“Overall, functionality is much the same as Apple TV 3. But with TV 4 apps and Siri integration are the major draws. There are not many apps yet, but that will change. And Siri doesn’t do as much as we may like, but that will change, too,” Ron McElfresh writes for NoodleMac. “That’s the early adopter’s lament.
“Press and hold the Siri microphone button on the remote and give commands or ask questions. Find this more or that movie. Open an app. Siri is app aware so when you’re using the Netflix app, for example, you can tell Siri what episodes of which TV shows to look for, but Siri is good for recommendations, too,” McElfresh writes. “Siri even works much like she does on the iPhone so you can ask about weather, the stock market, or other queries of daily interest. What you won’t get from Siri is anything about the music in your iTunes music collection. Subscribe to Apple Music and that opens up Siri’s entertainment vocabulary considerably.”
“Overall, my impressions are positive, but that’s coming from a long time Apple customer, an early adopter with a high threshold for new product pain. The actual, usable differences between Apple TV 3 and Apple TV 4 are nominal, but the difference will grow as more apps make there way to TV 4, and once Apple’s upcoming streaming TV service is available, the clarity will be obvious,” McElfresh writes. “For now, Apple TV is an early adopter platform.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not sure what Apple brass was thinking releasing the new Apple TV in such an obviously unfinished state – beyond “Get it out in time for Christmas!” – but it definitely holds much promise. When it gets out of its unofficial beta stage, we can’t wait to see what Apple TV becomes!
SEE ALSO:
Apple releases tvOS 9.0.1 update for Apple TV – November 9, 2015
Houston Chronicle’s Silverman reviews new Apple TV: This cake needed more baking – November 9, 2015
Apple TV 4 is a beta product and, if you bought one, you’re an unpaid beta tester – November 5, 2015
The single worst feature of the new Apple TV – November 4, 2015
The new Apple TV has more rough edges than a sack of saw blades – November 3, 2015
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