Apple not getting it. ATV4 Rant.
Inspector 24
Posts: 1,308
in Electronics
Apple Rant Incoming.
ATV4 came out in 2015. It's not great.... Apparently it's been that way since it came out! I'm underwhelmed going from the 6s to the Xs (this just shouldn't be!) and now 4yrs behind the upgrade cycle and the ATV4 is more difficult to use, less intuitive, less ergonomic and leaves me seriously considering hooking the old ATV3 back up! This on the heels of considering ditching the Xs for an old iPhone 8! Apple, you are seriously dropping the ball here, and loosing me, and others, one new device at a time. Apple haters gonna hate, what about Apple fanbois and lovers? Here's my list, what say you?
What's better:
-Picture quality does seem better,
-Captions are customizable
-Can turn on TV on via HDMI
-Remote can control TV volume
-Teeny bit faster, maybe? Hobbled by more complex UI and
PREVIEWS!
That's it!
Whats worse than ATV3?
-YouTube Ads! Four times as many in the new app!
-Chapter Headings are gone (all apps) Only have
fastforward/rewind.
-FF/RR function no longer indicates speed with more arrows
-Peviews while browsing, annoying, loud, unwanted,
NETFLIX!
-User interface is not the same from app to app
-All App menus/UI are less intuitive, more difficult to
navigate and search yet have no more features than
before!
-Siri functionality limited, doesn’t work for all apps!
-Captions not on by default on YouTube (use a lot at night)
-Requires more commands and button pushes to execute
the same commands, like turning on captions
-REMOTE IS TERRIBLE! Accidental touches/clicks on the
too sensitive Trackpad, overshoots when scrolling...all the
time. Prefer to use the silver ATV3 remote or the Logitec
Harmony.
-Remote is not ergonomic, difficult to hold, is slippery, still
gets lost easily, but now RF to screw with you under the
cushions!
Up
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Sim2 D60 - Dragonfly 106" Panny 500
Comments
-
How is the Apple TV 4 less ergonomic? Am I missing something?
-
As for the actual Apple TV hardware....
It is not the Apple TV hardware giving you more ads. It’s the apps you use. Why blame on the Apple TV? -
Use an ATV3 and ATV4 back to back, count the inputs it takes to execute a task from the home screen, like finding a specific episode in something. It’s much clicker. Maybe if I get bored I’ll do an a-b comparison of clicks.
As for ads, not apples fault, but if I go back to my ATV3 I won’t have to deal with them. 😄Up
LSi15 LSiC - RX-V3000
Down
LSiM707 - 706c - 702f/x - Dual HSU VTF-15H Mk2
Parasound HCA-3500 - HCA-2003A - Marantz SR7005
Sim2 D60 - Dragonfly 106" Panny 500 -
Inspector 24 wrote: »Apple Rant Incoming.
ATV4 came out in 2015. It's not great.... Apparently it's been that way since it came out! I'm underwhelmed going from the 6s to the Xs (this just shouldn't be!) and now 4yrs behind the upgrade cycle and the ATV4 is more difficult to use, less intuitive, less ergonomic and leaves me seriously considering hooking the old ATV3 back up! This on the heels of considering ditching the Xs for an old iPhone 8! Apple, you are seriously dropping the ball here, and loosing me, and others, one new device at a time. Apple haters gonna hate, what about Apple fanbois and lovers? Here's my list, what say you?
What's better:
-Picture quality does seem better,
-Captions are customizable
-Can turn on TV on via HDMI
-Remote can control TV volume
-Teeny bit faster, maybe? Hobbled by more complex UI and
PREVIEWS!
That's it!
...
I did hook my TV3 up in my office to compare, and it has been updated, so it's surprisingly good IMO, but I would add to this list in favor of TV4 (HD & 4K):- Remote is Bluetooth (so it works through cabinet doors).
- Much faster interface.
- Much larger selection of apps.
- Full Apple Music experience (for those who have that).
- Ease of managing subscriptions (including subscription payments) all in one place, through the App Store, instead of individually between providers (requiring individual logins on multiple websites etc.).
- Much easier to enter passwords.
TV3 uses a single core version of the A5 processor, from the iPhone 4S (which had a dual core A5). TV4 HD uses A8, and TV4 4K uses A10. I find it impressive that the TV3 experience is as good as it is given how old this processor is, but I still find TV4 HD and TV4 4K more fluid, responsive, and faster overall.Whats worse than ATV3?
-YouTube Ads! Four times as many in the new app!
-Chapter Headings are gone (all apps) Only have
fastforward/rewind.
-FF/RR function no longer indicates speed with more arrows
-Peviews while browsing, annoying, loud, unwanted,
NETFLIX!
-User interface is not the same from app to app
-All App menus/UI are less intuitive, more difficult to
navigate and search yet have no more features than
before!
-Siri functionality limited, doesn’t work for all apps!
-Captions not on by default on YouTube (use a lot at night)
-Requires more commands and button pushes to execute
the same commands, like turning on captions
-REMOTE IS TERRIBLE! Accidental touches/clicks on the
too sensitive Trackpad, overshoots when scrolling...all the
time. Prefer to use the silver ATV3 remote or the Logitec
Harmony.
-Remote is not ergonomic, difficult to hold, is slippery, still
gets lost easily, but now RF to screw with you under the
cushions!
The remote does take a bit of getting used to, and they've improved it in the 4K version (2017), in that the Menu button has a raised white surround. This means that in a darkened room, it's much easier to pick it up the right side up, and not accidentally interfere with the touch surface, but...- Yeah... YouTube adds should be pretty much identical on either TV, since YouTube controls those.
- Not sure what you mean about Chapter Headings.
- FF/RR is, IMO, vastly superior in TV4/TV4 HD, since you can swipe with the touchpad and move much faster through a title to get where you want.
- Totally agree with the previews in Netflix. Autoplay is really annoying. Unfortunately, this is the fault of Netflix. They need to add a setting in the app to allow or block autoplay of previews.
- The UI is obviously going to be different between apps. Same in TV3, but there are fewer apps to compare.
- Search is vastly superior IMO, because the touchpad interface is much faster when scrolling between letters (vs. the old alphabet grid), and Siri is also much faster.
- The issues you describe with button pushes must depend on the apps used. I haven't noticed any need for more button pushes. In fact, swiping on the touchpad is much faster in general.
- Yeah... it was easy to pick up the first TV4 remotes upside down, but the remote is improved on TV4 4K, and newer TV4 HD models also get this newer remote. I find it far superior to the TV3 and would hate to go back. YMMV.
Overall, I like Apple TV, but I also thought the iPhone X was a huge leap forward compared to either the 6 or the 7, and you seem to have a different experience on that score. It does need more improvement, and don't think Apple have "cracked this nut" yet, but it's sill a big improvement compared with streaming options built in to "smart TV" and connected Blu-ray players. Those have the brains of a toaster oven, and it shows in how they look, how they work, and especially the clunky updates.
There may be a new TV5 soon... because it's been two years, and a new TV streaming service is expected this year (and already announced on the website). Maybe the remote will change for something that you prefer (mute button might be nice for those pesky Netflix previews?), but it's likely to be just as minimalist (and somewhat slippery) as the current ones.Alea jacta est! -
Man, you guys love complicating your lives.....LOLPolitical Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Actually, as a former Apple ecosystem avoider, I think it simplifies things if you embrace it. The integration between devices has no equal and the ease of setup is beyond any other product.Man, you guys love complicating your lives.....LOL
For example, when you first start an Apple TV, you will be prompted to use a mobile device to set it up, so you bring that device (iPhone, iPad or iPod) in proximity to the Apple TV, and automagically, it generates a four digit code which will share all of your subscription information, WiFi network selection and passwords, App Store credentials for purchases, previous purchases, photos, music... When was the last time anyone set up a new streaming device without having to enter WiFi credentials?
There may still compromises here and there, but if you use an Apple service or other service on an Apple device, be it a laptop, iPhone, iPad or iPod, everything is always available across all of your devices, any time, anywhere. Movies on a plane? No problem. Music when travelling? No problem. Passwords that are entered once are stored in the Keychain and available to all devices in your living room, kitchen, car, and office.Alea jacta est! -
Actually, as a former Apple ecosystem avoider, I think it simplifies things if you embrace it. The integration between devices has no equal and the ease of setup is beyond any other product.Man, you guys love complicating your lives.....LOL
For example, when you first start an Apple TV, you will be prompted to use a mobile device to set it up, so you bring that device (iPhone, iPad or iPod) in proximity to the Apple TV, and automagically, it generates a four digit code which will share all of your subscription information, WiFi network selection and passwords, App Store credentials for purchases, previous purchases, photos, music... When was the last time anyone set up a new streaming device without having to enter WiFi credentials?
There may still compromises here and there, but if you use an Apple service or other service on an Apple device, be it a laptop, iPhone, iPad or iPod, everything is always available across all of your devices, any time, anywhere. Movies on a plane? No problem. Music when travelling? No problem. Passwords that are entered once are stored in the Keychain and available to all devices in your living room, kitchen, car, and office.
That's great if you want to be stuck in the Apple ecosystem, this from a former inmate of that system. -
It has long amused me that Apple, in essence, updated Henry Ford's philosophy vis-a-vis a proprietary, self-contained, and enclosed "ecosystem".
Ol' Mr. Ford, famously, said his customer could have his (or her) Model T in any color you like,As long as it's black*
For Apple, of course, they updated it to white.
___________
* Actually, very early and very late in the Model T's history, the car was available in colors other than black, but for most of its manufacturing run, they were all black from the factory.
-
I am an Apple fan - of ipads and phones, I am not a fan of their TV and Homekit efforts.
I actually ditched (gave it to kids) the latest 4k ATV ILO the Xbox, which has a much better integration of full entertainment. Including a 4k blu ray player. I also see a better picture with the xbox. HDR and 4K content have more pop and resolution than the Apple device. Plus I have OTA going right into the back of the Xbox and it has a guides it downloads with my local programming.
As far as Homekit, it is very strained and limited vs. offerings from Google and other manufacturers out there. The language is late to the party and doesn't work with MANY devices.
I do like my iphone though
