With the Apple TV 4K priced much higher than its competition, It’s about time the company offered a lower-cost option.
There’s no denying the immense appeal of the Apple TV 4K, the company’s top streaming box, and one that offers all the best things an A/V enthusiast could ask for. Just for starters, it can handle 4K high frame rate video, provides Dolby Vision HDR and Atmos support, and offers useful match video frame rate and match dynamic range options. I’m just getting rolling. Apple’s streamer also features tight integration with iCloud, Apple Fitness+, Apple Watch, and AirPods. It supports Bluetooth controllers when playing Apple Arcade games, and has a Lightning-charged Siri remote for voice control and searches. Taking all that into consideration, the Apple TV 4K is a lot. But at the same time, the Apple TV 4K is too much. And by that, I mainly mean price. Apple charges $179 / £169 for a 32GB version and $199 / £189 for a 64GB version of its streaming box. Compare that to the Roku Ultra and Amazon Fire TV Cube, which sell in the US for $99 and $70, respectively. What does the Apple TV 4K have that those other players lack? If we look at all three devices purely in terms of specs, each one hits the high points: 4K video with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, a library of all the most desirable apps and then some. The Fire TV Cube even tosses in HDR10+ support. Each also offers its own baked-in voice search and playback command capabilities, with Roku further offering compatibility with Alexa, Hey Google, and Siri along with Apple’s own HomeKit smart home protocol.
