Apple TV 4K: The Video Streaming Box You Don't Need to Buy

Late last week, a Reddit poster who claimed to work at Amazon said Amazon Prime Video wouldn’t be coming to Apple TV until at least the end of October. As the poster explained, “The app is done, and has been done for months already. However there are a lot of politics going on beyond my pay grade that are pushing the launch back.”

My first thought when reading this was one of mild disappointment. A feeling of I DON’T CARE ANYMORE quickly followed.

Whether the Reddit post is factual or not doesn’t matter. The truth is the Amazon Prime Video app is still missing on Apple TV, four months after Tim Cook promised it would be arriving “later this year.”

Obviously, Apple has three months to go before it would break that promise. However, I think we all have the right to ask, what’s taking so long?

I’ve been a faithful user of Apple TV since the first model arrived in 2007. I was thrilled eight years later when Cupertino finally introduced an Apple TV with an app store. Little progress on the device has occurred ever since.

Being unable to stream Amazon Prime Video on Apple TV has always bugged me. However, by itself, this omission was never enough for me to seriously consider Apple TV alternatives. That moment arrived on Sept. 12 with the introduction of the Apple TV 4K.

The launch last month of this fifth-generation Apple TV should have been a time to celebrate. Instead, it felt underwhelming, at best, for a few important reasons.

While adding 4K HDR support to Apple TV was a necessary step, it’s one that should have happened two years ago. In other words, thank you Apple, but what took you so long?

Another big issue is the price Apple charges for the fifth-generation devices. The 32GB Apple TV 4K is $179, while the 64GB version is $199. Meanwhile, the top-of-the-line Roku Ultra is $99, compared to $69 for the recently introduced next-generation Amazon Fire TV.

Apple TV’s premium prices would have made a little more sense had Apple allowed you to download 4K titles to the box. However, this isn’t possible, as you can only download HD-quality video.

One final beef: The Siri-based remote has stuck around for another Apple TV release. Why Apple, why?

Unless you have a large iTunes library or lots of Apple TV-compatible iOS games, there’s little reason to purchase an Apple TV, at least for right now. Save yourself some money and access 4K content through other avenues. You can also enjoy Amazon Prime Video right now on these devices.

Did you purchase an Apple TV 4K? Let us know below.