Do I really need Apple TV for Zwift? My plan is to just pull up Zwift on my phone and then connect/project it to my TV on my wall. Is spending $130 on Apple TV worth it when I could just save myself the money and project it off of my phone and onto my TV for free?
Do I really need Apple TV for Zwift? My plan is to just pull up Zwift on my phone and then connect/project it to my TV on my wall. Is spending $130 on Apple TV worth it when I could just save myself the money and project it off of my phone and onto my TV for free?
Much depends on how often you Zwift, your overall budget, and your tolerance for tech-related mishaps. If you go with a projected phone experience, hopefully you will never have an issue with drops, glitches, or failures-but that’s happened to my friends using this approach. On the other hand, I’ve never had an issue over three years of Apple TV Zwifting constantly over that span. N=1 for sure, but Apple TV always works. People using phones tend to experience more interruptions, so if you can afford the $130 and you want a seamless experience and you’re going to Zwift often? Worth it.
Do I really need Apple TV for Zwift? My plan is to just pull up Zwift on my phone and then connect/project it to my TV on my wall. Is spending $130 on Apple TV worth it when I could just save myself the money and project it off of my phone and onto my TV for free?
yes, it is worth it. frees up your phone to use the companion app, listen to music or to answer a text or whatever. no brainer in my opinion
Do I really need Apple TV for Zwift? My plan is to just pull up Zwift on my phone and then connect/project it to my TV on my wall. Is spending $130 on Apple TV worth it when I could just save myself the money and project it off of my phone and onto my TV for free?
yes, it is worth it. frees up your phone to use the companion app, listen to music or to answer a text or whatever. no brainer in my opinion
Alright. No brainer does it for me. Thanks much.
Yes, worth it.
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go. Right now I just bring my laptop into the pain cave for workouts (with the iPhone for the companion app), and have used the iPhone zwift app with a lightning->HDMI dongle in a pinch (works fine).
Do I really need Apple TV for Zwift? My plan is to just pull up Zwift on my phone and then connect/project it to my TV on my wall. Is spending $130 on Apple TV worth it when I could just save myself the money and project it off of my phone and onto my TV for free?
yes, it is worth it. frees up your phone to use the companion app, listen to music or to answer a text or whatever. no brainer in my opinion
Same story, 4 yeras and hundreds of hours and not a hiccup!
ATV since 2018 and 50000km not one issue.
But the haters will still point out there are no riders’ shadows on ATV. 
Similar question but with Trainerroad. Is anyone using the Apple 4K tv with trainer road?
There are riders shadows! Currently just over 24k kilometers and I never knew!
Similar question but with Trainerroad. Is anyone using the Apple 4K tv with trainer road?
Does TR have a tvOS app?
Starting to think my 4090 rig is a bit overkill for Zwift
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How are the graphics on the Apple TV? I’ve heard it’s significantly simpler and slower ( I’m careful not to say “worseâ€, because it’s a matter of personal preference)
I’m not comparing it with 4090-based gaming ring, but does it hold it against a simple 2070 or 3070 tower?
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go.
well… apple tv is a GREAT way to go if you want the game to display on a full sized screen (which is a must for me) and you want to do it in an easy, cheap way.
but the best way to go is to run zwift on a gaming rig. the graphics are richer.
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go.
well… apple tv is a GREAT way to go if you want the game to display on a full sized screen (which is a must for me) and you want to do it in an easy, cheap way.
but the best way to go is to run zwift on a gaming rig. the graphics are richer.
Differing concepts of “best.†A dedicated gaming PC will deliver better graphics than the Apple TV, but at 5x-10x the cost for what many would consider an incremental improvement. As with any assessment of value ymmv.
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go.
well… apple tv is a GREAT way to go if you want the game to display on a full sized screen (which is a must for me) and you want to do it in an easy, cheap way.
but the best way to go is to run zwift on a gaming rig. the graphics are richer.
Differing concepts of “best.†A dedicated gaming PC will deliver better graphics than the Apple TV, but at 5x-10x the cost for what many would consider an incremental improvement. As with any assessment of value ymmv.
2k+ on a dedicated rig so u can watch the mosquitos on the trees when u get drop LOL
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go. Right now I just bring my laptop into the pain cave for workouts (with the iPhone for the companion app), and have used the iPhone zwift app with a lightning->HDMI dongle in a pinch (works fine).
Same setup here, except I use my iPad instead of my laptop with the Lightning->HDMI converter thing. Works like a charm with a 42" TV.
If you want a dedicated zwift setup, Apple TV is the best way to go.
well… apple tv is a GREAT way to go if you want the game to display on a full sized screen (which is a must for me) and you want to do it in an easy, cheap way.
but the best way to go is to run zwift on a gaming rig. the graphics are richer.
I have used Zwift on ATV and my M2 MacBook Air. Differences?
In ATV, you will see distance scenery rendering as you approach it. On the M2, the scenery is rendered without seeing the process.
Sometimes in large groups, every once in a while, the animation will be somewhat less smooth. Very rare.
If you are riding in a large group, ATV only renders 100 riders so you can’t easily tell where you are in the peloton (front to back) and you won’t see very many riders in the opposing direction. I think for racing this could be a bigger issue, but I don’t race on Zwift.
Do gaming computers render the entire peloton or what is the limit to the number of riders they will display on screen at one time? This could be important to many.
BUT…putting an emphasis on Zwift graphics in selecting the hardware seems somewhat odd to me. Even on the fastest machine on the market, Zwift graphics pretty much suck compared to the leading video games that I have seen. I’m not a gamer other than Zwift, but I don’t imagine Zwift is graphically the state of the art in the gaming industry.
The bottom line is if you use ATV and not running it side by side a gaming rig, I don’t think there is anything that you will notice you are missing and the value plus reliability of ATV more than make up for its limitations for me.
I run Zwift on a lo-spec PC and also have the 100 rider limit. It’s only an issue for things like the TdZ/ToW where you can’t see the actual lead riders in the beginning as you are trying to work your way up.
I run it on a NZ$99 (USd60) compact PC (second hand ex-lease office pc). In fact I have two of these, and whilst I did add cheap graphics cards and swapped to small SSD then they have been running Zwift on dual screen (NZD69 second hand office 23" monitors and a cheap 42" non-smart TV). So dedicated for zwift, with the second screen running Netflix. Works flawlessly.
Wireless mouse (the keyboard is wired and not used / reached on bike) is enough to control zwift as needed. Companion app for it I want to chat. And the PC was also used during lockdown for parallel zooming when we were doing tri-club sessions.
I’ve no apple things so can’t comment on the ATV as a solution, but zwift runs absolutely fine on ancient (can’t install win11 on the PC as it doesn’t meet min spec) pcs you can pick up for almost free. And having a dedicated solution is just easy.
I have run Zwift when I’ve been at a venue for IM race and want to do some rides (and my wife will zwift too) off my Surface Tablet, and whislt way higher spec, the surface does not run as well as the ancient cheap desktops. The Surface throttles due to heating up (admittedly it’s been used outside in the sun).