The Apple TV is one of the devices that the Cupertino company updates the least, something evident given the use and requirements that a product of this type needs. However, depending on your needs and the use that you are going to make of this equipment, you have to know perfectly what are the differences between the two models that Apple currently sells. Therefore, in this post we are going to explain what each of the Apple TV provides.
Let’s talk about design, are they the same?
Apple is a company that, as it cannot be otherwise, takes care of even the smallest detail of its products, but without a doubt, something for which Apple devices have always stood out is for having a particularly careful design , very attractive in the eyes of most users. Therefore, we are going to start this comparison talking about the design of the Apple TV.
Aesthetics, measurements and weight
With Apple TVs, the Cupertino company must have thought something like, “If this works, why change it?” . And it is that the design of both the Apple TV 4K 2021, and the Apple TV HD is exactly the same, that means that the users of this device like those elegant lines that they have. As with other products of the company that are intended to occupy a place in the home, Apple has to take extreme care of the aesthetics of these devices, in this case the Apple TV, because they are products that, after all , They are going to be part of the decoration of a home, so they have to find a way to design an attractive device, but at the same time that it goes practically unnoticed within the homes of its users, and it seems that with the Apple TV it They have gotten.
Below you have available the dimensions of both Apple TV, since as we mentioned, they are exactly the same.
- Height: 3.5 centimeters
- Width: 9.8 centimeters
- Depth: 9.8 centimeters
- Weight: 425 grams
Changes to your remote control
An element that is almost on par with the importance of the Apple TV is its remote, known as the Siri Remote . Contrary to what has happened in recent years with the design of the player, which we have seen has been maintained given the acceptance of users, the fate of this remote controller has been different. In fact, both the Apple TV 4K 2021 and the Apple TV HD have a completely renewed Siri Remote , with a design that more closely resembles past versions than its predecessor. All this despite the fact that the ‘HD’ came up to now with the old remote control with a much less functional design.
Really, everything has changed in the Siri Remote, to begin with the aesthetics of the device is completely different, previously we had a completely black equipment that has happened to have the body in silver and the buttons, to distinguish them perfectly, in black. Below we list the buttons with which you can interact:
- Microphone for Siri.
- Tactile clickpad.
- Behind.
- Play / Pause.
- Silence.
- On off.
- Siri.
- TV / Home.
- Volume up / down.
In addition, the Siri Remote has Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology, an infrared transmitter and a charging Lightning connector with which you can charge the remote’s battery, which has a range of several months with a single charge . This charge can be done either by connecting the remote to a computer via USB or to power through a power adapter.
The big difference is in the hardware
We have started this comparison talking about the design of both Apple TVs, where, obviously, there is no difference. However, if we uncover everything that is inside, and above all, what the differences that we find within the Apple TV 4K 2021 imply with respect to the Apple TV HD, then we will appreciate the change between both models and, perhaps, the public. to which each of them are addressed.
Does it affect capacity?
The first difference that we find is in the capacity with which you can acquire one model or another. In case you do not want to go to the Apple TV 4K 2021 and decide to purchase the Apple TV HD, you only have one storage option available, 32 GB . However, if you think that those 32 GB will not be enough for the use that you are going to make of the Apple TV, then you have to acquire the Apple TV 4K 2021 that has two storage options, 32 and 64 GB .
Ports and interfaces that devices have
In the first point of this comparison we have not been entirely honest with you. We commented that the design of both Apple TV was the same, that aesthetically there was no difference that stood out, and really, the design is the same, however, if we go to the back of both devices, yes, aesthetically we can appreciate a small difference in the ports that each of them have.
In this way, the Apple TV HD has one more port compared to the Apple TV 4K 2021, even offering a USB-C port. In this way, the ports and interfaces that you have available on the Apple TV HD are the following.
- HDMI 1.4.
- Wifi 802.11ac with MIMO.
- 10 / 100BASE-T Ethernet.
- Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology.
- Infrared receiver.
- USB-C (for technical assistance).
- Integrated power supply.
On the other hand, below you have the ports and interfaces offered by the Apple TV 4K 2021 .
- HDMI 2.1.
- Wifi 802.11ax (6th gen) with MIMO. Simultaneous dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz).
- Thread.
- Gigabit Ethernet.
- Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology.
- Infrared receiver.
- Integrated power supply.
The processor changes everything
As we mentioned, the great difference that exists between the two Apple TVs is inside , specifically on the chip that each of them mount. On the one hand, the Apple TV HD has the A8 chip , which if we look back, is the chip that the iPhone 6 and 6 plus mount, so, honestly, we all thought it was time to take a leap to be able to offer the user much more power, hence the Apple TV 4K 2021 that has the A12 Bionic chip , which although it is not the most modern Apple chip, because remember, it is the one currently mounted on the iPhone XS and XS Max, but if that gives a completely new life to a device that in terms of power had fallen a bit short to perform some tasks.
What formats are they compatible with?
Video formats
Here are the video and image formats compatible with Apple TV HD .
- SDR / HEVC up to 1080p, 30f / s, Main / Main Profile 10
- H.264 video up to 1080p, 60f / s, high profile or main level 4.2 or lower.
- H.264 in basic profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC sound up to 160 Kb / s per channel, 48 kHz and stereo sound in .m4vm .mp4 and .mov file formats.
- MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mb / s, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps, single profile with AAC-LC sound up to 160 Kb / s, 48 kHz and stereo sound in .m4v, .m4v file formats. mp4 and .mov.
- HEIF, JPEG, GIF and TIFF
On the other hand, we have the video and image formats compatible with the Apple TV 4K 2021 .
- H.264 / HEVC SDR video up to 2160p, 60 fps, Main / Main Profile 10.
- HEVC Dolby Vision (Profile 5) / HDR10 (Main Profile 10) up to 2160p, 60 fps.
- H.264 in basic profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC sound up to 160 Kb / s per channel, 48 kHz and stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.
- MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mb / s, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 fps, single profile with AAC-LC sound up to 160 Kb / s, 48 kHz and stereo sound in .m4v, .m4v file formats. mp4 and .mov.
- HEIF, JPEG, GIF, and TIFF.
Audio Formats
Here are the audio formats that are compatible with Apple TV HD: HE ‑ AAC (V1), AAC (up to 320 Kb / s), Protected AAC (from the iTunes Store), MP3 (up to 320 Kb / s), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF and WAV, AC ‑ 3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) and E ‑ AC ‑ 3 (Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound).
On the other hand, these are the audio formats supported by the Apple TV 4K 2021: HE ‑ AAC (V1), AAC (up to 320 Kb / s), Protected AAC (from the iTunes Store), MP3 (up to 320 Kb / s) , MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, FLAC, AIFF and WAV, AC ‑ 3 (Dolby Digital 5.1), E ‑ AC ‑ 3 (Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound) and Dolby Atmos.
Do they work with all televisions?
We start again with the Apple TV HD, which in this case is compatible with high definition televisions that have HDMI and with Bluetooth keyboards. On the other hand, the Apple TV 4K 2021 is compatible with HD and Ultra HD (4K) televisions that have an HDMI port and in the same way, it is also compatible with Bluetooth keyboards.
What do Apple TV bring to the user?
We put aside the technical specifications of both devices and we are going to talk about what they are capable of generating in the user, that is, what these devices contribute to people’s day-to-day lives , which is really what matters, Because at the end of the day, it is useless to talk and boast of many specifications if later, the user experience when using it and enjoying it is not satisfactory.
The device to consume quality multimedia content
Apple TV is a device that Apple created thinking about the comfort of users who want their television to be one more part of the entire ecosystem of Apple devices with which they work and interact in their day-to-day lives. One of its advantages is the possibility of making use of technologies typical of the ecosystem such as AirPlay , which we will talk about later. However, the greatest value that this device brings to users is the fact of being able to enjoy a gadget capable of encompassing all the consumption of multimedia content through the different applications of the different services.
After all, the user who has an Apple TV can consume all the existing multimedia content from his television, from YouTube or Netflix , to traditional television channels such as TVE through the application of his television company such as Movistar . This is one of the most outstanding points, that you have everything in one, you want to see what you want to see you know that everything will be on your Apple TV and this is a point to be taken into account by users.
AirPlay and Apple TV, a perfect and very useful combination
As we mentioned before, one of the advantages of using an Apple TV is that you transform your television into one more point of the Apple ecosystem, which means enjoying technologies such as AirPlay. With AirPlay you will be able to launch to your television any content that you want and that you are consuming in another Apple device, be it an iPhone, an iPad, an iPod or a Mac. You can even make your television, one more screen with which to work when you use your Apple computer.
Application shortage
Unfortunately, when we talk about Apple TV not all are positive things, and to finish we want to talk to you about, perhaps, the most negative point of this product, which is its application store . The variety of applications that Apple television has is not very wide, however, perhaps we would have to reflect and think that, after all, we are talking about a television and we cannot expect that each of the applications that we enjoy on other Apple devices such as the iPhone or iPad, have their version for tvOS.
One of the ways in which the Cupertino company has wanted to promote Apple TV is through, first, the subscription service for movies, series and documentaries, Apple TV +, which has been relatively successful, and also the service video game subscription, Apple Arcade. And it is that in this section, the Apple TV, now with the 4K version of 2021 and the A12 Bionic chip, can be a very usable device if Apple launches really attractive games for its platform and that are perfectly playable with a remote connected to Apple. TV.