Apple has just announced a new Apple TV streaming box, replacing the existing Apple TV 4. The new model retina the same name but comes with hardware improvements.
The new Apple TV 4K packs a powerful A12 Bionic chip that brings HDR video playback at higher frame rates. It also supports 60fps Dolby Vision playback over AirPlay from a compatible iPhone. There is no change in the design.
Apple claims that it is now working with a number of content providers including Fox Sports, NBCUniversal, Paramount Plus, Red Bull TV, and Canal to bring high frame rate HDR content for Apple TV.
Apple has also redesigned the remote control that now has improved and more ergonomic design. It also gets new capabilities. Apple has added a new five-way touch controller. The Siri search button has been moved to the side.
The company has also introduced a color calibration feature that uses sensors on your iPhone. The feature uses an iPhone model with Face ID running on iOS 14.5 Apple TV 4K sends color patterns to your TV. These patterns are scanned by the sensors and camera on the front of your iPhone. Then iPhone compares the captured patterns against the reference image and produces a 3D LUT. This 3D LUT is sent over to Apple TV 4K and is applied for all the content to ensure color accuracy.
If you already ave a professionally color calibrated TV, you do not need to use this color calibration feature.
The new Apple TV 4K starts at $179 for 32GB model and will be available starting April 30th.
