it's basically just allows you to view things on the big screen, And you can do that while using a remote instead of a keyboard.
That's assuming the remote isn't lost in the couch somewhere, or it's in your hand wrong. The remote functions great, but the physical design kinda sucks. It's very small, and much more difficult than most remotes to make sure it' in your hand the right way since they decided to make it almost completely symmetrical. Im sure it functions great if you're sitting at your desk in Cupertino, but in the dark, on the couch, and under a pile of blankets, it's not the friendliest remote out there. I hit the wrong thing a couple times a week, Loud scene comes on, grab the remote to turn it down a bit,
Most of the things you can do on aTV are probably already replicated in the apps on the typical smart TV, The aTV apps just tend to be a bit faster and more polished. The processor in the aTV helps with this as it blows away what you'll find in even higher end TVs. Plus the devs can make one app that works for many users, and with minimal changes have it work on iPhones, iPads, and Macs also. On the smart TV apps, they have to make different versions for each manufacturer. So if you're a developer, do you spend your time working on one app that will work on most of the current 1.65 Billion active apple devices, or on 5 different apps that have a much smaller user base.
There is also a much larger app selection available than in most smart TV stores.
It also allows you to airplay videos to your screen. browsing on your phone and come across a YouTube video you want to share with your friends, a couple of clicks, and it's on your big TV, and everyone can watch.
same for music, if you have a nice set of speakers hooked up to the TV.
One thing you won't find on smart TVs is the the appleTV app, It pulls from most of the other apps and combines them into one interface. It's just a listing, once you select something to play, it will launch the app that has that content. The only major app missing is Netflix. You will find HBO, showtime, Amazon Prime, and tons of others in it though. You can search across all the apps in one place, if there is more than one option, it will list them and show prices if applicable -- "rent for $4.99 on apple, or watch for free on HBO"
it also has an "up next" section which will acts like the continue watching section in Netflix, but it pulls from all the apps. If you're into sports, and have a sports streaming app (like MLB at bat), the games for your favorite teams will also show up there so you can tune into them pretty easily.
You can also get notifications as new episodes of shows you're watching are released, or as sports games are starting.
the appleTV app is also available on your phone or iPad, and as long as you have the applicable app installed, your up next will look and work the same across all your devices.
