Wow, yeah, you are opening my eyes about Eddie here. I actually feel that Siri and autocorrect are getting worse over time. I'm not happy about iCloud. Apple used to say they don't want to keep our data, they just want to keep our devices in sync. And then they envisioned the services money pie, and want to store our data + give us brand new computers with 256GB of SSD storage for a premium price.
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Apple Engineers Reportedly Pessimistic About Apple's Living Room Hardware Strategy
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The real premium is usually the breathtakingly overpriced "turbo gouge" to go from 256 up to 512
Yep. I have found the apple airport devices to be bullet proof. I never had one fail.
Except that airport has continued to receive security updates.
I like that idea. HomeBar. It's got a nice ring to it. And I bet they could make the speakers sound good with all the area inside the HomeBar. It would be the "HomePod of Sound Bars"
However... if the current AppleTV box is nearing $200 already... imagine how they would price an all-in-one streaming box, speakers, and possibly a Facetime camera?
Still though... I can't believe Apple hasn't addressed the sound bar market yet. Seems like a logical place to be. People love sound bars!
I like the idea of a HomeBar as you call it. Speaking of some of the qualities of living room devices, I like that Atmos support and lossless audio support can be added through software updates to the Apple TV. When I had an A/V receiver, I often cried when new codecs came out and I could not take advantage. I would prefer to have the Apple TV be an external box so I can easily replace it if, for example, a newer Apple TV will support some new technology. I have gifted 2-3 older Apple TVs to friends and family over the years! I'm so glad Apple did not make a television with the Apple TV hardware built in, or I would be stuck now with a 4th gen. Apple TV. in my television. LOL.
Good points
At least a HomeBar would assumably be much less expensive and less of a hassle to replace.
Some of the updates end up being tied to the TV though (in terms of inputs and specs on connectors, etc)
Try to AirPlay a longer video you take on your iPhone, preferably 4K, to the Apple TV 4K (latest one) and see how the video looks like, it stutters and skips all the time. It’s a very terrible experience.
I doubt if Apple will support HDMI eARC if they ever release such thing (they won’t). It most likely will be portless once again.
My vision for the HomeBar would have the AppleTV guts inside of it and thus it couldn't be totally port-less
Give me the HomePod technology in a sound bar or sound base style cabinet, and allow me to pair my existing Homepods to enhance the sound field so I would have a true wireless surround sound experience instead of virtual surround sound. And let it support eArc technology so other devices can use it as sound output.
YouTube TV runs a heck of a lot faster on Apple TV compared to Roku Ultra. Takes about 1-2 seconds to load a channel on Apple TV compared to 5-6 seconds to load a channel on Roku Ultra. Apple TV also has the live preview of each channel, whereas Roku Ultra does not.
Having said the above, Apple TV is too damn expensive. Price should not be much more than $120. People are usually gonna choose the cheapest stuff they can find.
Having said the above, Apple TV is too damn expensive. Price should not be much more than $120. People are usually gonna choose the cheapest stuff they can find.
The current Apple TV software supports eARC in "beta". I have tried it and played an Xbox sound output through my Homepods paired to the Apple TV. (In other words, using an Xbox and hearing the sound coming out of my HomePods.)
That’s the current environment they have to deal with.
Anyone getting a new TV these days will have most software built-in, and there’s the play store to get new apps.
For people who want speakers they’ll have their own system. For gaming it’s the big 3, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.
These things are the non-Apple stuff that the Apple TV has to supplant and that’s not going to happen with the Apple TV.
So currently the Apple TV’s role is to enable not-so-smart TVs from the past to become smart. It’s not exactly a product that is exciting to make or have a good future outlook.
Anyone getting a new TV these days will have most software built-in, and there’s the play store to get new apps.
For people who want speakers they’ll have their own system. For gaming it’s the big 3, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.
These things are the non-Apple stuff that the Apple TV has to supplant and that’s not going to happen with the Apple TV.
So currently the Apple TV’s role is to enable not-so-smart TVs from the past to become smart. It’s not exactly a product that is exciting to make or have a good future outlook.
It isn't perfect but it's still the best out there.
Yes, the fire stick works fairly and is cheap but you need a subscription to Prime to get the best of it and it is pretty buggy. You've always got that issue with data and it's logged into your Amazon account.
I've tried a couple of Android streaming boxes and they are so clunky!. They don't work well. I returned both of them.
Haven't tried the Roku but I'm told it's pretty aggressive with your data. Might be wrong as I haven't tried it but it's been described to me as spyware.
Smart TVs are great when you buy them although they also try to push apps on you.
Samsung TVs are very aggressive about this loading ads on start up. But after a couple of years, app updates stop and I've got a fairly recent TV that doesn't have access to Disney+. Seems like only yesterday I bought it.
So as usual as much as we can complain about the short-comings of Apple TV the awful remote and the rather flaky interface, it is probably still the best product out there. All the apps work really well
The image quality is great and I can't think of an alternative that comes close.
Would be nice to see them really nail it sometime in the future though. Make it really outstanding.
Yes, the fire stick works fairly and is cheap but you need a subscription to Prime to get the best of it and it is pretty buggy. You've always got that issue with data and it's logged into your Amazon account.
I've tried a couple of Android streaming boxes and they are so clunky!. They don't work well. I returned both of them.
Haven't tried the Roku but I'm told it's pretty aggressive with your data. Might be wrong as I haven't tried it but it's been described to me as spyware.
Smart TVs are great when you buy them although they also try to push apps on you.
Samsung TVs are very aggressive about this loading ads on start up. But after a couple of years, app updates stop and I've got a fairly recent TV that doesn't have access to Disney+. Seems like only yesterday I bought it.
So as usual as much as we can complain about the short-comings of Apple TV the awful remote and the rather flaky interface, it is probably still the best product out there. All the apps work really well
The image quality is great and I can't think of an alternative that comes close.
Would be nice to see them really nail it sometime in the future though. Make it really outstanding.
I think if it was priced at $99-129 max - nobody would have a thing to really say here overall.
That said - that's not good enough to ever get them more penetration.
The basically have to make a stick type device and get the price of that one particular offering way down -- at least if they ever want to be a real player in this space. (that last part is unclear)
You can buy a used, older, Apple TV on eBay for under $60 and it's still better than most other streaming devices.
Very true
I've seen several ATV4kg1's for like $50 around me.
I almost grabbed one just as an extra...but then thought better of it (just dont' need it at all)
It's a bit of a testament to how overpriced most people consider them. They only really "move" when they get down very close to pricing of alternatives from Roku/Google
On the other hand, I purchased a new upgraded one for our home theater, and we are planning on the purchase of another… cause they are great. We canceled our cable TV subscription, now just have internet coming into the house. Between the Apple TV, a Mac mini as a media serve we’re all set.
It seems like content is what moves these boxes. If you can get Netflix, Disney+, HBO Now and even Apple TV+ on a $30 stick, why buy a $180 Apple TV to watch the same stuff. It is a premium for the better interface and faster loading of content.
Spot on...
That's the reality that Apple I think "knows" but simply "doesn't like"...
They are really not good at the "make something great without insane margins and ridiculous MSRP" approach that is needed here.
This situation calls for making at least a version of an Apple TV that is priced and specced "to move". The money play for them is supposed to be in services in this space. They are nuking their own efforts by making the first party streaming box a "luxury item".
I own a LG with built in apps, a googletv with all the same apps, and i always go back to appletv.
appletv, to me, is the epitome of me as a customer paying for something that just works. It doesn't crash on me. All the apps are optimized for it. It's great.
I'm still sad, to this day, that apple cancelled airport extreme. It's not like there aws anything special about it, but it always worked, i never had a problem with it. I'd pay $200 for a new one.
appletv, to me, is the epitome of me as a customer paying for something that just works. It doesn't crash on me. All the apps are optimized for it. It's great.
I'm still sad, to this day, that apple cancelled airport extreme. It's not like there aws anything special about it, but it always worked, i never had a problem with it. I'd pay $200 for a new one.
?
Have you not used any Google, HBO or Amazon apps?
"Optimized for Apple TV" is not how I would describe their offerings - at. all.