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> Apple needs to do more than just offer developers the tools to make games for its platforms. It needs to sell consumers on the fact that these machines are fo

> Apple needs to do more than just offer developers the tools to make games for its platforms. It needs to sell consumers on the fact that these machines are for games. Apple needs to do a whole lot more first for the Apple TV to be considered close to iOS devices. The remote is an abomination that Apple should get rid of and then go back to the drawing board with a new design team. Usability wise, it's terrible — tiny, slippery, symmetrical shape where one can't figure out quickly where the buttons are and doesn't have enough buttons for control (the behavior when the side edges are pressed is unpredictable and annoying). As for tvOS, it's neglected by Apple to such an extent that there's not much going on in every release. It's still a "hobby" project that Apple can't decide to spend time and money on. After all these years of apps on the platform, there is still no straightforward way to update apps individually from the App Store! Seriously, if that's not a sign of it being a hobby project or almost abandonware, I don't know what is. Apple needs to show that it's serious about the Apple TV, for real. It seems to be distracted with things not directly related to Apple TV. If the past and this year are any indication, it's clear that there won't be a game controller from Apple for the foreseeable future. There are other broken things that need to be fixed for Apple TV to be taken seriously in this space.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
I have the remote for the 3rd generation of ATV, and I would also describe it as slippery. Usually what happens is you're typing something in (instead of using Siri, which actually works quite well usually) like your password when you have someone over that shouldn't know it, you are swiping left and right across a 26-letter row and always swipe just a little bit too far and have to go back to the letter you wanted. If you have an iPhone nearby it works perfectly to just use that keyboard though as well. I'm not sure if it's the input device itself or the software for the keyboard input that's worse, but it does need a rework. TVOS is alright - I found it better for navigation and visual aesthetics than the Roku that I had switched from - though Roku might have improved in that realm since that was three years ago. Symmetrical did bother me too. Far too often I would pick up the remote and start moving my thumb over the "wrong" side of the remote, having to switch it around. I finally fixed that by buying some nice rubber cases from Amazon which made it bigger and easier to hold (also prevented it from slipping out of my hand, as it is a little slippery as well) and also let me quickly identify which side was the correct one for your thumb, since the rubber encasing covers the "wrong" side. I didn't have much problem with the side buttons, but one thing did stand out about that button that your comment reminded me of: The hilariousness of figuring out that it existed when I first bought the thing. I had plugged in the ATV and could not for the life of me figure out how to get past the welcome screen. After five minutes of head scratching I do a quick Google and figure out you actually have to press down on the square on the remote. Ohhhhhh. There was a whole thread of people on the Apple forums who had the same problem of not monkey pressing the right button to figure out how the thing worked.
Terretta 8y ago
The remote is awkward, I use a Logitech Harmony. Why should users need to update apps individually? Sounds like user unfriendliness somewhere. tvOS has made remarkably consistent and rapid changes tracking the evolution of higher quality video and audio, tending to be more compatible with emerging 4K than TVs themselves. Someone’s paying more attention to the ‘hobby’ at Apple than devs are at Sony, Samsung, or LG.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago

I have the remote for the 3rd generation of ATV, and I would also describe it as slippery. Usually what happens is you're typing something in (instead of using Siri, which actually works quite well usually) like your password when you have someone over that shouldn't know it, you are swiping left and right across a 26-letter row and always swipe just a little bit too far and have to go back to the letter you wanted. If you have an iPhone nearby it works perfectly to just use that keyboard though as well. I'm not sure if it's the input device itself or the software for the keyboard input that's worse, but it does need a rework. TVOS is alright - I found it better for navigation and visual aesthetics than the Roku that I had switched from - though Roku might have improved in that realm since that was three years ago. Symmetrical did bother me too. Far too often I would pick up the remote and start moving my thumb over the "wrong" side of the remote, having to switch it around. I finally fixed that by buying some nice rubber cases from Amazon which made it bigger and easier to hold (also prevented it from slipping out of my hand, as it is a little slippery as well) and also let me quickly identify which side was the correct one for your thumb, since the rubber encasing covers the "wrong" side. I didn't have much problem with the side buttons, but one thing did stand out about that button that your comment reminded me of: The hilariousness of figuring out that it existed when I first bought the thing. I had plugged in the ATV and could not for the life of me figure out how to get past the welcome screen. After five minutes of head scratching I do a quick Google and figure out you actually have to press down on the square on the remote. Ohhhhhh. There was a whole thread of people on the Apple forums who had the same problem of not monkey pressing the right button to figure out how the thing worked.

Terretta 8y ago

The remote is awkward, I use a Logitech Harmony. Why should users need to update apps individually? Sounds like user unfriendliness somewhere. tvOS has made remarkably consistent and rapid changes tracking the evolution of higher quality video and audio, tending to be more compatible with emerging 4K than TVs themselves. Someone’s paying more attention to the ‘hobby’ at Apple than devs are at Sony, Samsung, or LG.