Thinking of buying an Apple Tv 4k Box

(Also see the Apple TV box user guide.)

What is the 64GB and 128GB used for? I understand its for how many things you can download, but why exactly would you need this much memory? […] Oh and I was told it is worth buying the 128GB tv box, but I still do not understand why would I need the memory if the films are purchased and streamed from the Apple servers?

The disk size is used for storing the system software, settings, apps, and cache files (including screen saver files). Many users may not strictly “need” this much, but it is part of a package deal: The 128 GB model also has Ethernet (wired networking option) and Thread networking support (for home automation, select smart home devices), which the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi-only 64 GB model lacks.

Especially game apps [e.g. Apple Arcade line of games] can be quite large in file size, if you are into that.

Can I open my iCloud Drive Mac files on the apple tv? For example, can I show my family some videos which are on my mac I cloud drive on the Apple tv box?

Not directly like folder browsing, but …

• iCloud Photos (and videos in that same library) can be accessed on the Apple TV box through the Photos app.
• Users may alternatively use Home Sharing to access media from the Mac (not iCloud) on the Apple TV box. Access the media through the Computers app on Apple TV.
• Users may alternatively use AirPlay to stream from Mac to Apple TV.

My last question is, all my music which is in my librairy on the mac, How do I get it to show up on the Apple TV 4k box? I believe this is only on my MAC SSD right?

I would suggest to use Home Sharing for DRM-free audio files on your Mac. Then access the library files through the Computers app on Apple TV.

If you ever decide to subscribe to Apple Music, then you can access your library directly on Apple TV through the Music app. The Music app on Apple TV is for online streaming only; not for streaming from a computer on your home network.

With Apple Home Sharing, your Mac becomes a sort of server, from which other Apple devices with the same Apple ID, on your home network can access content from it. The library in the Music app on Mac then shows up on the Apple TV box in the Computers app, Music tab. Your Mac should be on, and network connected, but you do not need to have physical access to the Mac; you can operate it from the Apple TV box.

Somewhat reversely (push vs. pull), with AirPlay, you can stream from the Music app on Mac to any device that is AirPlay-receiving enabled, such as an Apple TV box. When working on your Mac, you can have the Apple TV box play the music that is on your Mac, through the home network. This way of music playback would be operated from the Mac.

An Apple Music subscription is separate from that and completely optional; not needed to play the music that you have now from other sources. It was mentioned to note that the Music app on Apple TV is different from the Music app on Mac, when it comes to music from other sources than Apple.

I'm from the UK, but I live in Japan. If I purchase this here, can I change the language the same as my Mac which I purchased in Japan.

The Apple TV box can be set to have any interface language that you want. That would be the first question in the setup of the device, much like iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

My wife is Japanese and even though she understand English, she likes to have Japanese subtitles, so is there a way to add Subtitles? I have a UK Apple Account, so my purchased films, for example Oppenheimer only has English subtitles and Audio. is there a way to add Japanese subtitles?

The supplying studio decides for each title which subtitles they want to include for each country or region. Users can’t add to that. If your Apple ID is set to the UK, then you get the UK edition of a movie, with subtitle tracks as selected for the UK. Oppenheimer is not yet on streaming in Japan, possibly initially avoided for sensitivity reasons. I hear it is in theaters there since April this year.

The UK edition of Oppenheimer is said to have these subtitles; no Japanese.

I noticed Amazon Japan are selling the Apple Tv Box shipped and sold by Amazon slightly cheaper. Is there any difference ordering it from Amazon over Apple?

Amazon is a tricky reseller, in that they offer both their own products and products from other resellers, all mixed together as one shop. Amazon itself is an official Apple Authorized Reseller, but third party resellers on Amazon may not be. One really has to look at the fine print to know what you’re dealing with. This matters for (hardware) product support, if you need it at some point. For warranty situations, the (re)seller would be your first line of support, which might be neither Apple nor Amazon, if you’re not careful.

The Apple TV box may not be the latest version from other resellers. Apple itself currently only sells the A2737 and A2843 models. Verify extra that you get what you think you should get, when dealing with other resellers. (They would love to get rid of their older inventory at new prices …)

That being said, if the product specs confirm that model is what you wanted, then there wouldn’t be a difference in use.

Apple may have offers for buyers of new devices, when purchased from Apple or from an official Apple Authorized Reseller. That offer can’t be redeemed when purchased from non-official resellers.

You can probably get by on the 64GB. Here’s the two compared: Which Apple TV 4K is right for you?