What you see before you is the third-generation Apple TV 4K. Apple released it in 2022 and, well, itโs still here. But this Apple has a long shelf life, a lot longer than their organic, real-life counterparts that seem to go bad between the time I buy the groceries and the time when I unpack them, because the Apple TV 4K (3rd gen) hasnโt gone rotten in the three and a half years that itโs been on the market.
In fact itโs nearly as fresh as the day it fell off the Apple tree. The Apple TV 4K is still the fastest streaming device on the market, bar none.
Cough, fastest at emptying your walletโฆ
Apple TV 4K: What you need to know if you donโt want to read this full review
The Apple TV 4K is blisteringly fast. Of all the streaming devices Iโve ever used, itโs the fastest. Itโs downright telepathic. Actions on screen seem to happen at the very instant Iโd press a button on the Apple TV 4Kโs beautifully sculpted bare aluminum remote. And itโs a slickly designed interface, if a bit clinically soulless and more obtuse to navigate than Rokuโs. Itโs a very expensive device, though, at twice what the nearly-as-fast Roku Ultra 4K costs. So how much do you love that Apple design and speed? Enough to pay over a hundred bucks for it?
how i tested
Like I did with all streaming devices I tested, I hooked the Apple TV 4K up to a TCL QM7, a 55-inch 4K TV with support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision; itโs the immediate predecessor of the TCL QM7K. I paired it with a Sonos Arc Ultraย soundbar (via the TCLโs HDMI eARC port) andย Sonos Sub 4ย subwoofer. The same high-speed Verizon FIOS fiber-optic internet was used for the internet connection on all devices. Then I got to watching a bunch of films and shows in 4K to see how it performed.
so frigginโ fast
Using the Apple TV 4K, holding its gorgeously manufactured but uncomfortable remote in my hand, I let a thought run across my…