Reviewed by: Joe Lonergan
Product Description
Apple TV 4K Wi-Fi 2022 is a digital streaming set top box that comes with a Siri remote. It has Voiceover Screen reader built in and many options to improve the viewing experience for low vision users. It has an A15 bionic processor, the same one found in the iPhone 14, it can be purchased with up to 128GB of storage and 4GB of ram. So, you do not experience any lag when switching between apps and menus. With a processor this powerful a device like this should be able to accept many software upgrades in the coming years. It supports spatial audio for owners of Air Pods Pro, and it connects seamlessly to Apple Home Pod smart speakers for a greater sur-round sound experience.
Its main function is to work as a streaming device so you can download all the usual apps such as Netflix, Disney plus and Amazon Prime just to mention a few. Of course, Apple will put up their own content front and centre from Apple TV plus and iTunes movies but that is understandable. Apple try to have everything on their platform to include Audio description.
The Siri Remote is quite impressive, On the righthand side of the remote there is a Siri button on its own, so this makes it easy to find especially if you have a vision impairment. It is also manageable for the very young members of the family. There is a touch sensitive D pad at the top of the remote so you can use some of your voiceover gestures such as the rotter, flick up and down for headings in certain apps that support it, or read words via letter if needs be. If you do not like the circular D pad being touch sensi-tive this can also be turned off in settings. There is only about 8 pressable buttons on the remote so should not take a long time to learn.
You can use Siri to open apps or find apps on the app store. Siri can also be used to play TV programs with a voice command like Siri play Ted Las-so on Apple TV? Or Play Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Plus. Then the TV program will start to play. You also got an option to enable typing into the apple TV using the IOS keyboard on your phone and you can find a virtual Apple TV remote in control centre.
Unboxing/What are my first impressions of the item?
When I opened the box, I got a square set top box which looks basic enough and there is no buttons or LCD display or anything, everything is kept simple. You plug it into the wall and then you plug in the HDMI cable into the TV and then you are ready to start set up. You use the remote to choose a language and select set up with iPhone. Once you choose to set up with iPhone you have to hold the iPhone close to the device to log in with your apple ID, you may be asked for a pin or Touch ID or face ID and then it will automatically add your Wi-Fi settings to the device. Follow the on-screen prompts to finish set up Then you are ready to go. Then it was time to decide what streaming apps I wanted so I chose Disney Plus and Netflix, RTE player and Virgin media player. Logging into some streaming apps was tedious as in some cases it asks for a QR code and if you are not good at these you may need some sighted help. Whereas some other apps needed a verification code sent via e mail to log in. But once set up all the above apps were very useable and almost all elements were read out with voiceover. The Apple TV plus streaming app is especially good with voice-over and Siri commands.
What did I like?
I liked the Siri Remote and the fact I could control and open some im-portant functions on the Apple TV with a voice. Command. I could also type into the Apple TV using the keyboard from my iPhone especially when pronunciation was an issue. Downloading apps was an easy process as I could search the app store with a voice command. I liked that I could stream my photos as a slide show on the TV. It was great that I could improve the sound of the TV by connecting to my home Pod Mini’s.What didn’t I like?
I didn’t like that the Netflix app did not support Siri commands, but at least I was able to navigate through the options with Voiceover.
Sometimes I needed to give the D pad a hard press when activating a but-ton, so this was not consistent.
To be honest I liked most things about the Apple TV. I am also looking forward to future updates and Facetime coming in the next version of the operating system. This will mean we can have Facetime on a large TV screen while using the iPhone as a Microphone.Accessibility from a low vision perspective
The Apple TV 4K has most of the same features that all other Apple devic-es have such as Zoom the built in Magnifier. You can use Hover text a se-lection box that enlarges any text on the screen. You can adjust the display to Bold text, increase contrast and adjust colour differentiation and bright-ness. There is also an option to reduce motion for things like banners and badges.
Accessibility from a no vision perspective
It is fully accessible from a no vision prospective as it has the Voiceover screen reader and also works with Siri.
Is there much of a learning curve?
If you are already an Apple user, the learning curve is small. If you are new to Apple products it will take a bit of time to get used to.
Did it meet my expectations?
Yes
Current price
It is currently €189 for the 128GB version, and it is €169 for the 64gb version.
To whom would I recommend this product? To anybody that has a vision impairment and needs a streaming device with a screen reader or low vision options or people that are fans of Apple products.