Apple Releases tvOS 13.4 for Fourth and Fifth-Generation Apple TV Models

[ferretex]

I have been unable to update my Apple TV 3rd Gen as well. Is there a direct way to notify apple that the update is failing for many people? I have tried every solution I can think of, reset, re-store, rebooting the device, wifi, ethernet, and nothing has worked. Seems the update file is likely corrupted.

I haven’t been able either...

 

[jhollington]

I find the control layout nearly ideal (and, like you, use it 99% of the time), but the chassis needs to be more ergonomic - it's so flat, thin, and smooth that it's difficult to pick up off a table without focusing on the task, and human hands weren't built for rigidly rectangular objects. And it's difficult to orient in the hand without looking to see which end is which..... Keep the same control layout/operation, but make the ATV remote a little more ergonomic and grippy, and it'd be perfect.

You're totally right there. Heh, never thought of the idea of attaching the loop to it, as I'm constantly dealing with picking it up the wrong way too. It's a minor annoyance, as I usually figure it out quickly enough, but it's an annoyance that really has no need to exist. Otherwise, though, I've sort of gotten so used to holding it that I've never really thought about it until you mentioned it... still, though, I do like the smaller size compared to most remotes, so I wouldn't want to see Apple bulk it up in the name of ergonomics, although there's definitely room for some more subtle improvements.

 

[JosephAW]

Anyone with a 3rd gen able to get 7.5 update to install?

I just checked for updates this evening and was able to apply the 7.5 (8097) update for my 3rd gen.
Was hoping they add Disney Plus so I don't have to airplay it but no luck. Here are the changes:

What's new in Apple TV Software Update 7.5
This update includes general performance and stability improvements and this feature:

• Control your Apple TV from Control Center: You can now control your Apple TV (3rd generation) from Control Center on all of your iOS and iPadOS devices.

 

[Nütztjanix]

Am I the only one here who actually likes the Apple TV remote? It’s small, thin, light, makes for smooth and quick scrolling / scrubbing, and isn’t crowded with tons of useless buttons I will never use.

No, you are not. I love it, and I wouldn't want anything else.

 

[martin.hanes]

For future release, I wish:

Please please, do re-enable Siri for non-US countries already.

Secure Photos app with pin/pass for unwanted access.

Enable multiple users for single device - enabling apps to run for multiple users.

 

[The Dv8or]

Am I the only one here who actually likes the Apple TV remote? It’s small, thin, light, makes for smooth and quick scrolling / scrubbing, and isn’t crowded with tons of useless buttons I will never use.

I dont think its a particularly bad one. However, I like to have all my remotes on one device, so I dont have to fumble around. Unfortunately, the up volume on my universal is worn out, primarily due to my roommate needing to watch TV at a ridiculously low volume.

 

[Nütztjanix]

For future release, I wish:

Please please, do re-enable Siri for non-US countries already.

What do you mean by that?

Enable multiple users for single device - enabling apps to run for multiple users.

Multiple user profiles were added with tvOS 13.

 

[jhollington]

What do you mean by that?

Although it is available outside of the U.S., Siri's availability on the Apple TV is still fairly limited compared to the iPhone and iPad, where it's available in about 36 countries. On the Apple TV, that's limited to only 13, and it was even less than that a few years ago. The difference seems to be due to challenges in reliably looking up things like movies and TV shows in other languages and dialects — those 13 countries where it is available only cover 8 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Norwegian, and Swedish), but even then there are some surprising omissions like New Zealand and, perhaps ironically, Portugal (although it doesn't get Siri at all anyway).

Multiple user profiles were added with tvOS 13.

In a pretty limited fashion. It's pretty much only good for managing history, "Watch Next" queues and playlists on the TV and Music apps. It doesn't even yet do things like enforce parental controls on a per-user basis, so while my daughter can switch to her profile on the Apple TV to continue watching her shows, she also gets access to the entire library of purchased iTunes and Apple TV+ content unless I set the parental controls on the Apple TV globally, which makes it a pain for when I want to watch stuff using my own profile. It also has no effect on any other apps that are installed on the Apple TV — even things like Photos the photos app doesn't switch profiles, but only syncs with the main user's account.

 

[Nütztjanix]

Although it is available outside of the U.S., Siri's availability on the Apple TV is still fairly limited compared to the iPhone and iPad, where it's available in about 36 countries. On the Apple TV, that's limited to only 13, and it was even less than that a few years ago. The difference seems to be due to challenges in reliably looking up things like movies and TV shows in other languages and dialects — those 13 countries where it is available only cover 8 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Norwegian, and Swedish), but even then there are some surprising omissions like New Zealand and, perhaps ironically, Portugal (although it doesn't get Siri at all anyway).

I didn’t know Siri was so limited in availability on tvOS. What I use her for works fine here (Germany).

In a pretty limited fashion. It's pretty much only good for managing history, "Watch Next" queues and playlists on the TV and Music apps. It doesn't even yet do things like enforce parental controls on a per-user basis, so while my daughter can switch to her profile on the Apple TV to continue watching her shows, she also gets access to the entire library of purchased iTunes and Apple TV+ content unless I set the parental controls on the Apple TV globally, which makes it a pain for when I want to watch stuff using my own profile. It also has no effect on any other apps that are installed on the Apple TV — even things like Photos the photos app doesn't switch profiles, but only syncs with the main user's account.

Thanks for clarifying. I read somewhere that a „Kids mode“ for tvOS is planned for the next version (including the parental control thingy). So at least that part of your wishlist might come true shortly.

 

[jhollington]

I didn’t know Siri was so limited in availability on tvOS. What I use her for works fine here (Germany).

Yup, same here in Canada. But Apple actually uses different names for the remote even — it's only called the "Siri Remote" in countries where Siri is available. Everywhere else it's just the "Apple TV Remote."

Thanks for clarifying. I read somewhere that a „Kids mode“ for tvOS is planned for the next version (including the parental control thingy). So at least that part of your wishlist might come true shortly.

I wasn't the one who posted the wish list above, but I've read about the Kids Mode too, and I'm definitely hoping that they do it properly and actually implement existing parental controls rather than just providing their own list of kid-specific content. However, Screen Time is also supposed to come with it, so I suspect it will work much like it does on the iPad.

Multiple profiles seems to be something that Apple has struggled to implement on iOS (and tvOS), probably due to the way it was architected in the first place. Even the school (and now business) multi-user modes on iPad have their limitations, as they're primarily designed to keep everything in iCloud rather than partitioning apps and data on the device.

 

[Nütztjanix]

I guess it’s not as easy as one might think to add this. When iOS was born, it was an OS for a mobile phone, which in most cases isn’t shared between multiple persons. It than grew into a sort of „catch all“ OS for everything not Mac (iPad, Apple TV, Watch). But it wasn’t designed for this kind of usage pattern initially. Only recently the iPad version got split from the phone version. I think they did realise that for the iPad and especially the TV multiple accounts are useful, if not necessary. I expect things to improve on this ground in the future.