Apple TV 4K (2021)

Now faster and featuring — at last — a usable remote!

- By Nick Odantzis

The tvOS interface is easier to control thanks to clickable buttons on the new Siri Remote.

Features A12 Bionic, 4K HDR, Siri Remote (2nd gen), HDMI, Bluetooth, 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 with MIMO

Already got an Apple TV 4K (2017)? Then you’d be hard-pressed to see much of a difference in the upgraded version for 2021. So, what’s actually changed?

Well, it’s faster, with a more powerful A12 Bionic chip versus the 2017 model’s aging and dated A10X Fusion chip. The performance leap from A10X Fusion to A12 Bionic isn’t major, but apps are snappier to load, not that the old model was slow. The speed boost also enables the new Apple TV 4K to playback high–frame–rate 60fps HDR videos more smoothly.

The 2021 version also comes with Thread, which is Apple’s new smart home protocol which allows smart home tech from different manufacturers to work together more seamlessly. Life becomes a lot easier when your home tech is able to interact with most, or hopefully all, of your devices.