Half-baked Siri
Not enough content yet
Bluetooth remote needs work
If it existed in a bubble, the new 2015 Apple TV would be a stellar product. It offers a steady improvement over its three-year-stagnant predecessor - a device built for the then revolutionary new standard of 1080p - and comes with one of the most premium remotes on the market.
If there was nothing to compare it to, it’d be hard to point out the number of flaws the system has. It doesn’t have nearly as much content as other streaming devices have, for example, and Siri recognises less than half the commands on the new Apple TV than it does on iOS, watchOS or OSX.
The situation is improving. Apple has been working with third-party content developers like Adobe, HBO and Twitch to add new apps every few days. But there still doesn’t seem to be the same outpouring of support for the Apple TV that the iPad and iPhone enjoy.
That’s not to mention the fact Siri is voiceless at the moment, relying on text and graphics to respond to any inquiries you might have.
Siri has had a major upgrade promised at WWDC 2016 however. Soon you’ll be able to use Siri to search for film categories, as well as to search YouTube or even channel live streams.
The remote itself I really like, as do many of the developers I’ve spoken to about it. But it isn’t the panacea Apple marketed it as. Entering text one letter at a time for a password is tedious, and even though you can now pair your Apple TV to your iPhone or iPad to enter text, it’s still not an intuitive solution.
Thankfully at WWDC 2016 Apple announced that the remote’s functionality would be coming to a dedicated iOS app. As well as offering touch navigation, Siri voice recognition and motion controls for games, you will also be able to use the keyboard on your iOS device to search for content. A very welcome addition indeed.