Why add an Apple TV to a TV that already has Google TV built-in?

[levander]

Would it just be so that you can use the Apple ecosystem on your TV or is it more than that?

it looks like all new Sony TV’s come with Google TV built in. Are there any other good reasons to add an Apple TV to a new Sony TV?

Do any TV’s come with Apple’s tvOS built-in?

 

[MacMan2013]

Yes. It's Apple (private) rather than Google (aka Data Mining R US).

 

[dmr727]

Without going into the whole Apple/Google thing, one good reason is that most people keep a TV long enough that the hardware will fall behind as the software continues to bloat, and eventually the experience will get terrible. To say nothing of no longer being able to support a software update altogether.

With an AppleTV (or Roku, etc), you just replace the device when that happens. For example, my 4K Sony is on its third AppleTV.

 

[BotchQue]

I bought a Sony Bravia OLED (A80K) a few months ago to replace a 12-yr-old LG. It has the built-in Google TV and I've been using that rather than the old Roku I'd been using with the older set.
It's kinda buggy. Sometimes when FF/Rewinding a show (EweTube TV) it'll remain in a dimmed mode with the banner on the bottom, and I have to recycle power to the TV to get it to clear. I get one of THREE different home screens when I hit the Home button on the Sony remote, no idea why. Other issues. And I can't tell if the issue is with my streaming service (EweTubeTV), the GoogleTV built in, or the Sony TV interface itself.
I'll be following this thread for any clues, and may try an Apple TV box come Black Friday, see if that clears things up.

 

[HDFan]

There have been a number of posts comparing the Apple TV to built in TV apps. Haven't used Google TV but my experience with other TV apps:

1. Interface is inferior to Apple TV.

2. Video quality might be better with Apple TV

3. Easy upgrades via software. TV manufacturers resist updating older models. See posts about LG's C8. They don't care about software as much as Apple does.

4. When new hardware is needed, such as WiFi 7 or something else you Don't have to replace the TV, just the Apple TV.

 

[BobRey77]

Would it just be so that you can use the Apple ecosystem on your TV or is it more than that?

it looks like all new Sony TV’s come with Google TV built in. Are there any other good reasons to add an Apple TV to a new Sony TV?

Do any TV’s come with Apple’s tvOS built-in?

The ATV interface is easy to use and very fast. Sony TVs have reasonably fast processors and Sony keeps their software updated but this isn't the case with all manufacturers. Google TV, like Android before it, has bugs which can hang the software, sometimes requiring unplugging the TV to clear. This just doesn't happen with the ATV. Also, if you have other Apple devices and/or you are using HomeKit for home automation the ATV acts as a hub and integrates well with other Apple products. For example, HomePods can be paired with the ATV to create a home theatre and gaming setup using your TV. I have a 77" Sony OLED TV which I use this way and it's just a much superior experience than with the TV speakers alone.

I also have concerns with privacy when using Google or Alexa and have turned the microphones off on my Sony TVs for that reason. I have no such concerns with Apple and Siri.

 

[Edd70]

Respectfully to the OP, I’m amazed these threads still pop up. At this point, it’s well known that onboard TV software just tends to be crap compared to the boxes. I liken it to car radio software vs CarPlay or AA. The auto and TV manufacturers are just not good at it.

OTOH, some people don’t care about decent interfaces, bugs, or privacy. They just want a thing to get the job done. If it’s got a Netflix app, then it’s as good as any device with a Netflix app. That’s fine and a big portion of the market seems to feel that way.

 

[mikelets456]

I have an Android TV…the picture is amazing. However I haven’t used android tv since a few months after getting it. Why? It’s slow, cumbersome, freezes,etc. I use a firestick and now Apple TV….its like night vs day. Apple TV is instant! I only waited for Apple TV now due to lack of VPN. Once that comes out fully, goodbye firestick as well.

 

[Gator5000e]

The only time i use the Google TV on my Sony is when my ATV 4K wont show a 4K HDR Dolby Vision program that is available via the TV’s internal app. That usually happens with Prime Video (the ATV gets HDR via Prime but not DV). So if i want DV for a specific show on Prime I need to use the Sony/Google Prime Video app. Fox Sports app does the same thing. 4K via the Google TV app and no 4K via the ATV app.

Other than that the ATV is much easier to use (for me), looks better (the Google TV home screen just looks flat and dull, as do their screen saver photos, which may be a Sony thing and not a Google thing), plus a number of other things I like over the Google TV like updating apps.

 

[WP31]

I'm kinda backwards on this subject. I'm usually deep in the weeds of my tech use and play around with it all the time but I just can't be bothered to turn on the TV then go over to another box/remote to start watching a Amazon/Netflix show. I just grab the TV remote, hit the button, and start watching. They got me with 'ease of use'.

 

[nburwell]

We have a couple Smart TV’s in our house. Neither of them have been setup to connect to the internet. Rather we have Apple TV’s connected to them instead. We’re deeply engrained in the Apple ecosystem, and we prefer to have it stay that way. I’ve never been a fan of the UI for Smart TV’s anyway, but that’s just me.

 

[Edd70]

I'm kinda backwards on this subject. I'm usually deep in the weeds of my tech use and play around with it all the time but I just can't be bothered to turn on the TV then go over to another box/remote to start watching a Amazon/Netflix show. I just grab the TV remote, hit the button, and start watching. They got me with 'ease of use'.

An ATV does exactly that. Hit the power button on the ATV remote and it simultaneously wakes the box and turns on the TV. It doesn’t get easier.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Why own an iPhone when an Android does pretty much all of the same? Or you can make calls and text on your iPads and Mac too?

Why own a Mac when a cheap PC can do pretty much all of the same?

To many good reasons in prior posts, I'll add just one simple one: does AppleTV (box) have at least ONE app that Google TV on the television does not? Sometimes it's as little as one app that motivates the want... like choosing a PS5 over an Xbox (or vice versa) for as little as a single exclusive game.

One more: in not much time, the apps standard on the TV will probably start breaking. AppleTV will keep apps up to date. When AppleTV apps start breaking, you can spend $100 to get brand new "Smarts" vs. throwing out the whole TV when its apps are "vintaged."

That shared though, if you only like to use the most mainstream apps (Netflix and similar), any streamer tech may be "good enough." But the same applies to iPhone and Macs too. No need for anything Apple if you only use mainstream apps available on cheaper platforms and are satisfied with how they work on those platforms.

 

[Coffee50]

An ATV does exactly that. Hit the power button on the ATV remote and it simultaneously wakes the box and turns on the TV. It doesn’t get easier.

I'm kinda backwards on this subject. I'm usually deep in the weeds of my tech use and play around with it all the time but I just can't be bothered to turn on the TV then go over to another box/remote to start watching a Amazon/Netflix show. I just grab the TV remote, hit the button, and start watching. They got me with 'ease of use'.

The Apple TV remote does that. You can set the option to have your Apple TV remote turn on the TV & Apple TV at the same time. I don't even use my TV remote anymore.

One click and both turn on & I'm good to go. (Also if Siri is enabled, you can use Siri to turn on the tv on & off)

 

[SpaceCrystal]

For one, with Smart TV's, you don't get anymore software updates after a while, as TV manufactures stop bothering with those after a while. Not to mention that some updates contains bugs.

With a set-top box/streaming box like Apple TV 4K, you always get updates, & they won't stop unless the company themselves requires a hardware &/or a software upgrade (like Wi-Fi 7), etc. It's why they exist.

Also, Google gets all of your data & sends it to third parties.

I have an Android TV…the picture is amazing. However I haven’t used android tv since a few months after getting it. Why? It’s slow, cumbersome, freezes,etc. I use a firestick and now Apple TV….its like night vs day. Apple TV is instant! I only waited for Apple TV now due to lack of VPN. Once that comes out fully, goodbye firestick as well.

So true. I've been using my Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation, 128 GB) as my main streaming device a lot more than my Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max ever since I bought one back in February.

We also need certain apps to make it's way over to Apple TV in general that's exclusive to Android streaming devices, such as "The Roku Channel" & "TikTok TV." That way, I can completely do away with my Fire TV Stick altogether.

 

[levander]

Well, I’m surprised the built-in stuff is stil ,inferior even now that they’re farming it out to Google.

I knew back when the TV manufacturers were rolling their own, theirs sucked. And I would actually look for TV’s that didn’t have it so it wouldn’t ever manage to get in my way.

But even now that they’re using a 3rd party package built specifically for running a TV, it still sucks? That’s shocking to me. Like everybody is cutting the cord. It’s not even cool any more. It’s just weird if you haven’t. And they STILL haven’t gotten the software right?

That’s so bad, it’s almost like capitalism doesn’t even work when it comes to TV manufacturers.

 

[Soondae]

I've only found one TV with build in TV interface that isn't clunky and works comparable to my Apple TVs. I have a Hisense that my realtor put in my condo when my old Sony died. The Hisense has the ROKU interface build in and I must say it is quite good. Also ROKU has their own APPS specific to their interface (Movie channels / apps) that are quite good. However the overall interface of the ATV is far superior in all aspects especially APP speed. Now the Samsung interface is the worst, slow, clunky and just painful to use. Oh, they are so bad that MLB.TV has now dropped their APP from both the LG and Samsung APP stores.

Honestly I cannot comment on Google devices as I haven't used any though I have heard some positive comments from GoogleCast users.

 

[WP31]

An ATV does exactly that. Hit the power button on the ATV remote and it simultaneously wakes the box and turns on the TV. It doesn’t get easier.

Welp, you learn something new every day I guess. Here I go looking into how to make that happen (mine doesn't right now - Samsung Frame).

FWIW there is also the 'family' issue. I have the "I don't even care enough to care how it works" family. Just getting them to use a different remote is a hurdle

 

[iJest]

Years of guaranteed updates and the fact that the Apple TV UI is superbly clean, beautiful, simple, and faster than any other streaming box or baked-in software. And if you already own Apple devices you get the lovely integration that only Apple can provide.

 

[Duncan-UK]

Shame though that when you try a simple thing like search for curb your enthusiasm it shows fresh purchase options rather than the pre-existing purchases in your library…

it’s also very slow to scroll through the library. I find the App on my LG tvs to be better and only use my ATV device if I want to access iTunes Extras or use the infuse app.

Also when travelling I take a slim fire stick with me as opposed to an apple brick…

 

[shakopeemn]

Would it just be so that you can use the Apple ecosystem on your TV or is it more than that?
it looks like all new Sony TV’s come with Google TV built in. Are there any other good reasons to add an Apple TV to a new Sony TV?
Do any TV’s come with Apple’s tvOS built-in?

Underrated feature is "One Home Screen". This feature allows the TVs in our household to have the same app layout / organization sync'd. Add an app or reorganize, all of the ATVs are automatically updated. You can't do this with just a smart tv.

In addition, the Apple TV experience is top notch. The clean UI, along with the absence of large banners is something that other streaming manufacturers don't like.

 

[Edd70]

Welp, you learn something new every day I guess. Here I go looking into how to make that happen (mine doesn't right now - Samsung Frame).

FWIW there is also the 'family' issue. I have the "I don't even care enough to care how it works" family. Just getting them to use a different remote is a hurdle

Then perhaps your best bet is to just use Google TV. That’s probably the move for you.

I assume that these many “why Apple TV“ threads are just trolling. This is the 6th generation? Not news. “Hey Apple fans, convince me the ATV makes sense”. Why bother, honestly.

 

[ColdCase]

Welp, you learn something new every day I guess. Here I go looking into how to make that happen (mine doesn't right now - Samsung Frame).

FWIW there is also the 'family' issue. I have the "I don't even care enough to care how it works" family. Just getting them to use a different remote is a hurdle

I have a similar family technology disinterest. Years ago I programed everything into a Harmony one remote and they were well pleased with the single remote.