Apple TV 4 (2015) in the test

No matter what report on the new Apple TV 4 (2015) one on the net also read: Almost all worthy colleagues rushed to the quotation from Apple boss Tim Cook, which in September with the 4th generation of the Streamingbox nothing less than the “future of the Television “. It was clear: whoever is so busy with the mouth must also be able to plug in.


Commissioning


And Apple stuck in. A week after Apple TV 4, Amazon presented its 2nd generation Fire TV Box and clearly outlived the competitors in the Medienduell: With the possibility to stream in 4K Ultra HD and the comparatively cheap selling price of 99 euros - the price for the Apple TV 4 starts at 179 euros - the former pioneer seemed hopeless against the power of the online retailer. But how does the new Apple TV really cut off in the Praxistest?


Device and remote control


Unboxing is always a small feast for Apple. Open high-quality packaging, take the products out of the clearcoat sleeves, check the short instructions, connect to the TV via the HDMI cable and connect it to the network via Ethernet cable (of course, WLAN is also possible)

Siris little sister


As with iPhones and iPads, the Apple TV 4 guides the user via the screen through the first steps. For iPhone owners, it is especially easy this time, since via Bluetooth simply the customer data is automatically transferred to the small black box and thus no individual registration is necessary. Apple does not forego an optical connection for the first time. Say: The sound is only transmitted directly via HDMI.


Base of the new Apple TV the 4th generation is tvOS, a modification of the Apple operating system iOS. But there is also news on the outside. The box is slightly higher than the previous model and with 400 grams also 100 grams heavier. The remote control is still narrow and light, but this time comes with a touchpad and a new button for the Siri voice control.


Otherwise the possibilities of the encoder are limited again to the most important handgrips: loud-quiet, start-pause, as well as menu and home button regulate everything necessary. You can press apps or other content on the screen with light pressure on the touchpad. Otherwise, the pad is mainly for scrolling and wiping.


Thanks to the fast-paced 64-bit A8 processor, the Apple TV 4 is very easy and convenient to use. The wiping speed can also be adjusted in three steps. What is new is that the remote control has its own lightning connection, which is used to charge the battery. However, according to Apple, it is only three, four times a year. Vacancy is displayed on the screen in good time.


At Apple TV is almost s.iis little sister is used. Because their search possibilities are limited compared to the iPhone and iPad on the program offers from Apple. In addition, the TV Siri still searches the app of the streaming provider Netflix.


Apple promised during the presentation to work on the Siri integration of further apps. In the US, other VoD apps such as Hulu and HBO are already included. Nevertheless, Apple is already a good step forward, because the language search at competitor Amazon so far is only limited to the in-house content. It's a pity that the TV Siri can not search the Apple Music streaming app preinstalled on Apple TV 4.


The search for films of certain directors and actors works very well - as far as simple names are. Also the folks search (for "all films of Schwarzenegger" for example "only the films from the 80s") folds. If you ask Siri during a movie "What did he say?", She rewinds 15 seconds. Very useful when you are interrupted or something has not been understood.