Big step up over Amazon's Amazon-only search.
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Apple Will Debut New Apple TV In September
- Thread starter giga
- Start date
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Big step up over Amazon's Amazon-only search.
I'm in.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Bring it on, Apple. I've been waiting for it.
badcrumble
Member
Nice. I'll be curious to see what the price range is like and what you get for buying pricier models.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Next Wednesday (?) is gonna be fun. I bet I'm working though. Hopefully late if at all.
Amazon's search works with several providers. It's developer opt-in.
$150 is on the cusp. It's not the worst but it's not a sweet spot either and would definitely have to justify itself on more than video content.
And I can't see how Apple's will be any different.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
But Apple is inventing universal search here!
I am still clinging to the hope of allowing external storage. Or at least let it see external storage attached to the router without needing a computer on as a server at all times.
Zeyphersan
Banned
It'll probably use that deep-searching and deep-linking stuff they're introducing in iOS9
In which case, yes, developers have to plan for that
This is true, but Netflix still doesn't support voice search on the fire TV, for whatever reason. That's a big negative.
What reasoning does Netflix have to not allow Amazon's search mechanism on Fire TV to find their shows? And if they're against Amazon doing it, what hope is there of them allowing Apple to do it?
Roku allows it.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Maybe they view Amazon Prime as competition, while Apple isn't competition yet since they don't have their own streaming service besides stuff you bought from iTunes?
You'd think that would be more incentive to let Amazon's search find Netflix's shows. Perhaps it's the other way around and Amazon isn't allowing search to find Netflix's content?
Here's a summary: http://www.aftvnews.com/whos-to-blame-for-the-fire-tvs-lack-of-netflix-voice-search-integration/
Reed Hastings is literally on record saying they would support it "later this year" after FireTV launched. It never happened and nobody knows why. Maybe they got cold feet giving Amazon searchable databases for competitive reasons? Hard to say.
badcrumble
Member
I'm hoping it allows external storage because I'm hoping you can use it to run Time Capsule for your local computers.
This is one thing Nintendo did do well. A TV browser that actually worked. If Apple has pointer controls then they could have a semi-exclusive useful feature that the rest don't support as of yet.
infiniteloop
Member
Apple TV 4 hardware revealed: A8 chip, black remote, 8/16GB storage, same ports, no 4K
http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/02/apple-tv-4-2015-specs/
8GB? timmy plz
http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/02/apple-tv-4-2015-specs/
8GB? timmy plz
infiniteloop
Member
If Tim Cook announced the new Apple TV using only interpretive dance while dressed as a dolphin and said that it supported external storage devices, i'd be more shocked that it supported external storage.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Just get one of the sticks. No need to pay the extra for a set top box if you just want to mirror (Airplay / Chromecast) + Netflix/Hulu.
Why bother with external storage? Apps don't take up that much space, and it's clearly intended to be streaming-focused for media.
the firesticks or chrome cast? I never looked into them because I figured AirPlay was not a supported feature. hmm
This isn't a cell phone, it's a media streaming device. The last model was 8GB also and that had no problems. The only reason they'd have to bump the base to 16GB is if Siri, voice search and whatever other features they implement take up a large amount of space compared to before.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
It doesn't need a browser. Here's why:
On the Wii, the browser is navigated by a touch screen on the GamePad. You use the TV either to view the same thing big picture or to watch video.
Which means in order for the AppleTV to mimic this, you'd be using an iPad or iPhone instead for browsing and just display that on the TV screen.
Except that this is EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS NOW. You can already do this. AirPlay. You can even do it from your Mac if you want.
In other words, you're asking for something that doesn't need to exist because it already does.
Unless you're literally asking for a TV only browser that you really want to navigate with a remote control, in which case that's just silly and that's not how we do things in 2015. The AppleTV already has Wii U style browsing. The difference is that instead of the browser being in the "console", it's in the "controller" and it doesn't make a difference.
Nazgul_Hunter
Member
Apps and games
Game / app storage, though they do mention some type of support for streaming level data.
But if it's not 4K, from a video streaming standpoint it's not better than the previous device, the only upgrade is some UI and voice stuff, which is already done on cheap sticks but also could be easily done by selling an upgraded remote for the previous gen and updating the software. That A8 is only useful to apps and apps utilizing it are going to be sizable. If you want it to be 100% streaming then make a small stick for a low price or just don't bother and keep the old version.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
And an entire App Store opening up.
How much space are you using on your iPhone and/or iPad on apps? Are you really pushing 8 GB? I'm under half of that and I have a bunch of apps I could/should probably clean up based on use at this point.
Really need to see what else this can do before I feel I'd like one.
My phone is at 14gb on apps.
It was nearly 20gb but I've removed the larger unused items.
I wouldn't expect to use much on an Apple TV though. I won't be playing games on it most likely.
EDIT: if they're going to push games, 8gb isn't cutting it
My phone is at 14gb on apps.
It was nearly 20gb but I've removed the larger unused items.
I wouldn't expect to use much on an Apple TV though. I won't be playing games on it most likely.
EDIT: if they're going to push games, 8gb isn't cutting it
Yeah an app store opening is exactly why keeping storage low is an issue. Those things take persistent space and the type you'd expect on a TV will probably be games with many large assets like sound and images. And of course it's an issue on phones, it was a big deal to upgrade to iOS 8 because you needed 5GB free just for the OS and a lot of people had trouble with that. Fridge cleaning is not really appropriate, certainly not for a supposed premium device.
There's a lot of popular games that are 500+ meg.
SteveMeister
Hang out with Steve.
In for two. Probably get the larger storage size.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
How many are that large? Do people often need to switch between 16-32 games relatively quickly?
I've never understood people who need to have every digital item they own stored on the device at all times. It's not even using mobile data some of the time like a phone. It's tethered to high-speed internet. Keep the stuff you access often cached locally and leave the rest in the cloud. If you really need to get your 17th favorite game, it won't take long to re-download.
With app streaming and per-level download packages, this becomes even less of a problem.
Pretty sure their search will essentially be the same as Roku, Amazon, and Android TV.
The devs have to design their app to use it. Roku has the most apps that do this, mainly due to it's marketshare.
outunderthestars
Banned
Isn't that the base storage for the iPhone and iPad?
I mean in the context of semi-serious TV gaming -- something that could actually offer X360/PS3-level games. Not just candy crush. Part of the reason why the iOS version of BioShock looks worse than the 360 version is that it's under 2GB. The 360 version is like 6GB+.
The A8 should provide adequate power, but I was really hoping for 100GB+ and a lift on a 4GB-per-app cap that Apple currently enforces. Then you might actually see ports of things like the 360 version of Madden, or Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Not super high fidelity stuff, but console level.
If it's 16GB, then yeah, ports of the Final Fantasies, the old GTA games, etc. is pretty much all we'll get. Maybe some games on the level of Shovel Knight will show up.
Neither of those things is a serious gaming device. They're fine for people that want to play games that are "good enough", which is what many assume Apple is aiming for with gaming on the Apple TV. Good enough for casuals that just want to play Candy Crush on their TV, but not nearly good enough for serious gaming.
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