Top Apple TV Apps Revealed With Games Topping the Lists

[antipodean]

Any ETA for minecraft?

 

[warrior2000]

I think the "just works" complaint isn't exclusive to Apple. But since this topic is about the ATV, the complaint is applicable. Not sure when it became de rigueur to release products in an unfinished state and then patch in updates, but it's quite annoying. Again, this isn't an Apple thing. Video game companies are probably the most notorious offenders. I think a lot of people have this unrealistic view of Apple being above the fray. They're not. Evidence of that is all through this thread: "My ATV works perfectly, but....", "I'm loving my ATV, only if...", "I'm glad I got it. I just wish...".

Just on general principle I don't buy release day/week/month products. Why? Because darn near all of them, from any vendor, will have glaring omissions that should have been handled before release. As a consumer, my expectation is a product that functions fully as advertised. For that product I will give you the full purchase price. Unless I am allowed to withhold a portion of my payment until the product is complete, I have a right to complain. Or I could not purchase the product until all of the updates are complete. That's what I do. I tend to be more satisfied with my purchases that way. To each his, or in your case, her own.

You are hoping for something that does not exist in this world.

That's absurd. Why is it a scam? If anything, the providers are giving you more than you originally had for no additional cost. I know you and many here expect everything for free simply because you feel entitled, but that's not real life. HBO charges for their programming. All they are doing is saying that if you already subscribe with your cable provider, they will allow you access on the apple tv simply by proving you are a subscriber. What's wrong with that? Sure, typing in that info may be a bit of a pain, but it's not like you have to do it every time.


Please prove your statement. How is it a scam? How is this taking advantage of you? Awaiting your response.

Exactly. If they were charging extra it would be scam.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

That's absurd. Why is it a scam? If anything, the providers are giving you more than you originally had for no additional cost. I know you and many here expect everything for free simply because you feel entitled, but that's not real life. HBO charges for their programming. All they are doing is saying that if you already subscribe with your cable provider, they will allow you access on the apple tv simply by proving you are a subscriber. What's wrong with that? Sure, typing in that info may be a bit of a pain, but it's not like you have to do it every time.


Please prove your statement. How is it a scam? How is this taking advantage of you? Awaiting your response.

Well said. They don't owe you anything free. What's the difference between giving you access for free if you're already a subscriber and charging you for access? Seems some expect everything to be free. These are the same folks that will complain about an app charging 99 cents to support a developer and instead wait for a jailbreak so they can download it free.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

MOD NOTE: {SNIP}

Wait... What is wrong with the new Apple TV?

How much time do you have?

No seriously, do you live in a parallel Earth where this thing doesn't SUCK? Can I even browse the Apps available for this thing before I buy one? Where is it on Apple's web site? Where is it in iTunes? Where is it anywhere but on the device you had to have already bought? How do I find what's available once I'm there other than entering one alphabetical letter at a time on a remote that won't take voice input for such things and won't let you use your iPhone or other iOS device to enter search data?

I own it, it's insanely fast, insanely smooth, and leaps and bounds better than the old one.

Oh, can you type your login name and password through your iPhone like the last AppleTV to set it up and to authorize purchases??? NOPE. How is that BETTER?????

For the love of God, I never had to do TV remote codes.... That's magical.

WTF are you even talking about? TV Remote Codes!?!??!?! Yeah, I think you ARE living in a parallel universe where the AppleTV Remote apparently controls other remote devices....

Siri works well, it's easier to find content across apps.

Siri doesn't even work with your own damn iTunes Library! (yeah, that would be 600 movies and 9000 songs here that it JUST IGNORES. And no I would not count on Apple EVER adding such support because it's in THEIR BEST INTERESTS to try and force you to buy everything (including your next child) through the iTunes store!

The Netflix app isn't fully baked, but that isn't Apple. And Siri cannot control music, or find any to add. That's missing.

Yeah, that's the #1 thing it should be able to do. I bought my first AppleTV first and foremost to send audio around the house. Video was secondary. But it can't find your movies on your iTunes library either, only if it's on Apple's STORE or Netflix and the like.

But other than that, it streams faster, better, navigating is leaps and bounds better, and it's just so smooth.

How does it stream "faster" ? Does it magically make your Internet connection faster???? WTF are you talking about? 802.11AC maybe? Yeah, if you have an 802.11AC router, it MIGHT (depending on your connection and the alignment of the moon) stream the data faster. It was already more than fast enough to stream a 1080p movie and since there is no 4K, how much faster does it really need to be?

You people groaning don't own it, and you sure as hell are part of the **** show In this world.

The show? Been watching The Wall lately or something? I own multiple AppleTVs and the reason I'm upset is that after reading the reviews, I DON'T want this model, after all and I've been waiting a LONG time for Apple to come out with an AppleTV that can load Apps. I'd like to have Kodi on it. But I bet that will never happen because Apple will simply reject them.

I own the atv 2&3 (retired the 2) and a chrome cast and a fire TV.
Chrome cast sucks (as does all miracast devices, AirPlay just rules) and the Fire TV search only does Amazon stuff, and is nowhere near as fast and smooth. The Siri controller is really the way to navigate tv. Apple nailed that.

OH....so what you mean by "buttery smooth" is VOICE CONTROL. You apparently don't notice it can't load a single movie or song you own that you didn't buy at the iTunes store, but given your fanatical ranting on here, I'm assuming you pretty much bought near 100% of all your stuff from Apple anyway so of course it works great for you. Now I get it.

It's a huge promising product with a lot of power. It's almost perfect right now.

You've got one fracked up idea of "perfect".

There seems to be a pattern developing under the reign of Tim Cook. New products are missing the "wow" factor.

Not true. Not true. You'll go "wow" when you see how much your bank account went down after buying your next Apple product!

Other things...

Still no local storage support or connection for such things

Still no NAS support (still need to have your Mac or Windows machine on to access your local content)

No Optical Audio out (all prior had it including the cheap $69 model)

No Analog (RCA) Audio out (nice to have on Gen1; wouldn't cost them more than a few quarters to add per unit)

No pass-through for your cable box (nice feature on the XBox but obviously they hope to sell you a cable alternative at some point in the future, not convenience you to keep it)

NO AMAZON APP!

 

[frosty001]

It seems rare that downloads come from the App Store, though. In my experience, downloads come from news being published about your app, or from you talking about your app in forums. I imagine advertising works, too, although I've never tried it.

For this to work properly, though, there needs to be an easy way to link to Apple TV apps. If I, for example, put a link to an Apple TV app in my signature, could you click on it on your iOS device or PC and then hit a button for it to be downloaded to your Apple TV?

You need an 'Add to wish-list' type option, so it syncs back and you can have it queued next time you fire up the TV.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

you mean $150, not 200.

No, I mean the top model costs $200. You'd be a fool to buy the cheaper version with its tiny amount of storage for a device designed to run Apps (including games that might need 1GB or more after initial installation).

and if youre expecting a hardcore console for that, youre wanting it wrong. as they made clear, its for the same types of games you see on iOS -- more casual oriented.

I'm not "expecting" anything. I'm analyzing what I'd get for my money and it's not much. I can play the same "casual" games (and more) on my iPod Touch. WTF is the point in playing them on this AppleTV if it can't do any better than THAT?

its not a POS. its a great device that does far more than ATV3, and i love it. claim it's a POS just means youre trying to be negative. we have a word for that which starts with T.

One's man's POS is another man's treasure, I guess. I'll buy the ATV3 if I need another Apple compatible device and save some money. At least it works with Remote and has a multi-tiered "keyboard" on it. If I need games, I'll buy a PS4.

 

[Jaro65]

The media providers (NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, and any number of other letter combinations) and their partner distributions channels (Comcast, DirecTV/AT&T, DISH, etc.) have a vested interest in keeping you from getting your channels easily over your choice of streaming devices. Many of the aforementioned media providers and distribution channels are owned by the same companies.

Many many years ago, before we started down the dark road of pay television broadcast television was supported by commercials. And then we got the gee whiz moment when we started being allowed to pay for television that "didn't have commercials." But as time has gone on the media companies have slowly but surely worked toward putting the commercially supported, "free" channels (or more specifically the programming from those free channels that's worth watching) out of reach of their customers. The FCC requires that broadcasters still broadcast their channels over the air for free, but they would gladly stop doing that if they could. But they can't. So instead what they have done is move so much of the content that we used to watch "for free" supported by commercials to channels that you can no longer get without subscribing.

That's why you can no longer see your home town baseball team play unless you're willing to subscribe to cable or satellite (or act illegally). Were you aware that you couldn't even watch the MLB playoffs this year unless you subscribe to cable or satellite? Up until the World Series all playoff games were on pay television. Sure, MLB would sell you a live streaming package for a fairly nominal fee. But you couldn't subscribe to it unless you have an active cable or satellite account.

Most of what I wrote above is already known to a lot of people. But until and unless people look at the historical and evolutionary nature of television versus where we are today they get no perspective on what role their actions have in the grand scheme of things.

The only way that things will get any better is if we as consumers say that we are not going to play the game anymore. I, personally recently cut the cord on my satellite package, and get my local channels over the air with an OTA DVR. I will miss my local baseball team's games next year, and that will be painful. But I will no longer support a system that wants to put a meter on things that are also supported by advertising. It's time that we, as consumers start forcing real economic lessons on the video media producers, just like we did on music labels and newsprint companies.



I can guarantee you one of two things. Either there will be an Amazon app, or Jeff Bezos is engaging in childish behavior that is in direct contravention to his company's best interests. Every move that Amazon has made to date indicates that they are in the business of selling content, and have no vested interest in being a dedicated hardware company. They have shown a desire to be platform independent. To fail to release an ATV app for Prime would be a 180 degree reversal of that desire.

This was one of the best-written contributions I came across here lately. Thank you for that.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

This device has real issues and that makes it pointless to me at this time. I will have to buy from the competition instead...except I have Airplay around the house. So now I have to have two devices running in one room where one would do and other than Amazon, those other issues are 100% Apple's poor decision making. Some of those issues can be fixed in software. Other ones (like leaving out the optical audio port) require purchasing additional hardware to even address (e.g. an HDMI breakout box or even a full blown receiver). So one states these issues and along comes the brigade of Kool-Aid telling us they're tired of hearing about the shortcomings of this device! I'm whining? I was giving an assessment until people show up and DEMAND I only say how much I love this device and don't talk about the things it can't do or won't do.

 

[69Mustang]

You are hoping for something that does not exist in this world.

Not sure how you got "hope" from my post. I just gave my insight as to why some are upset/disappointed. I rarely ever buy release day products, so I rarely experience those feelings. My biggest frustration comes from downloading a crap ton of patches when I do finally buy a product. It's a trade off that I'm willing to deal with to get the full product experience.

 

[newdeal]

That's absurd. Why is it a scam? If anything, the providers are giving you more than you originally had for no additional cost. I know you and many here expect everything for free simply because you feel entitled, but that's not real life. HBO charges for their programming. All they are doing is saying that if you already subscribe with your cable provider, they will allow you access on the apple tv simply by proving you are a subscriber. What's wrong with that? Sure, typing in that info may be a bit of a pain, but it's not like you have to do it every time.


Please prove your statement. How is it a scam? How is this taking advantage of you? Awaiting your response.

Because if I wanted to pay them for their content I cannot do so without having to pay for a cable subscription, plus the basic package, plus any other channels that are included in whatever package the channel I actually want to watch is in rather than just being able to pay the one channel I want to watch a subscription fee in order to access their content. For example if my kids wanted Disney Junior, I can add that to my package by itself for $5 a month, however I have to be a cable subscribed and pay say $80 a month as the base price just for the privilege of being able to pay $5 for Disney Junior

 

[rdlink]

I get all the major networks over the air for free. The shows still have the same number of commercials if I watch them on cable. The issue as you stated is that the cable companies and the content companies are often owned by the same company. They don't want you to cut the cord, they want to make it hard for you to do so. Unfortunately for them internet is fast, shows can be streamed easily, and the harder they make it to watch their content the more people are going to pirate it. Its going the same way as the napster era of music, except it took longer because it took awhile for internet speeds to allow it. The best they can do is fight places like popcorn time etc but fighting the internet is futile. I will never have a cable package again, if that means I have to go to streaming sites to watch the Blue Jays in the playoffs then so be it

Go Blue Jays! Frustrated Rockies fan here, glad to see Tulo playing for an organization worthy of his talents and drive.

 

[Kaibelf]

But the complains don't concern third-party apps only, for wich Apple doesn't have direct influence in developping ( The new Netflix app for example is horrific , but that's Netflix's fault ), we're talking about Apple's own design. The lack of a category for apps makes no sense, and I don't see why they need to sell the product before they're able to implement it. Apple's tvOS is not a third-party developper's job. That's Apple's engineers job.

You do realize that they just make a change in their end similar to a web page, right? Engineers? Really?

 

[bdkennedy1]

Been using it since Saturday and thinking about returning it. It's not finished/has too many bugs. Siri didn't find any movies I was looking for. The App Store is lame. The on-screen keyboard is ridiculous. Chapter selection is gone.

Most of all, service provider authentication. How the hell am I supposed to get rid of cable if I have to authenticate through it?

 

[nburwell]

My new ATV doesn't come until next week, but I'm chomping at the bit to get it.

I hope FS1 soon comes out with a ATV app.

 

[Jeremy1026]

Most of all, service provider authentication. How the hell am I supposed to get rid of cable if I have to authenticate through it?

Hard to blame Apple for not being able to force cable companies to give up some of their content rights. It'd be like Google making a new product that required Apple to give them full access to their patents. It just isn't going to happen without a giant check coming with it. Apple has plenty of cash in the bank, but if they squander it to buy out rights from cable companies then they will quickly lose that reserve with no guarantee that it'll pay off in the end.

 

[TsMkLg068426]

So I can only assume only free streaming movies and TV show app is Crackle while there are many others which are still not on the new Apple TV and shame on Amazon for not wanting to add their Prime service on Apple TV.


Apple how about bringing Apple Music to the 3rd Gen Apple TV you brought Beats and left that stupid App that no longer works and you can replace with Apple Music? I am not going to update to the new Apple TV until they make improvements such as bigger Hard Drive space and streaming quality to 4K. And yes I know I can Airplay Apple Music but why I should go through all that.

 

[TsMkLg068426]

Most of all, service provider authentication. How the hell am I supposed to get rid of cable if I have to authenticate through it?

I feel your pain I have HBO through cable and I do get HBO Go on my iPhone but not through Apple TV which is ridiculous but I don't want to pay extra for HBO Now if I already get it through cable. If I am paying for HBO service through cable my cable company should make it available HBO Now and HBO Go with no issue on any devices. Either way I have Netflix, Amazon Prime and HULU so it's all good got enough to watch until my brain becomes a potato

 

[Rogifan]

Btw, when you go to the purchased tab in the App Store it does show things by category so obviously that search option is coming.

 

[DreamPod]

My point is these devs have no leg to stand on in demanding Apple release categories IMMEDIATELY. Of course Apple will do categories when THERE IS ENOUGH CONTENT FOR IT TO MAKE SENSE.

Again if there are only 1,000 Apps and there are 100+ categories you know damn well that there would be far too much TOTAL DOG CRAP that would end up on top20 lists.

But we don't want top-20 lists, we just want any way to browse apps on the device. Every other similar device I've developed for has had this ability from day 1 of the app store - iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch (kinda...), Amazon Fire TV, even OUYA (though that interface was slow and horrible at launch). I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if the Apple TV keyboard wasn't the most horrible thing ever, but convincing users to use that crappy search rather than going with one of the featured apps, that's damn hard marketing.

 

[warrior2000]

But we don't want top-20 lists, we just want any way to browse apps on the device. Every other similar device I've developed for has had this ability from day 1 of the app store - iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch (kinda...), Amazon Fire TV, even OUYA (though that interface was slow and horrible at launch). I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if the Apple TV keyboard wasn't the most horrible thing ever, but convincing users to use that crappy search rather than going with one of the featured apps, that's damn hard marketing.

Huh? How do you possiblily do a list without top20 list? The first 20 titles in the list will be considered the top20.

 

[agsystems]

TV provider login is the biggest scam going.

I get what you are saying but Apple has zero leverage here and from Eddie Cue's interview they are 'happy' to work with the content providers. They don't want to produce, sponsored or bid for content. Apple sees this an add-on device so for anyone whose goal is to save money - they should look elsewhere - I bought it and happy for what it currently does.

 

[kyleh22]

Single Sign on for TV service would be awesome.

 

[warrior2000]

No, I mean the top model costs $200. You'd be a fool to buy the cheaper version with its tiny amount of storage for a device designed to run Apps (including games that might need 1GB or more after initial installation).

And yet the FireTV you think of buying only has 5GB. LOL.

32GB will be enough for most. Even if games are 1GB+ how many people play 30+ games at the same time?

I'm not "expecting" anything. I'm analyzing what I'd get for my money and it's not much. I can play the same "casual" games (and more) on my iPod Touch. WTF is the point in playing them on this AppleTV if it can't do any better than THAT?

So you expected game publishers to make AAA games with only having the AppleTV devkit for a few months? LOL. The huge console games take 3-5 years to make. If you buying the AppleTV as primary a gaming machine you are doing it wrong. Go buy a Xbox/PS or at least a Shield.

And if you think gaming on a 4 inch iPod with half the screen blocked by your fingers is the same as playing on a 70 inch TV with a game controller is the same then you don't know jack about gaming. Geometry Wars 3 is 10000x better playing on the AppleTV. And this is only the beginning. In 12 months there will be a ton of great games on the system for $5-$10 each. I'm sick of paying $50 for a game and the ATV is my solution. I don't need games that have $50 billion budgets. Just give me something fun and fresh.

One's man's POS is another man's treasure, I guess. I'll buy the ATV3 if I need another Apple compatible device and save some money. At least it works with Remote and has a multi-tiered "keyboard" on it. If I need games, I'll buy a PS4.

You should buy a PS4/Xbox if all you want is games.

 

[iPadCary]

"Modern Combat 3"+SteelSeries XL controller+AppleTV 4+big-screen TV=: )
Do this, Gameloft!!

 

[agenda893]

Call me when they get Plex with Siri integration. Until then my wallet is patiently waiting.