If you are interested in the new 4th generation Apple TV, take some time to read this detailed, thoughtful, well-written review by John Yanarella for Universal Mind. There’s a lot to process.
A few highlights:
The new Apple TV is powered by the dual-core Apple A8, an Apple-designed 64-bit ARM based system on a chip processor first used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus—a significant upgrade from the previous edition’s iPhone 4S era single-core Apple A5. It includes 2GB of RAM and comes in two models, offering 32GB and 64GB storage. It offers wireless and wired networking capabilities via 802.11ac Wi‑Fi and 10/100 ethernet. Developers can use the new USB-C port to connect to the Apple TV for development and debugging purposes. The new model is slightly taller than the previous two generations, but it is still a diminutive little box measuring 3.9” by 3.9” by 1.4” and weighing in at just under a pound (at 15 ounces).
It features HDMI 1.4 output at 720p and 1080p resolution with support for Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 audio (up from Dolby Digital 5.1). It adds support for HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) extensions that allow the Apple TV to send commands over HDMI to automatically turn on CEC-enabled TVs, switch to the correct input and control audio volume.
And:
The new remote communicates with the Apple TV over Bluetooth 4.0 (rather than relying on the IR transmitter as in the previous generation), eliminating previous line-of-sight issues and enabling its new voice and data communication features. It still includes an IR transmitter which can now be used to control TVs and A/V home theater receivers.
Ditching the replaceable coin battery used in the previous model, the new remote includes a built-in lithium ion battery which Apple claims will last months on a single charge. The battery can be charged via the lightning connector on the bottom edge of the remote.
There will be two versions of the remote—one with Siri natural language voice recognition, the other with on-screen text-based search. At launch, the Siri remote will only be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan. Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
And:
More than simply an aesthetic update, all of the user interface interactions have been rethought in terms of new touchpad and voice-based interactions made possible by the new Siri remote.
For example, Apple invented a new kind of UI component for tvOS it has dubbed the “parallax icon.” A parallax icon is composed of multiple flat image layers that are rendered with a parallax effect, whereby each layer is shifted independently with simulated lighting to create the illusion of three-dimensionality and depth of field. tvOS uses this in place of bright blue selection borders as a more tangible means of indicating that an item is selected as the target for interaction. As a user moves his or her thumb on the touchpad, the parallax effect provides immediate and continuous feedback that a parallax icon is focused.
There is so much more to this review. An excellent read.