I’ve seen a few posts here and there raving about the Apple TV box but it’s always occurred to me what’s so special about it?

A lot of my products are Apple and I’m starting to try and build a smart home (nothing crazy) but I have Sonos, Nest etc and I’m wondering what an Apple TV can offer me. I’ve read a few blogs but nothing seems to scream out at me.

Smart TV’s seem to have a lot of streaming apps and I gather I can AirPlay to it. One thing that I did find interesting though, I saw someone comment earlier that you can just chuck your AirPods on and it seemlessly connects (albeit very rare I’d need to actually do this, like it was suggested if the other half wanted to go to sleep I could carry on and watch tv with my AirPods).

What are the other worthwhile benefits?

  • msvillarrealv@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I have one on each TV at home to access my Movie and Series collection via Infuse, besides Netflix, Prime, Youtube and DAZN (NFL). The response time and the quality is much better that the smart TV embedded applications.

    Another big advantage is that Apple TV apps are updated from time to time. The applications integrated into Smart TVs do not do this. Not to mention that it has more applications than those available on Smart TV ecosystem, like I mention DANZ to watch NFL season.

  • GonBeFine@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    If you travel - handles captive portals at hotels seamlessly. Good luck with Chromecast or Fire TV.

  • AdAstraAtreyu@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    It’s worth it. Trust me. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you get one. It’s just a better overall TV navigation experience

  • duuudewhat@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    It’s just a neat all in one experience if you have other Apple shit. AirPlay, iCloud, deep integration with Apple Music and Apple TV content. It’s a great device. I’ve had Apple TVs since the beginning.

    I will say though if all you’re doing is video streaming and you happen to have a ps5, that will suit you just fine. Most of the streaming apps have been better on my ps5 than Apple TV.

  • RoeikiB@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    u can use tailscale to make the apple tv as an exit node and control your smart home from anywhere outside the house withput exposing any ports

    also Infuse app

  • iletitshine@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Remote always handy on the iPhone, consistent UI, ability to use Philips Hue Play Sync if you have an older TV (pre-2022) that doesn’t support it.

  • Jessica-5666@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I love my 3rd gen Apple TV that my husband got me for my birthday. Best streaming device I’ve ever used.

    It’s fast, easy to use and just works. My favorite thing is the continue watching, it knows all my shows I watch. It’s so cool.

    Happy streaming 😀

  • _ApacheRose_@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    For me it’s just the ease of use, casting something from your phone to your television, if you’re an iPhone user of course. Also certain cable companies have apps that allow your Apple TV to function as your cable box, so that will eliminate the need for one.

  • Salar3636@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I have smart tv with all streaming apps but also have apple tv but the experience with apple tv is its super fast and smooth and everything loads faster and if you want rewind or something its much smoother to control with apple tv remote than tv remote (even though my apple tv is from 2020) and new remote is much better than old one…

    Also if you want to add homekit enabled accessories like door bell or lights you can control through tv but i know this is mot the case for many people 😄

  • wehodiscostickfan@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Apple TV just gets so many things right. You get buttery smooth animation due to Apple using Apple A Series chips. My model from 2021 uses the A12 Bionic chip and everything just feels snappy with no lag. Most TV manufacturers might have a great Google TV or Roku interface, but use crappy processors and teeny amounts of onboard memory/storage so you end up with laggy performance (e.g. Sony using Mediatek processors for their Bravia XR TV models).

    App selection has been great, especially since the apps are optimized for televisions despite using a similar framework to what apps use on an iOS/iPadOS device. Almost all major streaming apps are there.

    You might see ads for Apple TV+, but only when you have the app highlighted. By default it’s usually the first app on the first row of your Home Screen. You can always just move down lower so you don’t see the ads.

    One important thing that made me switch - and this has been an issue on Roku - is when Roku and a company like Google or Warner are bickering about fees, especially when YouTube TV was gaining traction was that apps would be unavailable (same thing happened with DirecTV on Roku) on the platform until a deal between these companies was made so that the apps become available again. That was the last straw that got me to switch permanently to Apple TV.

  • Doomhammered@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    It is faster and smoother. That’s literally it vs native TV apps or any other streaming box. To some people, that faster and smoother part is worth the premium. Because it really is silky smooth.

  • thatfamilyguy_vr@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I cannot overstate the use of your phone as a keyboard. It’s seamless. When a keyboard pops up on the screen, your phone automatically buzzes and asks you if you want to use it to type. Logging into streaming services is also super seamless if you have a password manager on your phone like Apple keychain or LastPass as it can auto-fill from your phones keyboard. This feature alone is worth it to me, but on top of everything everyone else has said… I have 4 Apple TVs and have also bought them as gifts for everyone I care about