One of the devices I haven’t written much about is also the device that gets used the most in my house, the Apple TV. So what is the State of the Apple TV in 2018?

Design

The design of the Apple TV hasn’t changed much since the 4th generation.  The Apple TV is a small little black box, with an Apple logo embossed on the top, and plugs in the back.  The back of the device is really the only thing that has changed on the outside since the last revision.  The Apple TV 4K doesn’t have a USB-C port anymore as the 4th generation does. Other than that, the design is fine.

Remote

The Apple TV remote has caused an uproar in the community, and for good reason.  The remote is small and gets lost easily.  It can be hard to orient the device correctly when you quickly pick it up or when it is dark.  

Neither of those bug me as much as others but the thing that drives me crazy is the slippery control while using the touchpad on the device.  Sometimes the cursor doesn’t move at all and then sometimes it moves too far.  I’m not sure what could be done to fix this issue, I don’t think they need to move back to button controls, but I would like a refinement of what is there.

I sometimes wonder if the touchpad is so bad that Apple is trying to force you into using the voice controls instead.  

Siri has improved over the years.  I was skeptical at first about talking to my TV, but over time I’ve gotten used to it.  I do wish for an always listening connection or even a way to use another device to start something on the Apple TV.  It would be nice to sit down on my couch, say “Hey Siri, play the newest episode of The Good Place and be on my way.  

Having the ability to start music on the Apple TV via other devices is promising, but I’d love to see Apple push this further.  

System

For all that it does and doesn’t do, I feel like the system is good.  The operating system is smooth, and it allows for all types of apps (more on that later).  There generally aren’t too many hiccups.  

I really like the idea of the TV app.  It is a place where all the shows, movies, and channels that you watch come together in one place.  I have two major issues with the TV app though: 1. No Netflix support and 2.  Live updating.

No Netflix support is slightly frustrating.  It’s not Apple’s fault that Netflix won’t put the Apple hooks into its system.  Netflix wants to control what is promoted to you and it doesn’t want Apple to tell you what to watch on its app.  I understand, but I still want it worked into the App.  I would love to see all the shows or movies I’ve added across platforms in one spot.  That way it could keep track of it all, instead of trying to hunt for what I was watching, or battle between the TV app and Netflix to see what I want to watch today.  I wish that Netflix would bend on this, but I don’t see it happening.

My second complaint falls to the fact that every time I return to the TV app and seemingly select the show I want to continue watching, the App updates the list and everything moves around.  Sometimes the updating is quick and sometimes it takes minutes.  I have no idea why this is.  I hardly if ever actually watch something on my iPhone or iPad, only on the one Apple TV 4th generation in the house and still it updates slowly.  

Technically, I’m not really sure how the system works.  Maybe this is the best the updating can be, but I feel like this could be improved somehow.  

Content

I feel like this is a hard category to grade really.  For the most part, the Apple TV has all the video apps that I need or want, but it doesn’t seem like the App Store is very vibrant.  There are games, but gaming on the Apple TV seems more like an afterthought.  

The video Apps are there.  But some of them aren’t good.  

On the Apple TV before the 4th generation and the App Store, all the video streaming services all had the same template.  Now with the App Store and more freedom for App developers, Apps have all different form.  Some are good, some are terrible (Hulu), and some have improved (Netflix)

That’s why I really like and appreciate the TV app.  The TV app does a great job of putting as much content that you would like in front of you.  It keeps track of all the shows you watch and movies you’ve started, and puts new shows and movies in front of you.

But as I mentioned before, there’s a big holdout – Netflix.  

I’m not sure what could change to improve the liveliness of the App Store, but I think that the Apple TV App Store has really stagnated.  Once you have the apps that you use to stream video, there isn’t really much reason to go back and explore more.  As more and more apps get you to subscribe, it is really pushing the limit to even explore more.  

I’m not sure that updating the app store daily and writing stories about the apps would even change much.  

Single Sign-on

One way that you can combat the subscription fatigue is using your cable login to get some cable company apps to allow you to watch without the added cost.  Apple has paved the way to make this easier, but not all companies have jumped on board even at this point.  

Apple has even made it possible to have the Apple TV check your cable and bypass the check, but it doesn’t work for me, so I can’t check how it works.

Video

I don’t have a 4K tv yet, so I don’t have a 4K Apple TV yet either. I can’t speak to the quality of the video, but what I have used is great on my previous generation Apple TV. 

As far as I can tell, there are apps that play 4K.  You can buy some videos in 4K on iTunes and other retailers.  I would highly recommend using Movies Anywhere.  This app lets you link your accounts so that if you buy a movie on Vudu, you’ll be able to watch it on iTunes as well.  Sometimes using this can help you get a better quality video for cheaper.  Say, Amazon is having a sell on the HD version of a movie you can buy it and sometimes it will be in higher quality if iTunes sell the 4K version.

There’s a standing holdout to 4K – YouTube.  Google and Apple are both staying strong by endorsing their version of 4K and not using the other.  It would be nice to have 4K while using YouTube, but I don’t think it’s really a deal breaker.  Still, until Apple and Google make nice, there’s not going to be 4K on youtube.

Games

As much as I’ve tried, games haven’t really pulled me in.  The apps are very simple and can be hard to use.  The Apple remote doesn’t really help promote playability.  The games that are on there are simple, using simple swipes and a single button press.  You can buy a more complete game controller, but really there doesn’t seem to be too many games to pull people in.

As far as I’m concerned, games suck on the Apple TV.  However,  I haven’t invested much into the system.  Nothing has been done, released, or publicized that makes me want to really invest in the system.  

Where does the Apple TV go from here?

Apple has been working on developing a streaming tv service as well.  The last rumors say that Apple might launch it free to people that own an Apple device. I think that would be great to help with subscription fatigue.  

Right now I see two real issues with Apple TV – the price of the device and stagnant App Store.

As I mentioned before, I’m not sure that redesigning the App Store with the modern style with articles and highlights would do much.  People are going to get the apps they need to stream and then probably move on.  

If Apple invested in a gaming company to make a giant triple A game to the system, there might be a reason to look into gaming on the Apple TV, but I really think that ship has sailed.  

The major thing I think Apple needs to do is bring the price of the device down.  Apple’s competitors are charging $40-50 for a device that is just as capable, while Apple is charging $175. 

During the holidays, you can get the Fire TV Cube, which outputs to 4K and has an always on voice remote for $69.99  that’s less than half the price of the Apple TV.

I don’t think that Apple needs to be in the $50 range to be competitive, especially if they are bringing the streaming service to Apple customers for free, but dropping the price down will help get the devices out to help support the service.

Rumors have been going around that Apple might be thinking of creating a streaming stick that they will charge less for, similar to a chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick.  If the price is right and you can still get Netflix and Hulu and the like, I think this could be a great idea for them.

I would also love to see Apple improve Siri across devices so that I could use my HomePod or iPhone to start a show on the Apple TV.  

Getting people to the App store is harder.  I do think that Apple has a great idea to auto-download Apps on the Apple TV if you download the iPhone version.  But I hardly ever leave the top row of apps to see that I have new ones.  

I just can’t figure out how to make it better, and neither can Apple.

Wrap Up

So what is the State of the Apple TV?  The State of the Apple TV is actually pretty good.

It’s not the cheapest device on the market, nor is it the easiest to use, but it is a great device if you own lots of iTunes stuff. Still, if you don’t mind bringing Amazon into your house, you can get a similar setup for much cheaper.  You can even stream Apple Music on Amazon devices soon.

If you are looking to get into the world of streaming tv, I would probably recommend someone to get a FireTV stick or FireTV cube right now.  But I think the Apple TV is just a tad easier to really use.  Still $25 vs $175 is a big difference.

If you are looking forward to the Apple streaming service, then the Apple TV is good.  

Let me know what you think about the state of the Apple TV on Twitter.  What would you like included on the next revision of the Apple TV.  Do you think the device is worth the extra money versus the Amazon or Google devices?

Don’t forget to check out the state of the iPhone and make sure you check out my iPhone Buyers guide.