If it is not a flagship product of the apple brand, Apple TV has known, in 13 years of existence, inviting itself in many homes. Allowing a user to broadcast a video stream from an iOS or MacOS device to his television, the streaming box is less popular today at a time when televisions are natively almost all capable of broadcasting the content of a smartphone.
It must be admitted, however, that Apple has not made the process easy if you do not have an Apple TV. Using a third-party application or connecting your iPhone / iPad to the TV with a Lightning to HDMI adapter becomes essential and less easy to use than an Apple TV. This manipulation, which also applies to Macs, quickly becomes cumbersome.
With the case from the Cupertino company, AirPlay greatly facilitates the process and reduces the number of cables necessary to zero in order to favor wireless connection.
New services that rekindle interest
The brand new subscription video game service, Apple Arcade, adds interest to Apple TV. Indeed, even if the range of games is not yet very substantial, it allows you to transform your case into a small game console, especially pleasant by having also connected a controller. The gaming experience will certainly be less intense than on a PC or a real console, but it nevertheless promises a few hours of fun on an accessory whose usefulness was initially quite different.
In addition, copying the screen of your iPhone / iPad on the television, while playing games exclusive to these media, also allows you to benefit from a much larger and more pleasant display screen for a gaming session.
In terms of films and series, the Apple TV is not to be outdone, and this is its primary function. In addition to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu are added Apple TV + and Disney +, which is coming this summer. Especially with the 4K model and a television compatible with this technology, the image quality of programs is significantly improved. In addition, since April, Proximus signed a partnership with Apple, allowing users, by registering for the Epic Combo Full offer, to benefit from digital television on their Apple TV.
But some downsides remain
Despite these additions, the Apple TV still seems superfluous. It is not fully used if you have not subscribed to any subscription whatsoever (Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV +, Netflix, etc.) and is reduced by a few features present in the United States, including Europe is private.
Siri, which is now integrated into the entire Apple ecosystem, is absent from Apple TV in several countries. Its absence also deprives the user of an interaction, however practical, with HomeKit and the connected devices of the house.
Finally, on the remote side, the handling of the Apple Remote remains catastrophic. You never know which way to hold it and the glass on the front makes it very fragile. In addition, the Siri button is replaced by a Dictation function, its function being unavailable in our regions.
We were hoping for a renewal of the range during the keynote in March. It did not happen, plans may have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Updating the device with a more powerful processor would have seemed to agree with the new ambitions of the Apple brand in video games.
Series
Apple TV + already has 33.6 million subscribers in the United States
High-Tech
How to play Apple Arcade with a PS4 or Xbox One console controller
- Amazon
- Disney +
- Video games
- Iphone
- Netflix
- Streaming
- MAC
- Television
- Connected TV
- High-Tech
- Apple