Apple TV 4K: Support for 4K resolution

I have the latest generation of the Apple TV 4K. And I absolutely love running Zwift on it. It works very well with the Companion app in terms of connecting all my bluetooth devices (POWERLNK power meter pedals, Kickr, Tickr) and interacting with the UI. And since I have an Apple TV in on a 42" tv it allows me a more immersive experience as opposed to running Zwift on a tablet, computer, or phone.

With that being said is there any plan to allow Zwift to run on 4K or at least 1440 on Apple TV? Is there a technical limitation with the A12 chip or the architecture in some way?

The technical limitation is that it’s nowhere near powerful enough.

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Meh, that seemed the obvious answer. Especially reading Zwift’s recommendations to run 4K on PC since they more or less recommend discrete graphic cards. Without thinking about it I thought it didn’t take a lot more to do 4K on Zwift since 4K Apple TV can handle 4K images. But obviously 4K 3D renders takes A LOT more processing than 4K streaming.

Is 1440 out of the question as well?

On PC with a dedicated graphics card, the increase in raw power required to go from 1080p to 1440p in Zwift is negligible. That’s why from GTX 960 upwards/newer there’s no point even bothering with 1080p. 4K requires a massive step up, which really isn’t worth the extra cost and demand.

Bear in mind that the profile (what you actually see in terms of detail and features) is unrelated to the resolution the game is rendered in. Apple TV gets Basic profile, which is the lowest tier. A GTX 960 gets Ultra profile, which is the highest. So there’s not really any comparison. If you want better graphics in Zwift, ditch the Apple TV.

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Is the Apple TV also limited in what profile it can render?

Profile is always automatically determined by the game. Game/render resolution is selectable by the user on PC and Mac.

Apple TV 4K gets Basic profile in 1080p resolution at around 30fps. There are no options.

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