Recently, when I visited a friend's house, I was deeply attracted by his Apple TV. After trying it out, I was impressed by its performance and user experience, which aroused my desire to buy one. So I ordered my own Apple TV through Taobao, and in this article, I will share my unboxing experience, purchase price, and some recommended software that I personally use. I hope to provide useful information for those who are interested.

Preface

The reason why Apple TV is relatively niche is that the product is not sold in mainland China, and many software applications (such as Netflix) require magic Internet tools to use smoothly. Therefore, it is not recommended for novices to purchase, otherwise, many software applications may not be available. If you are considering buying, here are some tools and accessories you need to prepare.

• Magic Internet tools
• Non-mainland Apple account, such as Hong Kong or US Apple account
• A TV that supports 4K or higher resolution
• HDMI high-definition cable (not included)
• Type-C charger (not included)
• An iPhone (not necessary)

Configuration and Price

The model purchased by xiaoz is the 2022 new Apple TV 7th generation, US version, 128GB. There are differences between different versions, as follows:

• The power plug of the Hong Kong version is not suitable for mainland China and requires an adapter. Therefore, it is recommended to choose the US version, which does not require additional conversion.
• The 64GB version is a wireless version, and the 128GB version is a wireless + wired version, which means that the 128GB version supports wired connection, while the 64GB version only supports wireless connection.

The price of the 2022 new Apple TV 7th generation, US version, 128GB is ￥1188.00, and it is sent by SF Express for free shipping. The purchase link is: https://m.tb.cn/h.gZSbpCr

Unboxing

In order to protect the environment, Apple TV does not use plastic film packaging, which is normal.

The bottom of the box is sealed with a pull-tab for anti-counterfeiting. Note: If there is no pull-tab, it may have been opened before.

The seller gave a remote control protective cover as a gift.

The official accessories only include power cord, TV box, and remote control, without HDMI cable and charger.

The following are the box displays (the box is small and can be held with one hand).

The remote control is made of metal, with a strong texture, and uses a Type-C charging interface, which can be charged with Android chargers. By default, it has about 80% battery power.

The side of the remote control can use Siri voice input, but it seems to only support English.

Recommended Software

Here are some recommended software that xiaoz uses. These choices may not be suitable for everyone, so please choose the appropriate software based on your needs. Note that installing these software applications may require the use of non-mainland Apple accounts, and some software applications may require paid purchases.

• Shadowrocket: used for magic Internet, hard to spell out the full name, those who know, know (need to purchase).
• Netflix: a popular streaming media service platform that provides a rich selection of movies, TV shows, and original content. Suitable for users who like to follow new dramas and movies (subscription required).
• YouTube: the world's largest video sharing website, with various educational, entertainment, and information videos. Suitable for users of all ages looking for video tutorials, music, news, and more (free + subscription).
• Infuse: a powerful video player that supports multiple formats of video files, providing excellent organization and playback experience, suitable for users who want to directly play high-quality video files on their devices (need to purchase).
• Vidhub: Similar to Infuse, it is hailed as the best alternative to the free version of Infuse and supports connection to Jellyfin (free).
• Fileball: provides file management, music player, video player (free + paid).

If you have more excellent software recommendations, please leave a message at the bottom to share.

User Experience

The user interface of Apple TV gives people a clean, tidy, and comfortable feeling, which is in sharp contrast to the situation of many Android TV boxes in China that are full of bundled software and messy advertisements. At the same time, the operation of Apple TV is very smooth, and the quality of third-party software is also quite high. However, it should be noted that most software applications are paid, and not purchasing these software applications may not fully utilize all the functions of Apple TV.

The voice input on the sidebar of the Apple TV remote control seems to only recognize English and cannot recognize Chinese. Is it deliberately castrated because it is not sold in mainland China? Or maybe xiaoz is doing it wrong. Welcome to leave a message for advice.

Apple TV does not support Chinese voice input, which makes it inefficient to use the remote control for text input. However, if you have an iPhone, you can use it to remotely input text, greatly improving input speed and convenience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although Apple TV is a relatively niche choice in the domestic market, its simple and elegant user interface and high-quality third-party software do bring users a unique experience. Although Chinese input and software purchases may bring some inconvenience, these are not insurmountable obstacles for users who seek high-quality audiovisual enjoyment. I hope that the sharing in this article can help you better understand the characteristics and value of Apple TV, and bring new possibilities to your smart home life.

In addition, xiaoz has created a communication group specifically for NAS users. If you are interested, you can join by scanning the WeChat QR code below. If the group is full or expired, you can add xiaoz's WeChat account: xiaozme, and please note "NAS player". I will invite you to join the group.