I'll never forgive Netflix for not integrating with the TV app, but the Peacock app is the most cumbersome to me. And HBO Max never seems to be able to keep track what I've watched.
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Worst Apple TV app?
- Thread starter srbNYC
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Being in the UK and only use 3 of those apps I’ve gone with YouTube purely due to it not supporting match frame rate and allowing 4K playback for movies.
Closely followed by Prime Video as HDR isn’t working.
Closely followed by Prime Video as HDR isn’t working.
Any list of worst Apple TV apps that doesn't include AT&T TV Now (or whatever the hell they've rebranded it to this week) is a non-starter for me. I've never used any other software that found new (literally) show-stopping ways to break with each subsequent update (and I use a Windows desktop). Do they release without having tested the changes on the different remotes/remote apps? Try changing a channel with the new Siri remote, a simple swipe left/right gesture in previous versions. Are you having fun yet?
Good comment. I have both the prior and latest ATV's. And use AT&T TV Now (or then). I'm glad not to be alone disappinted with the 'new' Siri remote. Yes I thought you could easily scan channels and so on but nope; at least not on AT&T's App. And yes I wondered about why I couldn't slide back and forth between channels like before. So is the issue Apple or AT&T or both? Some App features (like deleting library recordinngs) are better . And on the Apple TV itself; video seems a tad crisper and audio sync improved (maybe HDMI 2.1 helps on that; I do have it and the new cables).
YouTube: No HDR or Atmos head tracking (probably Apple to Google spite)
The WWE Network app is pretty bad. Being in the UK ours is still with the actual Network app and not Peacock. But the interface is awful. Fast forward/rewind never works on their player, and trying to get back to the menu after watching a show just kicks you out of the app!
Seeing Peacock on this list doesn't give me hope for if WWE go to Peacock for the UK!
Seeing Peacock on this list doesn't give me hope for if WWE go to Peacock for the UK!
Good question. I guess I mean streaming apps, for accessing content. Mostly about their interfaces and functionality, which seem to vary to much. I wish Apple had been able to enforce some additional uniformity.
Interesting article just came out today. HBO Max is re-doing all its apps.
www.vulture.com
Inside HBO Max’s Scramble to Fix Its Glitchy App
“We see the crash logs. We’re not blind to it.”
www.vulture.com
That's an app that works consistently well on my ATV. The only streaming app I had to uninstall and then provide feedback was the PBS app. There were multiple UI and performance issues but it's been more than a year, and I can't recall all of them.Interesting article just came out today. HBO Max is re-doing all its apps.
Inside HBO Max’s Scramble to Fix Its Glitchy App
“We see the crash logs. We’re not blind to it.”
The MLB.TV is absolutely pathetic.
They updated it six weeks after season start and in the process removed every single feature useful for navigation. The only thing that works properly is the select and back button. Siri doesn’t work at all, the jog wheel, same, no 10 second skip …
They updated it six weeks after season start and in the process removed every single feature useful for navigation. The only thing that works properly is the select and back button. Siri doesn’t work at all, the jog wheel, same, no 10 second skip …
YouTube, and it sucks on other platforms too, not just tvOS.
There are a lot of dishonorable mentions too, of course. That is, apps which are not in the same league of bad as YouTube, but are very bad nevertheless. Philo is one I have trouble with nearly every day. It has daily streaming issues on some channels. Granted that is probably on their server side. But the app in general is poorly written. Streaming services are not software companies so their apps will tend to be amateurish at best anyway. But even some of Apple's own apps suck.
There are a lot of dishonorable mentions too, of course. That is, apps which are not in the same league of bad as YouTube, but are very bad nevertheless. Philo is one I have trouble with nearly every day. It has daily streaming issues on some channels. Granted that is probably on their server side. But the app in general is poorly written. Streaming services are not software companies so their apps will tend to be amateurish at best anyway. But even some of Apple's own apps suck.
YouTube is pretty bad, but you left the TV+ app off the list... horrible, confusing interface...
We never used YouTube much and we cancelled Amazon Prime a few months back. But AP worked well enough when we had it. NetFlix seems to work well enough (we're not paying the extra for 4k, though.) HBO Max is a hot mess, so that was my vote. Never used any of the others.
Full disclosure, I've never had the YouTube app installed on any of our ATV's, so I can't comment on how bad it is. But for the apps that we regularly use, we haven't experienced any major issues, but HBO Max just barely edges out Amazon Prime for worst ATV app for my wife and I (and that's strictly because we frequently use HBO Max to watch shows/movies while we don't use Amazon a heck of a lot).
Why Do Most Streaming Service Interfaces Suck So Badly?
Bad UX and UI design plague nearly every video streaming platform. But why? And what can they do about it?
www.insidehook.com
