Key Takeaways
- Upgrade your Apple TV for 4K streaming to avoid buffering issues.
- If you have an old Apple TV, a new model can enhance your viewing experience.
- Consider upgrading your Apple TV if you need it for smart home purposes or gaming.
Apple is nothing if not inconsistent. There’s the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, so of course, Apple’s streaming box is called the Apple TV. To be fair, Apple did want to call it the iTV, until the British television network ITV took issue.
The Apple TV is older even than the iPhone, being launched in March 2007 before the iPhone changed the world in June of the same year.
What really has an impact, however, is that of all those iProducts, the only one that predates the Apple TV is the iMac. Yep — the Apple TV is older even than the iPhone, being launched in March 2007 before the iPhone changed the world in June of the same year.
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If you’re rocking an original Apple TV, then you’re definitely due an upgrade. If you’re using any of the older models, however, then it might be time to try a new model. Here are nine tell-tale signs that it’s time to upgrade your Apple TV.
1 Suffering from buffering
Don’t let your Wi-Fi let you down
The days of watching TV to a schedule seem incredibly quaint in the modern world of on-demand streaming. Sure, many streaming services like to remind us of the bad old days by drip-feeding us one episode a week (please stop) but for most shows, you can just jump right in and binge the lot in a couple of sessions, just like I did with Fallout.
Streaming does have one downside, however, and that’s buffering. If you don’t have the greatest internet speeds, you may find that your movie decides to buffer just as you’re about to find out who Keyser Soze really is.
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Even if you do have fast internet, however, sketchy Wi-Fi can ruin your viewing. The good news is, if you upgrade to the 128GB Apple TV 4K (2022), you get a Gigabit Ethernet port, so that buffering becomes a thing of the past.
2 You’re still watching content in HD
Time to put the U in HD with UHD
You’re the proud owner of a beautiful 4K TV. However, you’re still rocking your Apple TV HD that you bought nearly a decade ago. All of that stunning 4K image quality is just going to waste.
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You might be tempted by newer technologies, a slimmer aesthetic, or it’s been more than five years.
The good news is that any Apple TV model from 2017 onwards is capable of streaming content in 4K goodness, so you can take advantage of the full features of your TV. It’s time to grab that extra letter and turn your HD viewing into UHD.
3 Your TV supports HDR10+
What’s better than HDR10? HDR10+, of course
Sure, 4K is great, but what about HDR? The first- and second-generation Apple TV 4K models both support HDR10. That means if you’re watching content from sites such as Netflix, Disney+, or HBO Max, and your TV supports it, you can enjoy the high dynamic range offered by HDR10 through your Apple TV.
If you have a TV that supports HDR10+, things get even better. HDR10+ takes all that is good about HDR10, which applies one HDR setting to an entire movie or TV show and improves it by dynamically changing the HDR settings in response to what’s on the screen, for even better results.
Streaming services such as Prime Video, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ are all capable of streaming content that supports HDR10+, but you’ll need the Apple TV 4K (2022) in order to take advantage of it.
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4 You want to use it as a Home hub
A good choice if you don’t have a HomePod
If you have an Apple TV, you likely are in Apple’s walled garden. If that’s the case, then Apple’s Home app may be your smart home app of choice. There are plenty of HomeKit-compatible products that you control with your iPhone or via Siri when you’re in your home, but if you’re away from home, you can’t control them remotely without a Home hub. This is a device that can communicate with the smart home tech in your home when you’re not there.
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Currently, there are only two options that you can use as a fully-featured Apple Home Hub. You can use a HomePod (or HomePod mini) or you can use an Apple TV (fourth generation or later). You can also use an iPad if it’s left at home and powered on, but this won’t work with the more reliable architecture of the upgraded Home app. Upgrading your Apple TV could let you turn on your coffee machine on the drive home from work, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
5 You have Thread-compatible smart home tech
An ideal Thread border router
A lot of smart home devices use Wi-Fi to communicate, which makes them simple to set up and use, but isn’t an ideal solution. If you have smart home technology that’s a long way from your router, the Wi-Fi signal may be so weak that your smart tech doesn’t work as it should.
Mesh networks can solve this problem. Communication protocols such as Zigbee pass on information from device to device, creating a network of nodes that allow you to communicate with devices at the opposite end of the house without any degradation of signal.
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Another wireless communication protocol that works in a similar manner is Thread. Thread is a low-power, low-latency mesh networking protocol that was designed specifically for smart home devices. If you have devices that support Thread, however, you’ll need a Home hub that can talk to them. Thread isn’t supported by most Apple TV models, but the Apple TV 4K (2022) has Thread built-in, meaning you can add Thread devices to your smart home and control them via the Home app.
6 You’ve filled up the storage
Upgrade for more space
Apple has notoriously always been a bit tight with its storage options. Many of my older iPhones, for example, would get filled up pretty fast because being the cheapskate I am, I opted for the base model with the minimum amount of storage.
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The same applies to the Apple TV. The first model had a 40GB hard drive, but the second replaced it with a paltry 8GB of flash storage. Things did improve with the introduction of the fourth-generation Apple TV, with the storage leaping up to 32GB for the standard model, or 64GB if you paid extra.
With the Apple TV 4K (2022), we finally hit triple figures, with 64GB and 128GB models available. If you find that your Apple TV storage is running low, it may be time for an upgrade.
7 You’ve burned all your Lightning cables
USB-C charging for your Siri Remote
When my iPhone 15 Pro arrived, with its shiny new USB-C port, I celebrated with a ceremonial bonfire of all of my Lightning cables. It was only after the embers had burned out that I realized that there were plenty of devices that still needed them. My Magic Mouse, for example, still requires a Lightning cable. And unless you own the newest model of Apple TV, so does your Apple TV remote.
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If you want to say goodbye to your Lightning cables once and for all, then you could just buy a new Siri Remote. But this could also be the excuse you need to upgrade your Apple TV, too.
8 You want to play some Apple Arcade games
A games console of sorts
It’s fair to say that the Apple TV isn’t most people’s device of choice when it comes to gaming. However, you can actually have a reasonably good time playing some Apple Arcade games on your Apple TV. If you have an Apple One subscription, you get Apple Arcade included for free, which is even better.
The good news is that you won’t be stuck trying to game with your Apple TV remote, either. The Apple TV now offers support for controllers such as a PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller, or a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. However, for the best experience, you’ll want an Apple TV with a fast processor, which may mean having to upgrade.
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9 You can’t turn it on
Nothing lasts forever, not even your Apple TV
There’s one truly compelling reason why you may want to upgrade your Apple TV, and that’s if you can’t turn it on. The little black box is great when it works, but unfortunately, I have had an issue with one of my older Apple TV boxes giving up the ghost and just refusing to turn on.
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If your Apple TV has become nothing more than a pretty ugly paperweight, it’s probably time to upgrade.
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