The new navigation isn't going to change the Watch Now feed.
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Apple TV App Features Revamped Navigation in tvOS 17.2 Beta
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Ii greatly prefer the home screen with apps in a grid. It's nice and neat and makes what I want to watch easy to find. It's not a mess like Google TV's home screen. I don't care what else Apple does to the tvOS system, just keep the app screen with the app grid.
An “improvement” for you might not be what is considered an “improvement” for others…you do not speak for everyone.
I believe this had to do with some very avid purchasers of iTunes digital video content, and above a certain number in their library the app file hierarchy stops working when using the Apple TV library tab. The workaround for those people was to use the iTunes Movies and iTunes TV apps, but now Apple dropped those.
The TV app works fine with my measly several hundred mostly from digital copy importations to iTunes.
Note that Apple has been moving features to Control Center such as the Home app.
Another outstanding question is, what becomes of Apple Music and Podcasts on tvOS? Do they move to the side bar too? Feels like there are still some things to sort out but Apple has definitely been moving away from the Home Screen app grid on tvOS.
The same has been happening with watchOS with a focus on Widgets as launchers for apps from the watch face, though the grid still exists. Maybe widgets will make an appearance on tvOS 18.
Apps aren't going away. Apple is just moving into the same direction every other smart TV developer has been doing for a while. There will likely always be an apps row some where on the homescreen. The sidebar will just be for integrated content. Not everything will be integrated into the TV interface.
Well, if they really kill the iTunes apps and the tv app stays like this, good night. The Tv App Library section is a nightmare. You can just click the cover and the movie starts. No detail site with description, trailers, rating and so on. I hate it.
The only real advertisement in the sidebar are TV+ and MLS's channel, everything else is linked to what you have connected to the TV app and you can hide them.
If there's one thing above all others that I loathe in all these apps, it's "Suggestions". Go. Away. They are never beneficial to me and only serve as a frustrating annoyance that gets in the way of me finding stuff I actually want to watch.
YOU DON'T KNOW ME! STOP TRYING TO!
A.I. will be the death of me solely due to inducing a conniption fit.
YOU DON'T KNOW ME! STOP TRYING TO!
A.I. will be the death of me solely due to inducing a conniption fit.
Okay. I installed the dev beta and here’s my impression:
I think it’s an improvement. The sidebar takes you to pages for each channel that are set up like the AppleTV app’s home page, which is to say that each one includes a “watch next” row at the top showing things you’re actually currently watching. This essentially aligns the interface between the AppleTV app’s home page, the channel pages and content from (some of) the apps you subscribe to.
Now, as far as I can see the sidebar is not currently customizable but maybe we’ll see that in a later update. If you could customize the bar it would elevate it from “better” to “way better.”
Of course the core issue with the AppleTV app remains. It won’t talk to some apps like Netflix, The Criterion Channel and others. If Apple could get these other streamers on board with this revised interface they’d be onto something for sure. But I have a feeling that won’t happen.
I think it’s an improvement. The sidebar takes you to pages for each channel that are set up like the AppleTV app’s home page, which is to say that each one includes a “watch next” row at the top showing things you’re actually currently watching. This essentially aligns the interface between the AppleTV app’s home page, the channel pages and content from (some of) the apps you subscribe to.
Now, as far as I can see the sidebar is not currently customizable but maybe we’ll see that in a later update. If you could customize the bar it would elevate it from “better” to “way better.”
Of course the core issue with the AppleTV app remains. It won’t talk to some apps like Netflix, The Criterion Channel and others. If Apple could get these other streamers on board with this revised interface they’d be onto something for sure. But I have a feeling that won’t happen.
If I interpret your thoughts correctly its the blatant advertising of content in Apple TV + app, but for a lot of the other VoD provider apps, not being to see suggested related content after you watched a TV or Movie that some of these services offer via iPadOS app interface or MacOS web interface to VoD host is sorely missed. (Examples News, Trailers, About the cast, other recommended content).
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@#$@#$% Since just updated today totally missed the beta part of the thread. Thanks.
I hope this doesn’t screw up how I navigate through my movies and TV shows in my library.
I love how movies with iTunes Extras (will they have to rename this?) look like a DVD/Blu-ray menu when you click Play from your library.
Also, I love how it keeps track which episode you’re on for a TV show you’ve been watching, even showing little check marks in the thumbnails of the episodes you’ve watched.
But if they updated the TV show interface to look more like the DVD/Blu-ray menu, that would be nice too, so there could be a separate section for bonus features.
I should note that I access my movies and TV shows via their respective stores, and supposedly this option will be no more. That has me a bit worried.
I love how movies with iTunes Extras (will they have to rename this?) look like a DVD/Blu-ray menu when you click Play from your library.
Also, I love how it keeps track which episode you’re on for a TV show you’ve been watching, even showing little check marks in the thumbnails of the episodes you’ve watched.
But if they updated the TV show interface to look more like the DVD/Blu-ray menu, that would be nice too, so there could be a separate section for bonus features.
I should note that I access my movies and TV shows via their respective stores, and supposedly this option will be no more. That has me a bit worried.
No, I'm talking about all suggested content on any app, anywhere, for any reason. Predictive text, even, is all part of the same thing. It all sucks. The algorithms are terrible. I'm sure some people appreciate them and they may even be 'good' for those people, but for me, they're nothing but a barrier to access that continuously act to frustrate and annoy.
And 'Siri' is one of the worst. These things being called "Intelligences" is so incredibly disingenuous.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a windows 98 start menu
Let me hide all kids and all sports related, apps, menus sub, menus, sub menus, please.
Between the bloat, the spamming ads and the abundance of sports. The Apple TV is coming very annoying and I’ve been a user since Apple TV2
Between the bloat, the spamming ads and the abundance of sports. The Apple TV is coming very annoying and I’ve been a user since Apple TV2
For sure. Like the HomePods, they are trying to justify the price of their “smart home” devices while the competition is half the cost. Apple isn’t very competitive in the category of generally low cost consumer devices. A while ago they pulled out of consumer networking as well while essentially admitting this.
In reality, the Apple TV is being destroyed by much smaller and less expensive devices like the Rokus, Chromecasts, and Fire sticks.
It might do Apple some good to rethink and rebrand the Apple TV. It’s been over 15 years and people I talk to still think it’s an actual TV.
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