What if I told you that there’s a device that can make dumb TVs smart and smart TVs smarter? Well, the Apple TV 4K does that and more!

So in this article, I’m gonna give you 10 reasons why you should get one right now!

 

Unboxing

Now before I begin, let’s go through the unboxing process.

The Apple TV 4K comes in a white box, with the visuals of the media box and the remote in front with a slight embossed finish.

Then on the bottom side of the box, there is the storage variant over there and on the other side is the Apple TV 4K logo over there.

Turn the box towards behind; there are other specs like all the App Store availability, the compatibility with AirPlay, and how it can be connected to the AirPods as well.

Opening the box, the Apple TV remote is placed on the right.

Below that, there is the 3-pin power cord.

Then looking at the other side, there is the Apple TV media box.

Underneath, there are the manuals and the Apple Stickers.

And finally, there is the USB-A to Lightning cable to charge the Apple TV Remote.

 

#1 Apple Design & Build

Alright, as for reason number 1, is the overall design and build of the Apple TV 4K.

As expected, the Apple TV 4K demonstrates Apple’s signature premium design and build. 

It is sleek, comes in a small form factor and it has a matte finish in the front, together with the Apple TV logo and the rubber finish down below in order for the TV box to not move easily on your console with a glossy finish on the sides.

So yes, it will look stunning on your TV console beside your TV, no matter your TV’s size. 

At the back, other than the power input, there is the Ethernet port and making the device future proof, it has an HDMI 2.1 port as well to stream current and future Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos content.

 

#2 Powerful, Future-proof

Speaking of future proofing, that would be the second reason to get this Apple TV 4K as it is future-proof and powerful as well.

With the A12 Bionic chipset, the same chip that powers the flagship iPhone XS series, so there is more power than you’d need in a media streaming box. But there’s a simple reason for this – performance and boost in graphics. 

Now this is to totally avoid situations by having any the lag like how you would probably get on a  smart TV or media box interface, because imagine clicking on a thumbnail of a movie that you wanna watch, but you have to wait more than a couple of seconds before it loads, or waiting even longer to do a simple navigation to go from one page to another. 

Which I am pretty sure you might have been in such situations before but guess what, you’ll never experience this on the Apple TV 4K, thanks to its powerful chipset. 

Also, the future-proof hardware enables a rich selection of high-res audio visual experiences, which takes us to the next point, which is the unmatched quality.

 

#3 Unmatched quality

The Apple TV 4K’s amazing hardware brings an upgraded audio visual experience not found on any other platform. 

You’ll experience 4K HDR content at up to 60 frames per second. Then there’s support for Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, via the HDMI 2.1 output, which delivers multi-dimensional, layered sonic experiences. 

And through this HDMI 2.1 port, other than getting Dolby Atmos through your supported TV, you can also enjoy Dolby Atmos by connecting your soundbar to your TV as well to give you a more immersive audio experience, but of course you will need an additional HDMI 2.1 port on your TV and be sure to also use a compatible cable.

Let’s also not forget the support for Dolby Vision which delivers punchy visuals with outstanding contrast, detail, and color reproduction and another huge plus is the built-in high-res 4K screensavers which are also very unique to the Apple TV 4K as well.

And in case you are wondering, other than a TV, you can connect the Apple TV 4K to a PC Monitor, as long as it supports HDR and has HDMI 2.1 port to have a similar viewing quality experience as well.

 

#4 tvOS: Best TV experience

I have to hand it to Apple – as tvOS delivers the best TV/media box user experience. It’s well-thought out, it’s high res, fluid, and intuitive as well, which is very familiar if you are an iPhone or an iPad user.

As a user of LG’s webOS for the past several years, and while it was great, I do find it to be a little cluttered, especially on the home screen whereas on tvOS, the high-res previews are awesome, and the interface is clean and simple as well as easy to navigate, whether you’re an Apple user or not. 

And the For You feature for tvOS is in my opinion the best algorithm for suggestions of the type of content to watch, very similar to how Apple Music’s recommendations are to explore new type of content that is made for what you would surely love and enjoy.

Speaking of Apple Music, I found it super nice to be able to share the lyrics view on your big screen tv as well.

So you can have a nice little karaoke session with you friends and family and if you got your iCloud Photos synced, you can even display that on the big screen as well!

 

#5 Content, content, content

As for the fifth reason are Content, content, and content!

What’s great about the Apple TV platform is that there’s just so much content! Whether you’re into Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar here in Malaysia or even ESPN, apps are native and built for Apple TV. This means that you will have consistency in terms of user experience.

What’s also great is that there are absolutely no ads on the platform, unlike…some others.

You can even rent or buy movies via iTunes and sync them up on your Apple TV 4K, like getting the latest Spiderman No Way Home, that has hands down the best quality compared to something HBO Go here in Malaysia.

Additionally, there’s the award-winning Apple TV+, Apple’s TV subscription service, which offers plenty of original content such as movies, TV series, documentaries, like Coda, Ted Lasso and more.

Speaking of Coda, if you haven’t watched Coda, grab a whole box of tissues, and make sure you watch it, I promise you that you will love it, and in case you didn’t know, Coda is the first movie that is a streaming service movie to win an Oscar.

And the type of content it’s not just about movies and music. There’s also Apple Arcade, that has 100+ ad-free fun games.

For casual gamers, this is amazing as you can game straight from the Apple TV 4K, which you can use the Apple Remote as a controller, or you can also connect a compatible Bluetooth gaming controller, like your Playstation control as well, cool right?

 

#6 Apple ecosystem integration

As with all Apple products, the Apple TV 4K is part of a more extensive, richer ecosystem of products. I am talking about an unmatched software-hardware integration and, literally, being part of the big Apple universe. 

It’s amazing how you can simply turn on your AirPods or even your AirPods Max and get instantly connected to the Apple TV 4K and you can even do audio sharing to have another person use their AirPods as well with Dynamic Head Tracking. So no worries watching movies or any videos at night without becoming too loud.

You can even view or get a preview of a HomeKit camera when someone rings your doorbell, which I am looking to get one really soon.

Then with the ever reliable AirPlay, you can also mirror your content from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Or exercise with Apple Fitness+ while having your stats from your Apple Watch displayed on your TV, yeap, full activity rings completed everyday, 6 months done, 6 months more!

And speaking of the whole ecosystem, if you have any friends or family or who has an Apple device, you can use SharePlay to share and watch movies or any content on Apple TV+ at the same time, things like pausing the movie or skipping forward or moving back happens universally, which is such an amazing feature that I have personally been raving about since it was out.

 

#7 Clever little things

Spilling off from Apple’s ecosystem, there are a couple of neat tricks that the Apple TV 4K does. Firstly, there is a feature called TV Calibration. Whether you have an old LED TV or the latest smart OLED 4K TV that supports Dolby Vision, Apple TV 4K can optimize itself for the best possible viewing experience. 

All you need to do is bring your iPhone near to your TV and let Apple TV do its magic. Once done, you’ll be able to preview the difference between a balanced and unbalanced setting. The difference may be subtle depending on your TV, but I must say it does make a difference.

The other clever little thing is the Wireless Audio Sync feature. Now, this can combat situations if you may have any out-of-sync audio when you’re using wireless headphones or speakers. This feature optimizes audio by taking into account latency and ensuring the speech that comes out doesn’t look like it’s badly dubbed.

 

#8 It just works!

As with all things Apple, setting up is super easy and straightforward, even better if you already use an Apple device like an iPhone. You can just simply bring your iPhone near the Apple TV 4K, and the TV box will sync all the necessary settings and preferences such as Wi-Fi and more.

 

#9 Apple TV Remote

As for the second last reason is the new Apple TV Remote. 

Now, this is the biggest upgrade from the previous generation; it is beautifully built in an all-aluminum chassis with flat sides. 

There’s now a touch-sensitive click wheel for gesture-driven control.

Which reminds me of the iPod Shuffle’s jog controls to move forwards and backwards, which was very nostalgic indeed!

Then there is a small power button and mute button as well. That aside, the Siri button has been moved to the side, it charges via a Lightning port at the bottom, and as mentioned earlier, you can also use the remote as a game controller, which is a nice plus.

What’s also cool is that if or when you need to key in text or a password, you can use the Apple TV Remote app on your iPhone or iPad to type, which is a way quicker way to input text rather than navigating through individual letters using the physical remote.

So yes, this new Apple TV Remote is way better than the previous generation.

 

#10 Apple One Subscription

And last but not least is how the Apple One Subscription ties together with the Apple TV+ subscription. 

Now in case you didn’t know, Apple One is a new set of subscription bundles that bunch up a variety of Apple Services under just ONE convenient monthly payment.

So Apple One is divided into 3 packages:

Firstly, there is the the Individual Plan, which has Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and an iCloud storage of 50GB, that costs only RM19.90 per month.

Then there is the Family Plan, which has the same subscription as the Individual Plan but increases the storage up to 200GB instead and you can get up to 5 people to share this subscription, which is really sweet and it only costs RM33.90 per month.

Then the top of the tier Premier Plan adds Apple Fitness+ and bumps up the iCloud Storage up to a massive 2TB at a price of RM69.90 per month, and you can even share this with 5 people too  so imagine the amount of savings you get with this as well.

And keep in mind that all of these package services are way more cheaper than going into these subscriptions individually, hence you are saving so much more.

 

Conclusion

And that’s it! As mentioned, there are plenty of things to love in the Apple TV 4K.

While the price is at a premium side starting from RM849, it does offer a premium, unique, polished user experience and definitely offers much more than expected.

Get the Apple TV 4K at the link below:-
https://www.apple.com/my/shop/buy-tv/apple-tv-4k