“Having spent some time using one of the new Apple TV units, it’s clear that Friday was the start of the story, not the triumphant finish,” Jason Snell writes for iMore. “This is a 1.0 take on an entirely new, open Apple TV—and it’s got many gaps and room for improvement.”
“tvOS itself is still a work in progress,” Snell writes. “There’s no new iOS Remote app that adds easy text input and emulates the hardware remote. I appreciate the fact that I was able to link my Apple TV to my Apple ID via my iPhone, but I still had to re-enter all my service user names and passwords—which wasn’t any fun, and it’s an area that could benefit from extra attention. Additionally, iCloud Photo Library isn’t supported beyond your shared albums, and that’s not cool.”
“A future version would also need to support 4K video, of course,” Snell writes. “A whole generation is growing up watching YouTube on their phones and tablets and laptops rather than on a big television set. Will the market for the television set itself wane? … It’s too early to tell how this will all play out: It’s the first week of what’s essentially a 1.0 product.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Owners of the new Apple TV, are you satisfied with the product you’ve received? Let us know below and in our poll (coming shortly).
SEE ALSO:
Apple releases tvOS 9.1 beta 1 – November 3, 2015
5 days with the new Apple TV – November 3, 2015
Apple TV flaws that Apple should fix fast – November 3, 2015
TouchArcade reviews new Apple TV: A discoverability nightmare, zany controls, and loads of potential – November 2, 2015
Terry White reviews Apple TV: Feels like an ‘unfinished’ product – November 2, 2015
ZDNet reviews Apple TV: A diamond in the rough – very rough – November 2, 2015
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
Siri support is generally poor and the “Universal Search” only seems to work for anointed applications.
I want to be able to ask Siri, to, “Search Youtube for cat videos” or “Show me staff picks from Vimeo” and the appropriate App loads and auto searches. Why no Siri in search fields? Crazy. Seems we’re miles away from this.
Eddy Cue has under delivered and the ATV4 is not going to usher in a new era of TV.
I’m glad I only bought the 32 GB model as at the moment I can see no reason for an extra 32 GB because of the lamentable quality of the TV Apps.
If it’s not a hobby then it is most certainly work in progress and Eddy Cue should get his fingers out.
Received mine yesterday and I am returning it today. It just doesn’t work the way I expect an Apple product to work. It seems pretty amateurish and clumsy. I will revisit the decision once they correct the deficiencies.
Much of the comments on MDN seesaw between “Cook is an idiot”, and “he’s making billions of dollars for Apple.” All of this means very little to me. If I pay my very limited money for an Apple product I expect it to shine and delight like Jobsian Apple products have in the past. It means little to me as a non-shareholder how well the company is doing if MY money is pissed away on Amelio quality products.
There is no excuse for such a limited, unfinished product. For the first time in the 11 years I’ve been buying Apple products, I am returning an order to Apple. And, after exploring the apps store (which is a big joke) and playing with some apps, I don’t care what other apps are added, but apps are NOT the future of TV, Apple-sorta-TV included. They can have this brick back.
I am shocked that something like this got past Tim Cook. Quantity, not quality, is what’s driving Apple now, and he is causing me to lose faith in the company.
Can you use a thunderbolt display as a TV with this unit? I dont have or want to buy a tradtional tv.
If you already have a Mac and don’t have a large screen display, then DO NOT get an Apple TV. Apple TV does absolutely nothing that a Mac can’t do faster and better — unless your idea of a good time is attempting to teach Siri what you really wanted.
I do already have a 27inch Thunderbolt Display, but not a tv. So that’s why I’d like to know if I can use that display as a tv with Apple tv. Cheers.