Honestly, my hopes are not high for some sort of app revolution on the TV with the new Apple TV. Apps on TV's have been around for years now, especially with devices like the Roku and Android TV. Yet, no one has made any sort of TV app that has made these set top boxes a huge improvement. Maybe it's time we just accept the fact that people don't care about apps on the TV, apart from the ones that stream the media we want. I mean honestly, what would a revolutionary app on the TV even look like? Or do? The new QVC app is pretty cool I guess. It let's you watch QVC and buy products at the same time. But apps like periscope, airbnb, zillow, etc. on the TV? Who cares? Games can obviously make more of an impact but again, most games made for these set top boxes are incredibly casual and making them limited to using the remote as a controller is very limiting. For people who are really into gaming, they already use a console or a gaming PC they built.
Who knows, maybe this device will spur developers to innovate with TV apps and make truly special apps, but again, I am not so hopeful after seeing the fate of other set top boxes. I think the new Apple TV is going to have a long and slow beginning. Like the Apple Watch, I think we are going to see an app store loaded with apps that people just won't care about. Right now there is a lot of functionality missing just within Apples own apps. How long will we have to wait for Apple to bring these functionalities? (shuffle playlists, up next queue, iCloud Photo Library support, an updated iOS Remote app, a better UI keyboard, a better home sharing UI, bluetooth keyboard support, better siri that returns your own media, 4K, a podcast app, and the list goes on)
Right now the new Apple TV is not blowing me away. I have used all these set top boxes and it is definitely a "me too" product. I still think Google has the right answer when it comes to interacting with your TV, and that is getting rid of the TV UI's and just using a phone, tablet, or computer to control your content. I understand this is foreign to a lot of people but it is so much easier when you get used to it. After using a Chromecast for two years, I don't want a device under my TV with it's own logins, photos, music, etc. It makes much more sense to have all that on a phone or tablet, and then just throw whatever media you want to view up on the TV. It works great if you live with roommates because everyone can control with their devices and put whatever they want on. The idea is it is the TV is just an extension of your devices screen. Apple got halfway there with AirPlay but AirPlay has one main limitation and that is if you are AirPlaying a video and someone calls you, or you open a youtube video on your phone, the AirPlay cuts out. You don't get this with a Chromecast because the Chromecast takes the url passed to it and streams it. It frees your phone or tablet.
A lot of people are put off by the Chromecast because it doesn't have a dedicated remote or UI, but that's the point. Let me ask you all this, look at how many people are in these forums complaining because there is no update to the iOS Remote app for the new Apple TV? Why is it so important to people to be able to navigate the Apple TV or input text with their phone's remote app? It's because using a phone or tablet as a remote and dealing with the UI on that device is way easier to do than use a standalone device connected to the TV with its own UI. That's what the Chromecast gets perfectly. We already have devices that allow easy text input and have great, easy to use UI's. They're called smartphones and tablets. Now, I will agree that sometimes it is better to have a physical remote for quick play/pause or fine tune seeking, but it takes two seconds to open the app you're casting from and hit the play/pause button or seek. Google made it even easier now with the new Chromecast app. From that one app you can play or pause anything you are casting. it even has universal search that will let you search for content from all the cast abled apps you have installed on your device.
