Better, newer and cheaper? As surprising as it may sound, yeah. The third-generation Apple TV 4K, which was presented this afternoon along with the iPad 2022 and iPad Pro 11 and 12.9 2022, breaks with the usual, that is, new versions of existing devices involve a rise in price or, in the best of cases, that it remains in the generation gap. Better and cheaper is something as remote, although not impossible, as the snow in the Sahara (and both cases have been proven in recent days). Anggun has already dedicated a song to the snow in the desert, to this drop in price of Apple TV 4K, I feel like dedicating it myself.
Recall that the previous generation, presented in April of last year, was available in versions with 32 and 64 gigabytes, whose prices were 199 euros and 219 euros, respectively. Remember these data, because later we will tell you about this third generation. And regarding the news, regarding the rumours, well lights and shadows, because in some cases they exceeded, in others they fell short… and some we still cannot confirm.
We start talking about its interior, pointing out a weak point of the second generation Apple TV 4K, which undoubtedly experiences a great improvement in this new version. And it is that the model presented last year was based on an Apple A12 Bionic SoC, the chip used by Apple in the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, launched on September 12, 2018. Thus, the rumors suggested that in this case we would see a jump of two generations, with the A14, but finally Apple has exceeded these expectations, so that the Apple TV 4K 2022 is built around a brand new A15 Bionicthe same integrated that we find in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Ultra.
We do not know how much RAM is accompanied, although it is true that given the leap in the SoC, it is to be expected that Apple has also stretched in this regard and, therefore, have been encouraged to make the leap to 4 gigabytes . However, it may still take some time to be certain about it.
What we do know are the storage capacities, which will grow from the 32 and 64 gigabytes of the previous generation, to 64 and 128 gigabytes, something that will allow you to install more apps, as well as assume the growth in their size without any problem. Of course, and this is a very, very important point, there is only one model with each of both capacities, and this is not the only difference between them. Moreover, at least in my opinion it is not even the most important.
And it is that, pay close attention to this if you are thinking of buying one, the 64 gigabyte model has only WiFi 6 connectivityso that if you want to use a wired connection, you will have to opt, yes or yes, for the 128-gigabyte Apple TV 4K (which, obviously, also has WiFi 6). I understand that in order to upgrade components while lowering prices, Apple has had to cut back a bit here and there, and removing the gigabit ethernet port was one of the options. However, and in my opinion, it makes the price difference between the two models clearly point to the 128 gigabytes and ethernet as the best option.
To the list of image quality technologies with which it is compatible, in which Dolby Vision was already present in its predecessor, now we also find HDR10 +while in the sound section, they repeat Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital 7.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1.
Apple TV 4K: dates and prices
But hey, let’s go with what you should have been wondering for a while, that is, when and for how much you can get one, if it falls into your plans. The third-generation Apple TV 4K can already be booked on the Apple website, and the first units will hit the market on November 4th. And, as for its prices, the model with 64 gigabytes and Wi-Fi cost €169while the model with 128 gigabytes, WiFi and gigabit ethernet adds another 20, placing it in the €189.
