App Switcher/Multitask Screen

[andyp350]

I'm probably going to laughed at for only just discovering this, but I had no idea you could double click the home button like on the iPhone and iPad and get the app switching/multitask screen where you can switch between and kill apps. I've never seen this feature mentioned in reviews or on here so had no idea it was possible, I just discovered it by mistake when I accidentally double clicked the button!
Thought i'd post it on here in can there are others like me who didn't know about this.

 

[waw74]

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/01/apple-tv-4-tips-tricks-siri-remote-shortcuts/

 

[cynics]

I can't find its usefulness to be honest.

While it would be a welcome feature for me there is about a 90% chance the app will refresh. The worst offender is apples "computers" app while home sharing. Move to another app for a brief moment, say YouTube, then go back and it refreshes generally kicking me back to the movie selection screen. Go back to YouTube and it might refresh...

Trying with other apps it sometimes works, sometimes refreshes, sometimes even crashes back to the main AppleTV menu.

It's very reminiscent of the iPad Air with its tab/app refreshing. I just hope the solution isn't the same....AppleTV 5....

 

[ipedro]

I find it very useful. Sometimes I'm watching Netflix and hear about some breaking news so I'll turn on a news app, then easily switch between the two without having to navigate around for their icons on the home screen.

Other times, I go back to a game that I was playing several apps down the list and find it in the state that it was in before. Alto's Adventure does this well. It's a well built app that follows the rules and correctly uses the APIs.

I also use it to kill apps.

 

[XTheLancerX]

I can't find its usefulness to be honest.

While it would be a welcome feature for me there is about a 90% chance the app will refresh. The worst offender is apples "computers" app while home sharing. Move to another app for a brief moment, say YouTube, then go back and it refreshes generally kicking me back to the movie selection screen. Go back to YouTube and it might refresh...

Trying with other apps it sometimes works, sometimes refreshes, sometimes even crashes back to the main AppleTV menu.

It's very reminiscent of the iPad Air with its tab/app refreshing. I just hope the solution isn't the same....AppleTV 5....

I can't imagine this being a problem given that the ATV4 has 2GB of RAM. I just got an Apple TV 4 today and I haven't experienced any refreshing, at least anything I acknowledged while using it. My iPad mini 2 however is awful with refreshing and my iPhone 6 is even pretty bad. So I'm familiar with the issue but maybe I just haven't used the atv4 enough to encounter the issue or I was too busy throwing out "Ooos and aaahs" while using the new tech lol.

 

[cynics]

I can't imagine this being a problem given that the ATV4 has 2GB of RAM. I just got an Apple TV 4 today and I haven't experienced any refreshing, at least anything I acknowledged while using it. My iPad mini 2 however is awful with refreshing and my iPhone 6 is even pretty bad. So I'm familiar with the issue but maybe I just haven't used the atv4 enough to encounter the issue or I was too busy throwing out "Ooos and aaahs" while using the new tech lol.

I wasn't stating it as a theoretical problem. I was just stating what I've been noticing on mine, and my g/fs. A restart which I just recently did seems to fix it for a few days, I'll post a video before the weekend is over to illustrate what I'm saying.

Like I've mentioned in another thread I found it less useful and more of a requirement to "refresh" an app though. So the function isn't completely useless like I alluded too before, however its more of a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist.

Say for example Hulu, Youtube, or whatever content is added while you are using the app. There is no in app refresh button and unlike the ATV3 merely exiting out of the app and going back in doesn't do anything. So you'll need to close it and reopen it.

I'm hoping Apple or app devs can add a refresh feature because its a bit of a hassle even compared to the ATV3 which was a nuisance its self. Seems like the apps are similar to iOS without the pull down to refresh option. Maybe I'm just missing something?

 

[XTheLancerX]

I wasn't stating it as a theoretical problem. I was just stating what I've been noticing on mine, and my g/fs. A restart which I just recently did seems to fix it for a few days, I'll post a video before the weekend is over to illustrate what I'm saying.

Like I've mentioned in another thread I found it less useful and more of a requirement to "refresh" an app though. So the function isn't completely useless like I alluded too before, however its more of a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist.

Say for example Hulu, Youtube, or whatever content is added while you are using the app. There is no in app refresh button and unlike the ATV3 merely exiting out of the app and going back in doesn't do anything. So you'll need to close it and reopen it.

I'm hoping Apple or app devs can add a refresh feature because its a bit of a hassle even compared to the ATV3 which was a nuisance its self. Seems like the apps are similar to iOS without the pull down to refresh option. Maybe I'm just missing something?

Yeah I wasn't denying that you were having this issue, I was just saying it's hard for me to believe considering the 2GB of RAM. If it's there though, it's there, no denying. I just haven't used my new Apple TV enough to experience it apparently. Sort of interesting that this happens. Regular iOS devices seem to be more than happy with 2GB of RAM.

 

[cynics]

Yeah I wasn't denying that you were having this issue, I was just saying it's hard for me to believe considering the 2GB of RAM. If it's there though, it's there, no denying. I just haven't used my new Apple TV enough to experience it apparently. Sort of interesting that this happens. Regular iOS devices seem to be more than happy with 2GB of RAM.

That was my first thought too. I think its just something software can fix because like I said a restart can nearly cure it. However my other line of thought are the apps themselves. iOS seems good with 2gb of RAM however in iOS I'm not switching between several streaming services that are consuming and buffering A LOT of data.

 

[XTheLancerX]

That was my first thought too. I think its just something software can fix because like I said a restart can nearly cure it. However my other line of thought are the apps themselves. iOS seems good with 2gb of RAM however in iOS I'm not switching between several streaming services that are consuming and buffering A LOT of data.

That is very true. Different use cases. I haven't really gotten to use the Apple TV for what it's meant for today, streaming lots of video. Mostly just tweaking stuff here and there, trying new apps, checking out the iTunes and App Store. I used YouTube and Netflix a little but not much. Will see what my findings are sometime in the future when I get a chance to use this more.

 

[macduke]

Yeah I didn't remember hearing about it either but it's one of the first things I tried.

That was my first thought too. I think its just something software can fix because like I said a restart can nearly cure it. However my other line of thought are the apps themselves. iOS seems good with 2gb of RAM however in iOS I'm not switching between several streaming services that are consuming and buffering A LOT of data.

Yeah that's strange. Perhaps a software bug. I haven't had refreshing issues on mine. Was able to switch between Netflix, Hulu and even a game I had played earlier. Seems the 2GB of RAM is doing ok. We'll see if mine gets worse over the coming days as I got it for Christmas but have only used it for two "sessions" since then. My iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6s are fantastic on 2GB of RAM—they are leaps and bounds ahead of my crummy old 6 Plus that was crash-tastic!