I am unplugging my Apple TV 4K for good — here is why

There was a time when if somebody requested me what sensible TV working system or streaming gadget was my favourite, the reply was quite simple: the Apple TV 4K. Its smooth design is unparalleled, the UI is straightforward to navigate, the newest Siri Distant is nice, streaming app updates usually hit the platform first, and it helps notable high-end visible and audio codecs like HDR10, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, Dolby Atmos, and extra. It will probably even play nice informal video games like Alto’s Journey, Crossy Highway Fortress, and Pac-Man 256, although admittedly, I do not do that fairly often on my Apple TV 4K (2021).

The streaming gadget is perhaps dear, but it surely’s really probably the most full packages on the market.

Extra importantly, it was as soon as probably the most dependable glitch-free streaming gadget accessible, however sadly, that is modified over the previous few years. And to be clear, I am not utilizing an previous mannequin — that is the second era Apple TV 4K (2021) I am speaking about. Whether or not it is Apple not inserting as a lot emphasis on tvOS’ growth or the Apple TV 4K being pushed to the facet normally (the place is that refresh that’s been rumored for years?), my expertise with the tech big’s streamer has grow to be considerably much less secure over the previous few years, main me to think about leaping to a Roku gadget and even one in every of Amazon’s Hearth TV streamers.

The listing of points is rising

I miss the Apple TV’s period of stability

A number of the key points I’ve encountered are apps regularly freezing or not loading correctly, forcing me to reset the Apple TV 4K or uninstall/reinstall after which signal again into no matter streaming platform I am experiencing points with. This challenge could possibly be on the app facet, however even when that is the case, Apple must be on high of it since its App Retailer is so tightly managed and curated. This has at all times been a key cause why the Apple TV’s App Retailer is so nice.

Subsequent up is an odd audio looping drawback I usually encounter. Typically, after I pause or end content material on a streaming app like Netflix, audio will begin looping till I flip the Apple TV 4K off, whereas in different conditions, I can simply stop the app and return in. This began taking place after the Apple TV 4K up to date to tvOS 26 and has grow to be progressively worse over the previous few weeks. I’ve additionally encountered one other odd audio bug the place the Apple TV disconnects from my soundbar completely, forcing me to restart the Apple TV and my soundbar. May this be a problem with my soundbar? It is doable, however I do not run into the identical drawback after I watch content material immediately although my TV.

Including to the pile of issues is the truth that streaming apps randomly freeze or leg, the second era Siri Distant disconnects, and in some circumstances, the Apple TV 4K drops its connection from my Nest Wifi Professional completely, forcing me to manually reconnect (although to be truthful, I’ve had lots of points with Google’s router). Even AirPlay 2 has been a little bit of a multitude, with movies usually not casting to the Apple TV 4K from my iPhone 17 Pro.

After a protracted day at work, I do not need to spend 20 minutes troubleshooting issues with my streaming gadget. I simply need to sit again and launch The Sopranos on Crave (for US readers, that is the place all HBO content material streams in Canada), and zone out for a bit. With all of those points in thoughts, I would actually prefer to see Apple give attention to stability enhancements with tvOS 27, as a substitute of iOS 26’s Liquid Glass’ flashy visible redesign, the addition of FaceTime, and singing alongside to Apple Music songs, all options I both do not use or do not care about.

Very bluntly, I need a streaming gadget that is easy to make use of and works persistently, and at the least proper now, that is not the Apple TV 4K (2021).

So what platform am I switching to?

I am not completely positive but

So what streaming platform will I find yourself transferring, too? I do not know but. My U8H Hisense TV’s built-in Google TV OS is not nice, and I’ve heard unhealthy issues concerning the Google TV Streamer. There was a time after I was all in on Roku, so I can see myself touchdown again in that camp, or possibly I am going to give Amazon’s new Hearth TV Choose an opportunity, although the platform’s current shift to Vega OS and the rampant blocking of a sure kind of app limits its attraction significantly, particularly as the price of streaming app subscriptions continues to skyrocket.

In actuality, I actually do not need to abandon the Apple TV 4K and tvOS. It is the platform I’ve used for years, and I am very comfy with it. I simply want Apple to step its sport up prefer it did again when iOS began to undergo from stability points a couple of years in the past.