Apple Removes 'Siri Remote' Mentions in tvOS 14.5 Beta, Changes 'Home' Button Name

SaxPlayer said:
I agree. If I hadn't dropped mega money on a Sonos Arc recently then the idea of an Apple SoundBar with ATV functionality would be great.
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A Soundbar form factor would be a terrible idea. The beauty of the AppleTV is that it is independent from your A/V equipment and can be replaced when needed. TV screens and Sound systems last a lot longer that 2-3 years. Why would you want to replace your $700 AppleTV Soundbar every 3 years because it now has an outdated processor or too little RAM?
 
As long as the remote will still take me from watching cable to the Apple home screen when my cat accidentally brushes up against it I'll be happy.
 
Until they put out a new version of the Apple TV with a redesigned remote that’s backward compatible with, and able to be purchased by, Apple TV 4 and Apple TV 4K owners then who cares?
 
Well, looked like l legit updates to the remote. Glad I can finally use my Harmony remote to go directly into the TV app!

Now, can it get rid of the elevated blacks on my TCL, as non of my other streamers do! Then give me AV1,HLG and FLAC codecs?
 
I wish they would make some sort of hybrid M1 Mac mini and Apple TV. The interface of Apple TV for content viewing, enough power for iOS gaming, and the ability to use macOS for other apps when you want.
 
Can somebody please advise me on how to hold that thing?

I wrapped duct tape over the bottom half so it's a bit easier to grip, and easier to guess the direction where to hold it.

Yet touching the thing requires utmost care, since just picking it up could lead to function press like stop Netflix or fast forward or whatever.

Worst functional design in Apple's history.
 
Macintosh IIvx said:
I agree. I genuinely wonder. With the 4th gen Apple TV, I went with the 64GB option. When I upgraded to the 4K, I went with the 32GB. Found I just use apps to view video services and that doesn't take up any more than a couple hundred MB. I suppose if you have a lot of games?

I don't see an issue with the power either. Have no problem streaming 4K content via Plex and other services would a problem. Are folks running into performance issues with games and other things? Seems more a matter of, "We need an update because we want to feel like it's new, even if there's no real benefit."
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Cache. I have a 64GB 4K and the cache for my local servers is 10GB’s. Throw that on top of the OS and other apps, many have had issues with streaming media as the system is easily overloaded. Once you get into more 4K content with 7.1 surround sound, etc. you would be surprised with how quickly space is eaten up.

Granted I have 200+ TB’s of lossless movies on server racks, most of which requires another media player as Apple still hasn’t added support for local media audio codecs (only streaming with specific services that offer ATMOS such as Netflix, etc). They added ATMOS to the HomePod - then discontinued it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

All my media has default stereo then surround sound audio (TrueHD, DTS, ATMOS, etc) which I generally use Infuse Pro or Plex for on an 8K system with a McIntosh AVR and B&W speaks in my main home theatre along with physical media for authentic playback although mkv and now MP4 containers support True HD and atmos now. Most of the time I can get by with the Apple TV 4K but of course that only gets you so far with such a setup. As a developer/beta tester with Plex and Infuse we’ve had endless petitions for Apple to add codec support for local media but for some reason they’re digging their heels in over licensing fees. The fact the HomePod got ATMOS gives us hope though.

SSD’s aren’t expensive now. 128GB should be the minimum base storage. Throw on Apple pushing into streaming services and gaming, etc 256GB would be the sweet spot.

@Mayostudent why is this “funny”? 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
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CJ Dorschel said:
An updated Apple TV with a new ARM CPU/GPU, increased storage, and audio codec support for local media should be base improvements. I have 200+TB’s of ripped movies on servers with lossless audio tracks in TrueHD, ATMOS, etc that the Apple TV 4K doesn’t fully utilize for local media (Apple is avoiding licensing issues) yet added ATMOS to the HomePod just before discontinuing it 🤷🏼‍♂️. As a developer/beta tester with Infuse Pro and Plex, it’s a sore spot with countless petitions for Apple to add codec support for local/non-streaming media.

Throw in WiFi 6 mesh to make it a full hub and a gaming edition with controllers with Apple Arcade and Steam, etc for gamers. Solid update.

There’s so much Apple could easily do in this market. I’m still perplexed they never added support for the HomePod BT 5.0 chip as anyone who doesn’t have an iPhone could easily stream Apple Music with a non-Apple device via Bluetooth which would build on subscription services. Someone with a clear vision in the audio/video and smart home industry needs to head Apple’s divisions into one and produce a clear outline of products and services for the next 5+ years and make it work.
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gl to apple making controllers worth the time. dualsense, xbsx, ds4, and xb1x controllers are all supported across the apple product stack so i cannot see why creating their own accessory would make more sense than offering to sell someone else's controller.
 
Eorlas said:
gl to apple making controllers worth the time. dualsense, xbsx, ds4, and xb1x controllers are all supported across the apple product stack so i cannot see why creating their own accessory would make more sense than offering to sell someone else's controller.
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True but why not both?
 
klrobinson999 said:
My guess is they'll rename the Apple TV device to avoid confusion with their streaming service.
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They'd more likely rename their streaming service as Apple TV hardware has been around for a lot longer than Apple TV Plus. Apple TV Plus only got that name because it was once a streaming service exclusively found on the Apple TV but now that it's no longer exclusive to Apple TV, renaming the service makes sense
 
Icaras said:
Games. Lots of games. Apple Arcade.

And that’s why it would be an upgrade. You don’t need to pay for it if you don’t want it. But me personally: give me a $299 for a 256GB Apple TV 4K please.
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That would put it rather close to the recently released Xbox Series S.
 
On the remote side, from a design perspective it broke when you have buttons being a raised circle and can be pressed, but also have a track pad on it that is flat, and can be pressed. The previous aluminum remote kept it where everything was a press.

Pretty sure it was trying to have their cake and eat it too with the remote also trying to be a video game controller, but now it neither does anything particularly well.

So pull an Apple Watch packaging setup, and bundle either a simple remote for those that want media consumption, a controller for gamers, or heck nothing at all for those that want to use a phone or a 3rd party remote (like Harmony).
 
Serious question....

Isn't it the general belief that Apple was ready to ship a new Apple TV *last year* and for whatever reason (pandemic wrecking supply chain?) they didn't?

I've always thought that meant that Apple has 10 million ATVs already manufactured and sitting in a warehouse somewhere just ready to go.

Am I crazy?
 
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