You Can't Download 4K Movies on Your New Apple TV 4K
Apple has announced you cannot download 4K movies to the new Apple TV 4K, which officially launches today, Sept. 22. The move, which was first uncovered by MacRumors, is detailed in a new support document.
In announcing the new Apple TV 4K last week, Apple said existing iTunes purchases would be converted for free from HD to 4K when available at no extra cost. Now we’re finding out the freebie comes with a restriction.
You can’t download the converted titles. Instead, Apple limits downloads to HD copies only.
As Apple explains:
You can download a local copy of an HD movie, and you might be able to download HDR and Dolby Vision versions, but you can’t download a 4K version.
This restriction is on all 4K content, not just on titles previously purchased. In other words, you can’t watch any 4K content on your new Apple TV offline.
On the surface, this rule sounds like a bad deal. However, 4K video is significantly larger than 1080p HD and would take up a lot more space, which as an Apple TV 4K user, you don’t have.
The Apple TV 4K is only available with 32GB and 64GB of storage. The newest iPhones and iPads offer up to 256GB of storage.
You can purchase the Apple 4K through Apple.com and at other retailers.
