Hands-On With the New Apple TV: A Look at the tvOS App Store

[gkarris]

Looked online for the compatible controllers - they're around $70?

Are you kidding?

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

So yes, I do "worry" that Apple has had its best moments as far as being a tech leader of the fresh. Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs. He is interested solely in moving product. He's almost the exact opposite of Woz who loved to innovate for the hell of it. Steve loved to innovate and sell the hell out of it. Tim Cook reminds me of John Scully, doesn't care what the hell he's selling as long as it sells.

I think you have a bit too much blind faith. The crew at Apple worked so brilliantly because Jobs knew how to push them in the right direction. Tim Cook only knows how to push product out of warehouses.

I totally agree with your points and like to add that for me personally the greed is starting to get old.....
None upgradable hardware and the way the Apple Watch was launched left a bad taste in my mouth.


Right now they still have the better hardware and operating systems but they better keep it that way because as soon as that changes I'm out of there.... You can only nickel and dime for so long.

 

[k1121j]

saw this on my Plex update today I'm so excited
Version 0.9.12.18.1520
Fixes

• Impove remote control reliability in certain cases.
• Improved audio codec handling for an unreleased app for an unreleased fruit-themed device.
• Check non-primary languages in OpenSubtitles agent.

 

[russ99]

Even without that, typing an Apple ID password into this thing is a complete pain. I can't be bothered buying apps that way. The easier way is to buy it on iphone, then download it on the aTV. So you need to concentrate on your app being found on iphone or some other way rather than through the aTV.

You swipe to move quickly to other letters, also it remembers recent logins.

Like any other new OS, it takes some time to get used to.

I'm with the rest of the posters hoping for categories soon, but as early adoption users, I think we should help the Devs out and all do a alphabetic sweep-through of all apps.

 

[robbyx]

I totally agree with your points and like to add that for me personally the greed is starting to get old.....
None upgradable hardware and the way the Apple Watch was launched left a bad taste in my mouth.

Right now they still have the better hardware and operating systems but they better keep it that way because as soon as that changes I'm out of there.... You can only nickel and dime for so long.

I agree. I've been a customer for 33 years and today's Apple is starting to remind me of 90s Apple (and Microsoft for that matter). There's a lack of attention to detail and the executive team is more interested in fashion than tech these days. They are nickel and diming for services that don't work reliably. How Eddy Cue still has a job is beyond me. He's the most inept Apple executive in years, yet Forstall, someone with actual tech chops and cred, was scapegoated and squeezed out.

Like you, I still feel that Apple offers the best hardware and OS, but their lead is shrinking and I'm growing tired of the dumbing down of the UI. I was always brand loyal to Jobs. A few years after he left Apple, I got a NeXT box. It was amazing. It made the Mac of the 90s feel like a primitive DOS machine. And when he came back to Apple and brought NeXT tech with him, I came back to Apple. But he's gone now and Apple has been stretching that NeXT tech as best they can. But now they've lost most (all?) of the NeXT brain trust and new products, be they hardware or software, just don't have the same level of wow.

I'm not particularly optimistic about Apple's future, not pessimistic either, but they can't even get reliable cloud services working after trying for years. And they're going to build a car? Uh huh. Sure. For all the hype around the Apple Watch, in the end they delivered a very predictable, very boring, product whose only advantage is being tied into the Apple "ecosystem". Despite all the fanboys claiming it would have this or that awesome, exclusive, one of a kind feature...it didn't. It was like every other smart watch and fitness band out there, except for the (stupid) price. And now we have the new Apple TV. I'm not hating on it, because I think it's a step in the right direction, but what a safe and boring product. I don't really understand what they are trying to do with Apple TV and I don't see anyone outside of the fanboy market getting particularly excited about it.

Apple still offers the best solutions in my opinion, but, like you, I can see myself switching platforms one day if something better comes along. My brand loyalty died with Steve.

 

[alent1234]

I totally agree with your points and like to add that for me personally the greed is starting to get old.....
None upgradable hardware and the way the Apple Watch was launched left a bad taste in my mouth.


Right now they still have the better hardware and operating systems but they better keep it that way because as soon as that changes I'm out of there.... You can only nickel and dime for so long.

yeah, go with google. they've been changing their TV OS every year for the last few years and if you bought a device it's now a paperweight with no support

 

[MacAddict1978]

So now there are 3D compatible games on the new appleTV, and the interface happens to use elements and effects that move in the third dimension.
It would be really nice if Apple took this further and provided a 3D output of that interface with almost touchable tiles and prominent movements.

It's not an Apple thing. The box can support 3D content, but it requires a 3D tv that does all the decoding. Developers are the ones who would need to make this pop (literally). Just like the Xbox one can play 3D bluray and could play a game in 3D if the game were made for 3D.... but adoption of 3D sets remains small because most people don't see the value in paying a couple hundred dollars more for 3D when the rest of the tv is the same as the non 3D version.

I personally love 3D content at home. (Better than the theatre in some cases). I do not love that BluRays with 3D are often $10-$15 more than the standard disc.... or that renting a movie on demand in 3D is $6.99 and not $4.99.

Some 3D gaming or apps could be a really nice addition and selling point to 3D tv owners though.... but we're like 10% of the television market. Not a worthwhile venture for a developer.

yeah, go with google. they've been changing their TV OS every year for the last few years and if you bought a device it's now a paperweight with no support

Funny.... because all of their devices were able to be upgraded from Google TV to Android TV except for like the first box which is almost 7 years old now.....

I love when people make comments like that without a fact behind them. If something doesn't get an update, it's the device maker's issue, not Googles.

 

[kungpaaao]

Telling you all, Apple has lost its touch. Products no longer 'Wow' you anymore. They are pushed out lacking features and simplicity. The Macbook lineup is a total mess; they can't develop one piece of software which is superior to a competitor; Apple Watch and now Apple TV are simply hardcore Apple fanatic accessories, not marque product lines. Apple stock sees $95 by this time next year.

Don't worry. Tim Cook and all of the other executives, except serious Ive, Will be smiling like Cheshire cats no matter what.

There's no one at the helm. There is no captain on the USS Apple.

You were never promised exposure, nor were you promised success. You chose to spend that time in the hopes of cashing in. Don't play the victim because you may have to wait another week before they establish categories. They weren't there before on AppleTV, so they didn't take anything away from you but what you think you were entitled. Sorry to be harsh, but you are asking for a huge company to cater to you as if THIS specific thing is all they are working on. Notice they didn't update their remote app yet? Remember that iPad pro is shipping in a couple of weeks? Chill out.

I just wish they would fix the Netflix crashing/stopping in ATV2. Complaints online go back 4 years and it's far worse now. I turned off my ATV2 today and just stopped out of frustration. I'm considering just using my Sony BluRay and accessing Netflix that way.

 

[Misaki]

Funny.... because all of their devices were able to be upgraded from Google TV to Android TV except for like the first box which is almost 7 years old now.....

I love when people make comments like that without a fact behind them. If something doesn't get an update, it's the device maker's issue, not Googles.

Clearly you haven't bought any LG or Samsung SmartTV's.

 

[randyj]

After getting the Apple TV on Friday and playing with it over the weekend, I am really happy with it so far.
However it is not perfect.

Being able to launch a game (once additional content has downloaded) almost instantly is fantastic.
Especially compared to my PS3 that you are always waiting for it to load.
Siri is next to useless.
Once the App Store gets more apps and proper categories, this thing is going to be awesome.
I got the Steel Serie Nimbus remote and it makes the system seem so much more like a console. It is surprisingly good quality.
I mainly got the thing for my kids to do basic gaming. iOS games are so cheap compared to console games etc so thought it would save money in the long run.
It is very early days but so far I am not regretting my purchase.

I was very surprised not to see at least 1 version of Angry Birds on here for launch!!

 

[JimmyHook]

For those complainers out there, the first iPhone from "Steve" lacked 3G and an App Store. They built it later after feedback. This is no different. Seriously, give it a rest

 

[developer13245]

Except that all the promotional images show, and have shown "Categories" in the app store. While technically they were never there, they sure did a good job making it seem like they would be.

Agree completely - Also saw those promotional images.

I published my first of several iOS titles in the app store in mid 2008 - and even had a "first of a kind" app in early 2009 that generated income compatible to a regular dev "day job" for a while. But I've seen their attitude toward small developers go downhill rapidly over the last few years. They know they're on top, so they believe they can treat small developers like crap.

As soon as my "first of a kind" app was knocked off by a San Francisco VC funded startup, Apple "featured" them - but at least I made some hay while the sun was shinning.

So I kinda knew apple was going to "pull a fast one" to screw minor developers - somehow they always manage to pull this off. To bad we can't ask Taylor Swift to write a letter for us

But, I went to my local apple store today to spy the buzz around the new apple tv. I saw stacks of the units on the shelves, and not much interest in the product - more people were looking at iPods than TVs. I kinda expected this, so I decided not to rush our tvOS game development. Glad I decided to enjoy the last bits of fall instead of burn the midnight oil...

In the end, I'll submit the app, then just wait and see. I've talked to a lot of developers like me who are taking this same "wait and see" approach to the apple ecosystem.

I've worked on apps all across the apple ecosystem - from huge companies that have a direct line to 'someone' who can get an app approved in a few hours (yes this happens, you know if you're special) - to the dust under the door mat (me).

..and yes, it was really cool to have a paid app listed in a category top ten for several months - especially as a one man band operation.

 

[tillsbury]

Well I can report that Air Video HD works beautifully on the aTV, so now rather than using XBMC I'm just sticking to Air Video on all devices. Lovely.

One nice feature I would like would be when the aTV asks for your itunes password (a complete pain to enter) it would be handy if I could instead just use a fingerprint on my iphone.

 

[Googlyhead]

It's not an Apple thing. The box can support 3D content, but it requires a 3D tv that does all the decoding. Developers are the ones who would need to make this pop (literally). Just like the Xbox one can play 3D bluray and could play a game in 3D if the game were made for 3D.... but adoption of 3D sets remains small because most people don't see the value in paying a couple hundred dollars more for 3D when the rest of the tv is the same as the non 3D version.

I personally love 3D content at home. (Better than the theatre in some cases). I do not love that BluRays with 3D are often $10-$15 more than the standard disc.... or that renting a movie on demand in 3D is $6.99 and not $4.99.

Some 3D gaming or apps could be a really nice addition and selling point to 3D tv owners though.... but we're like 10% of the television market. Not a worthwhile venture for a developer.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-tv-games-from-pangea-software-support-3dtvs.1933281/ Yes; I know it's possible to play 3D (games) on the appleTV, but that wasn't my point:
Main point was; the interface uses 3D, so render a 3D version for compatible displays.
Secondary point is that 3D output appears to be a workaround: There can be a side-by-side (or possibly alternate or interlaced) 3D "encoding" that the TV can detect or be switched to decode.

But this isn't quite the same as providing a 3D tagged signal or the box generating the 3D output itself; as soon as a 2D event occurs (GUI notification), overlaying the 2D object breaks the output (either 3D with mangled 2D object, or mangled 3D with readable 2D)
This wouldn't happen if there were specific 3D/2D modes that everything got piped through for output.
And that's on top of the simple limitation of the 3D being just created using a standard frame, lacking benefits of other 3D encodings.

So, Apple; how about providing some kind of standard 3D output api? That would promote the availability of 3D apps, and enable UI consistency.

 

[TheSuperE]

Not much more to add I guess.... The App Store is basically worthless. No categories, nothing but a worthless search option, so I went through every character and letter just to see anything other than the "features". So my current aches:

1) App Store is miserable at best: GRADE: D
2) Simplex as an option for plex: GRADE: C+
3) CBS app wanting extra money??? WHAAAT? GRADE: F
4) user experience only marginally upgraded from years of AppleTv, no menu options for categories? Grade: C-
5) Siri is OKAY, and certainly an upgrade from old ATV, but much to be desired. GRADE: C
6) no browsers STILL, come on Apple?? GRADE: F
7) Just sitting over here waiting for the new Apple TV Service. "Disappointment" GRADE: C

Overall this currently feels SO incomplete, especially with the power under the hood.

OVERALL GRADE: D+

On the upside.... There's room to grow

Is it vastly different than the older aTV GUI? No
But using it, for me, is a welcome change. I am one that enjoys just seeing things advance no matter how large or small.
I like it.

Now ... if I can just get the Plex app soon that will make it even more enjoyable.

Simplex works fine for me currently, since my servers in the house anyway.

 

[tbsoftware]

Discoverability is basically zero at the moment. One laborious way to see everything in the store (and there's not much) is to start a search, then just leave it at 'a', or 'b', etc. It will then show you all apps starting with that letter.

I agree, this is probably the biggest issue with the Apple TV App Store right now. I have an app on the store and it's basically close to impossible for people to find it. As well, I was trying to browse through the apps to see which ones were worth downloading, and I also had to do the search for "a", then "b", etc.

Here's the thing. I, as well as many other developers, busted my ass to get my app ready in time for launch. Worked late nights, missed some family time, etc. to get the app done for launch. It's in the store, but guess what, no one knows its there, because there is no way to see it unless you know it exists. I don't have money to launch a marketing campaign for it, I have to rely on the tools that Apple provides to get it off the ground. Taking away categories is doing nothing more than ****ing over the vast majority of the developers that are providing software for their hardware. Unless you are in that ~5% to be featured, you have literally no exposure. You are relying on people seeing your app online somewhere, remembering it, dealing with the clunky "keyboard" to search it out by name, and then download it. You can't link directly to it for purchase, you can't even see it in the iTunes Store on desktop.

The device may have been out for 12 hours, but they sent out dev kits ~6 weeks ago, there are somewhere around 500 apps right now. It may not be enough to fill every possible category, but it certainly is enough that there needs to be a way to see them all without knowing the name of them.

Right now, no, there isn't a need for top lists, especially considering how in flux they'd be, but categories are a must.

I couldn't agree more! I also hauled ass to get my app ready for the app store launch. It's there and just like yours, _nobody_ can find it! Very frustrating and I feel like Apple really let the developers down with this one.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

For those complainers out there, the first iPhone from "Steve" lacked 3G and an App Store. They built it later after feedback. This is no different. Seriously, give it a rest

The first AppleTV (while Steve was alive and kicking and the iPhone was still a secret project) didn't have an App Store either. It came out first in September of 2006! This is a generation FOUR AppleTV so if you're going to make such a ridiculous comparison, then compare it to the iPhone 4 and tell me it didn't have an App Store or polished features.

Apple has had NINE YEARS to get the AppleTV to this point. In case you don't remember, the AppleTV PREDATES the very first iPhone by NINE MONTHS! (it came out in June 2007). The first version of AppleTV ran a version of OS X Tiger for god's sake! Yeah, but don't complain that this thing wasn't ready for release. Everyone be a good fanboy and bless Apple for all they do for us, one and all!

 

[2010lexus]

Here's the thing. I, as well as many other developers, busted my ass to get my app ready in time for launch. Worked late nights, missed some family time, etc. to get the app done for launch. It's in the store, but guess what, no one knows its there, because there is no way to see it unless you know it exists. I don't have money to launch a marketing campaign for it, I have to rely on the tools that Apple provides to get it off the ground. Taking away categories is doing nothing more than ****ing over the vast majority of the developers that are providing software for their hardware. Unless you are in that ~5% to be featured, you have literally no exposure. You are relying on people seeing your app online somewhere, remembering it, dealing with the clunky "keyboard" to search it out by name, and then download it. You can't link directly to it for purchase, you can't even see it in the iTunes Store on desktop.

The device may have been out for 12 hours, but they sent out dev kits ~6 weeks ago, there are somewhere around 500 apps right now. It may not be enough to fill every possible category, but it certainly is enough that there needs to be a way to see them all without knowing the name of them.

Right now, no, there isn't a need for top lists, especially considering how in flux they'd be, but categories are a must.

See here was a perfect opportunity to get the name of your app out there, and you blew it.

I couldn't agree more! I also hauled ass to get my app ready for the app store launch. It's there and just like yours, _nobody_ can find it! Very frustrating and I feel like Apple really let the developers down with this one.

See here was a perfect opportunity to get the name of your app out there, and you blew it.

 

[Jeremy1026]

See here was a perfect opportunity to get the name of your app out there, and you blew it.

I've posted the name of (including a link to a demo video) in this thread. See how no categories is a major problem for app discovery. Either you spam the hell out of your warez, or it doesn't get noticed. And if you spam, people won't bother looking because they think you are annoying. So it's really a lose lose.

 

[robbyx]

See here was a perfect opportunity to get the name of your app out there, and you blew it.

Yeah, to the few hundred people who care enough to read this thread. That's going to make a huge difference.

I appreciate that these developers aren't here looking for cheap and easy app promotion but rather offer insight into how Apple treats developers. So far this Apple TV launch has been pretty underwhelming.

 

[plexdk]

If you compare Apple TV 1 -> 2, and 2-> 3, this is a pretty big upgrade..

I guess people have sky high expectations. People also complained about the iPad being a big iPhone, but turned out good anyway. Calm down

 

[usurffree]

Just playing a bit of out of the box thinking on the app categories not being there Day 1...

There are going to be categories that just don't fit on this box. Maybe navigation would be one that doesn't work for home box unit, but a new category such as Home Automation may be a new category that fits this box thank to Home Kit.

If there are only 500 apps at this point behind the scenes approved, maybe most are games and media. What if there were only 3 under Exercise, 2 under Home Automation. It would look pretty pathetic for Apple have you dive into a category and only have a couple apps in that category followed by a bunch of blank space below the last app. Companies marketing departments worry about presentation. While marketing should be concerned there are pissed off developers, the other side is it would be hilarious to see an Apple product having a category that had a single app in the category, or 2 apps, or 3 apps, etc.

What if they have an internal, "When we hit 2,500 apps" or "When we hit 20 apps minimum in all 10 of the categories we launch", as a moment when they turn that category switch on for us all to see?

 

[distemp]

There's an incredible amount of people who find it completely acceptable for a company to release a half-baked device and get around to fixing it later...hopefully.

I have the new ATV and I'm okay with it but people have reasonable issues with it and that's absolutely their prerogative after spending $150-$200 for it.

 

[charlituna]

Obviously these will be fixed via a simple change on Apple's side when there are actually enough apps to WARRANT categories. How many apps do you think there actually are already (again, the device has been out for 12 HOURS) that need a robust catalog system?

I'm going to offer a counter thought. One of the biggest issues with the iTunes Stores is the poor metadata and discovery. One would hope that they are actively trying to improve both. The existence of a top list, even if half of it is empty, and categories, would add to a sense of faith that the hope isn't unwarranted. And will soon grow to the rest of the stores.

 

[xdxdaustin]

Give me emulators or give me death.