power the next generation of 4K video streaming.

But what's a new box without content? Apple TV 4K will support Netflix in 4K Ultra-HD and Apple will move forward with the integration of Amazon Video into tvOS later this year. On top of that, customers who purchased films in HD will be upgraded to the 4K version of the film for free. It's a pretty great deal.

What we didn't see coming was the Apple TV 4K's inclusion of Dolby Vision, a technology from the legacy audiovisual company that enables brighter, more colorful content. Dolby Vision has been made available on a number of TVs, 4K Blu-ray players and streaming players in the past, but this is the first time it will make an appearance on an Apple device.

The Apple TV 4K will be available at two price points: $179 (about £135, AU$225) for a 32GB version and $199 (about £149, AU$249) for a 64GB version.

The Apple TV 4K will be available to pre-order starting on September 15, and will be available to buy out-right when it releases on September 22.

Cut to the chase

What is it? A 4K version of Apple's video streaming box
When is it out? September 22, 2017
How much will it cost? $179 (about £135, AU$225) for a 32GB version and $199 (about £149, AU$249) for a 64GB version

Release date

We now have a solid release date for the Apple TV 4K: September 22, 2017, exactly one week after the device becomes available for pre-order.

All things considered, this is a tight turnaround for Apple, who only just announced the Apple TV 4K's existence at its September 12 press event in Cupertino, California.

Both SKUs of the device – the 32GB and 64GB versions – will be available on the same day.

How much will it cost?

Apple is known for being a price-heavy company, often releasing products at a premium price point. Knowing that, however, Apple did a good job pricing out the Apple TV 4K: the device will be available in two models, a $179 (about £135, AU$225) 32GB version and a $199 (about £149, AU$249) 64GB version.

These aren't exactly cheap, especially compared to something like the Chromecast Ultra, but it is good news for anyone eying the old Apple TV which should drop from its current price tag of $149 (£139/AU$239) for the 32GB version and $199 (£179/AU$299) for the 64GB version.

Looking for something bigger, like a 128GB version? For now you're out of luck.

What features will it have?

4K HDR support

This one's a gimme. Of course the new Apple TV 4K will support 4K and HDR ... which is good considering Apple missed the boat on it last time around.

The fourth-generation Apple TV was revealed more than three years after the third generation model, but to make up for the long break it was a fairly big update with a brand new operating system, a new remote and even Siri integration. Something was missing, however: support for 4K and HDR content.

That's a wrong Apple will correct in the new Apple TV 4K, which not only will support 4K and HDR10, but also a new format called Dolby Vision which will help Apple's device display more true-to-life colors, and far greater detail in both dark and bright scenes.

Why is Apple going 4K in the first place? 4K support is pretty much a standard feature on larger high-end TVs and as streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon rapidly increase their 4K content streaming devices from Amazon, Roku and Google have been quick to release devices which support it too.

Long story short, it was now or never.

Other hardware upgrades

Now, the resolution isn't the only upgrade coming to Apple's next-gen TV hardware – the device will ship with 3GB of RAM, along with a three-core A10 Fusion CPU, the same one found in the current iteration of the iPad Pro.

This will make the device twice as fast as the current Apple TV when watching video content and up to four times faster when loading apps and playing games.

The bad news here is that while Apple has given the CPU a massive overhaul, storage options will remain exactly the same as before – 32GB and 64GB.

This might be a bit of a stumbling block considering that Apple has recently upgraded the file size limit of apps to 4GB. While not all apps are expected to use up the entirety of that upper limit, it's fair to say that most games, especially ones that take advantage of the higher resolution, will do so.

While Apple hasn't yet made any announcement about a 128GB version, we expect that one might be in the works for either later this year or early next.

These are the 10 best 4K TVs you can get today

Upgrades to tvOS

Aside from essential hardware changes, we imagine the biggest changes we’ll see will be in the device’s software, particularly as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has said that the new Apple TV and tvOS were “building the foundation for what [Apple] believe can be a broader business over time.”

At WWDC 2017 Apple announced that the Amazon Prime Video app would finally be coming to the platform, although this announcement came with no mention of new hardware.

Developer logs spotted just last month suggested that Apple is developing a device that runs tvOS 11, which suggests that a hardware announcement is on the way to complement the new software.

Siri at home

Siri was introduced to the Apple TV in 2016 so we imagine its capabilities will only continue to improve.

It’s perhaps possible that Apple will use Siri’s integration into the Apple TV to expand into more smart home capabilities. Apple brought HomeKit control to tvOS 10 and then in tvOS 10.0.1 it supplemented this with support for App Launch and Wi-Fi Accessory Configuration which made it possible for HomeKit accessories to launch and configure via the Apple TV.

A possible next step is to bring the Home app currently available on iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad to tvOS 11 and turn the Apple TV into a fully-fledged home hub.

Not only would this give Apple TV a way to stand out from other streaming devices, it would allow Apple to simultaneously keep up with Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home devices without the trouble of introducing a brand new product to the market.

Content is king

A key area where Apple will have to improve is in the content it offers. Apple has never been able to meet its ambitions in the pay TV space – it’s failed to make agreements with key TV production companies and plans for a live TV streaming service have never come to fruition.

However, the recent increase in app sizes allowed on the device suggests we’ll certainly see some more gaming apps come to Apple TV in the future and Apple appears to be working hard to create its own original content with things like Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps. This original content at the very least gives Apple something more to add to its TV app.

It’s also recently been reported that Apple is planning to introduce a service that would bundle channels together under one single monthly fee.

This service would take channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz which offer separate subscriptions and bring them all together into one convenient bundle.

Nothing has been confirmed with regards to this and it would require a great deal of negotiation on Apple’s part to establish a bundle that would offer a competitive enough price to lure consumers in. However, it would be a creative solution to the fact that Apple currently only offers individual channels and apps.

Contributer : Techradar - All the latest technology news http://ift.tt/2xistJE