If you’re plugging something into the TV to watch a movie or TV show, you’re most likely doing it through your TV’s HDMI port. Depending on your TV’s age, you might be dealing with an HDMI 2.1 port, or you might be dealing with something older. HDMI ports are more important than you think, and if you want to get the most performance possible out of your devices, you’ll want to use an HDMI 2.1 cable in an HDMI 2.1 port. This is essential for your Xbox Series X and PS5 as it’s the gateway into variable refresh rate (VRR) and 120 FPS gaming.

For other devices, that HDMI cable isn’t as important. Take a look at the Apple TV 4K for a second. The third-gen Apple TV 4K comes with an HDMI 2.1 port, which is great since that’s the most modern port available at the moment. I would assume a fourth-gen model, if that’s ever coming, will launch with the same thing. I’m actually sitting on a first-gen Apple TV 4K, and it might be shocking to hear that this model boasts an HDMI 2.0 port. This older format is worse on paper, but it’s not all that bad. I would upgrade to the newer model just so I can get meaningful tvOS updates again, not because I want a newer HDMI port. Don’t get me wrong though, I wouldn’t complain about being able to use an updated port and cable.

Brand

Apple

Bluetooth codecs

5.0

Wi-Fi

6

Ethernet

Gigabit (128GB model only)

Storage and RAM

64GB, 128GB

I don’t need that newer HDMI port

HDMI 2.0 is fine for Apple TV

An older HDMI port like this might be cause for alarm for some people, but I’m not bothered by this at all. The first-gen Apple TV 4K still outputs at 4K resolution with Dolby Vision all the same, so there’s really no rush for me to upgrade to a newer port. From that standpoint, it’s a bit interesting because 2.0 and 2.1 perform the same on paper. That’s because for streaming boxes like this, the two are pretty much the same. The HDMI 2.1 cable offers more bandwidth, but streaming is already limited to a point where that’s not all that important. The extra bandwidth is big for physical media, something an Apple TV 4K doesn’t have to be concerned about.

While I’m a big proponent of putting an end to the older HDMI formats, just because it’s more confusing than it has to be, it doesn’t mean you have to run out and upgrade all your cables. In fact, the vast majority of people would be perfectly fine using HDMI 2.0 cables, and they might already be doing that without realizing. Features like 120 FPS gaming or VRR don’t matter at all with your streaming services, so there’s no need to upgrade anything. I would love to upgrade my Apple TV 4K, but I wouldn’t be doing it for that updated HDMI port.

While HDMI 2.2 is right around the corner, it feels like we’re in an interesting position where most devices work perfectly fine using HDMI 2.0. HDMI 2.1 still hasn’t been maximized either, so the timing of 2.2 is a curious one. I think going forward, we’ll see game consoles take more advantage of the 2.2 capabilities.

4K TVs feel like a natural stopping point at the moment, and 8K TVs are a long way out from mainstream adoption. I don’t actually know if we’ll ever get there, and if that’s the case, then HDMI 2.0 will be around for quite a while. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but I do feel like it’s a bit strange that upgrading from my nearly decade-old Apple TV 4K would result in a negligible upgrade in quality. From a certain point of view, it’s great that I don’t feel like I have to upgrade, because it means I don’t have to spend a hundred or so dollars on something I don’t need. Now, don’t get me wrong, an upgrade would certainly be worth it. My Apple TV 4K runs into hiccups a lot more than it used to, and I’d love to feel included in all the tvOS features that skip my model. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed and hope the rumors about a fourth generation are true. I’ve been telling myself that for over a year now, so I’m in it for the long haul.

Plenty of reasons to upgrade aside from an HDMI port

Faster speeds would be appreciated

What’s interesting is that when I compare the specs of the first-gen model with the third-gen model, there are a lot of similarities. The main thing for me is that both models support Dolby Vision, 2160p, and 60 FPS. This is all I could really want from an Apple TV model, and you get it with each of the 4K models. In most cases, I’d recommend still getting the newest model that you can get because it’ll be sure to last longer. I picked up my Apple TV used, and for about $50, I’ve gotten plenty of years of use out of it, so I can’t complain.

There are some small changes, however, that make the third-gen a worthy successor to the first-gen. The big one is that the first-gen model uses the older A10X Fusion chip while the third-generation model is powered by the A15 Bionic chip. This makes for a snappier experience, and when you couple that with the overall age of my current device, I’m sure it’d feel like a transformative experience.

The newest model also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, compared to the first-gen’s Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0. This minimizes connection issues, but I don’t have any problems with that currently. The bigger problem I have now is the price change that took the base model Apple TV 4K’s price and raised it to $200. The Ethernet port version now costs $250, so it’s not a great time to buy an Apple TV 4K by any means. It feels like I’m going to be sticking with my current model for a while now, so it’s a good thing that I don’t really mind its lack of an HDMI 2.1 port. More importantly, this has me very worried about what the price of a fourth-gen model even looks like. The Apple TV 4K is already the most expensive streamer on the market by a good margin, and I would imagine that updated hardware will push that boundary even further. It’s already a tough sell for a lot of people at $150, and when you tack an additional $100 on to that price, I’m not sure who it’s going to be for.