Apple releases tvOS 14.4 with bug fixes

AppleInsider

Apple on Tuesday released tvOS 14.4 to the public with bug fixes but no known user-facing feature updates.

Apple released tvOS 14.4 to the public today

The company didn't include any release notes on the update's new features. Apple TV software updates are typically minor, focusing on stability, minor user-experience changes, and other under-the-hood tweaks.

Apple had previously released two tvOS 14.4 betas, one in December 2020 and another in early January 2021. The release candidate went out on January 21.

Users can update tvOS on Apple TV by opening the Settings, selecting System, then Software Updates, and then Update Software. Once the update is available, select Download and Install.

The primary tvOS 14 update released in fall of 2020. It added better Picture-in-Picture support, HomeKit Doorbell alerts and camera feeds, Game Center syncing for Apple Arcade, and Audio Syncing. Updates since then have included bug fixes and minor changes to the UI. December's 14.3 update added Apple Fitness+ and AirPods Max support, along with improved navigation.

sidrictheviking

Just seeing it now. 

mcdave

I wish they’d just release tvOS Siri to all regions where Siri is supported, force mandatory content integration (Siri search and AppleTV App playback of 3rd-party content) and hand off purchase authentication to Touch/FaceID devices like parental controls does.  Oh, & apply content ratings to profiles for family sharing members.

tvOS needs work.

ihatescreennames

I hope they fixed the bug that didn’t auto update the software when I had chosen to have software update automatically. 

I would like to see tvOS get updated to allow me to see HomeKit devices in a second home, like I can in the Home app on my other devices.

ihatescreennames

mcdave said:

I wish they’d just release tvOS Siri to all regions where Siri is supported, force mandatory content integration (Siri search and AppleTV App playback of 3rd-party content) and hand off purchase authentication to Touch/FaceID devices like parental controls does.  Oh, & apply content ratings to profiles for family sharing members.

tvOS needs work.

It really bugs me that Netflix shows don’t show up in Up Next. Also, there’s an issue where programs my daughter watches on Hulu show up in my Up Next and not in hers even though she is the selected user when watching said shows.

Another thing I ask for is around subtitles. There are a couple of issues here. First, when I ask to have subtitles turned on (like I did this weekend when my wife was having difficulty understanding Jeff Bridges in True Grit) they stay on for whatever else I watch until I ask for them to be turned off again. I want the subtitles on only for the program I’m currently watching, not everything. Second, and this isn’t happening as much as it used to so maybe it has been fixed, is when I ask for subtitles to be turned on it then asks what language I want, even though I have English selected as the subtitle language preference in Settings. 

mike1

ihatescreennames said:

mcdave said:

I wish they’d just release tvOS Siri to all regions where Siri is supported, force mandatory content integration (Siri search and AppleTV App playback of 3rd-party content) and hand off purchase authentication to Touch/FaceID devices like parental controls does.  Oh, & apply content ratings to profiles for family sharing members.

tvOS needs work.

It really bugs me that Netflix shows don’t show up in Up Next. Also, there’s an issue where programs my daughter watches on Hulu show up in my Up Next and not in hers even though she is the selected user when watching said shows.

That's up to Netflix. They have stated they don't want to be. I'd rather have Netflix on my Apple TV than not, even if they won't support Up Next.

macapfel

It would be nice if Fitness+ would now be working without permanently breaking the stream. Works fine on any other device, but AppleTV.

elijahg

AppleInsider said:

Apple TV software updates are typically minor, focusing on stability, minor user-experience changes, and other under-the-hood tweaks.

Typically? More like almost always. There's very rarely anything new for AppleTV, it's pretty stale. There are so many UI improvements that are badly needed.

mobird

I think the TV (Hardware) has most likely seen it's last days as we currently know it. I don't think Apple will be updating the hardware any more, will end up marking down the price to almost a "lost leader" and use the TV in promotional "giveaways" etc. to promote TV+.

Just my thoughts...

GeorgeBMac

mobird said:

I think the TV (Hardware) has most likely seen it's last days as we currently know it. I don't think Apple will be updating the hardware any more, will end up marking down the price to almost a "lost leader" and use the TV in promotional "giveaways" etc. to promote TV+.

Just my thoughts...

That would leave TV+ to crappy smart TV hardware and software and likely kill TV+

As always, Apple combines hardware and software so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

StrangeDays

ihatescreennames said:

mcdave said:

I wish they’d just release tvOS Siri to all regions where Siri is supported, force mandatory content integration (Siri search and AppleTV App playback of 3rd-party content) and hand off purchase authentication to Touch/FaceID devices like parental controls does.  Oh, & apply content ratings to profiles for family sharing members.

tvOS needs work.

It really bugs me that Netflix shows don’t show up in Up Next. Also, there’s an issue where programs my daughter watches on Hulu show up in my Up Next and not in hers even though she is the selected user when watching said shows.

Another thing I ask for is around subtitles. There are a couple of issues here. First, when I ask to have subtitles turned on (like I did this weekend when my wife was having difficulty understanding Jeff Bridges in True Grit) they stay on for whatever else I watch until I ask for them to be turned off again. I want the subtitles on only for the program I’m currently watching, not everything. Second, and this isn’t happening as much as it used to so maybe it has been fixed, is when I ask for subtitles to be turned on it then asks what language I want, even though I have English selected as the subtitle language preference in Settings. 

Subtitles need work. Many apps use the system subtitle mechanism, where you define your style -- font, color, size. However it seems different apps and different shows *still* render them differently. Naming, the size -- in one show the Medium styling will be very small, in another show it is much larger. 

Multi-language shows (ex: Tehran) also presents problems for my ATV. Ideally the subtitles render for your non-native-language only, and native-language speakers are not subtitled. My ATV gets confused and will subtitle everyone or no one. Resolving it back to normal can usually be done by turning them on and off in the Settings menu, but not always.

Lastly there is the issue of the type of subtitle. There are three: 1) Subtitles. 2) Subtitles for the deaf & hard of hearing (SDH). 3) Closed captioning (CC). Basic "subtitles" are for non-native-language speakers rendered in your language, and that's it. SDH includes sound effects descriptions. CC has other placement, style, and even encoding technical differences. Which one is available varies. We just watched the new ATV+ show Losing Alice, and it only offers SDH and CC, both of which are overly distracting when the only thing you want is the non-english speakers subtitled. 

https://www.3playmedia.com/blog/whats-the-difference-subtitles-for-the-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-sdh-v-closed-captions/

All is not lost however -- I'm a software developer and while perusing the jobs on Apple.com I saw they're hiring someone for accessibility issues in TV & film. Hoping it's to iron this stuff out.

StrangeDays

mobird said:

I think the TV (Hardware) has most likely seen it's last days as we currently know it. I don't think Apple will be updating the hardware any more, will end up marking down the price to almost a "lost leader" and use the TV in promotional "giveaways" etc. to promote TV+.

I doubt it. The ATV experience on third-party TV makers is horrible. I bought a new Vizio and it's using the remove to navigate the UI is painfully slow, and a shitty experience. I think Apple would prefer to show how it's supposed to work. And I see they have job listings that seem related to tvOS. 

elijahg

StrangeDays said:

mobird said:

I think the TV (Hardware) has most likely seen it's last days as we currently know it. I don't think Apple will be updating the hardware any more, will end up marking down the price to almost a "lost leader" and use the TV in promotional "giveaways" etc. to promote TV+.

I doubt it. The ATV experience on third-party TV makers is horrible. I bought a new Vizio and it's using the remove to navigate the UI is painfully slow, and a shitty experience. I think Apple would prefer to show how it's supposed to work. And I see they have job listings that seem related to tvOS. 

The ATV experience on the ATV can't get much worse. Every time there's a major new release they reduce the usability of the UI as much as they improve it. Right back in the Frontrow-esque AppleTV 1, they would force you to scroll through *every* TV show's season rather than having a hierarchal list with show name > season. They fixed that, and then changed the grid of keyboard letters into a single line, which is terrible to navigate. Then the AppleTV HD introduced the terrible remote with not enough buttons. They overloaded the menu button, so sometimes it shows the top menu, sometimes it goes back in the app's hierarchy, sometimes it shows a menu in games, sometimes it exits the app entirely. Which means you're never really sure what it is going to do. It's a terrible UI design. You can sometimes scroll right to the top in which shows the menu too.

Having a remote that's as slippery as a bar of soap, such that it returns to its home between or under the cushions 100 times a week, then after finally finding it due to its diminutive size, fondling it like a bar of soap 3 times to get the correct orientation - and in doing so swiping the touch pad and causing the playhead to jump an hour ahead, is the absolute pinnacle of bad UX. It has an accelerometer, why is touch not disabled when anything but horizontal?! If Samsung had that design it'd be derided and laughed at by everyone here. Apple is all about not adding features just because they can, and the touch-remote is an example of exactly the opposite. And of course the Ive-esque minimalism that has caused the loss of buttons that *are* needed makes it even worse.

Siri is as usual about as useful as a chocolate teapot for anything other than "what's the weather". Doesn't work with any of the services I have, attempting to use it always brings up the rental version of a show rather than the version I already pay for in a subscription. I can then select to play the one I already have, but this seems like some weird attempt by Apple to get me to buy a second version through them. So i don't even attempt using Siri now.

Oh and sometimes I use a PS4 controller as a remote. That's pretty good, except Apple made the genius decision to have the PS button show the control centre rather than going home. Except actually, it does go home too, but only if you hold it for 2 seconds. Real smart, making one of the most used buttons have a 2 second delay. It behaves exactly opposite to the home button on the Apple remote. What makes it worse, is there are 18 buttons on the PS4 remote plus a trackpad, but Apple feels the need to overload one button to do two things. Oh, and the trackpad does nothing whatsoever in any app, or the home screen for some reason, when it's clickable just like the Apple remote, so could behave exactly the same way.

So yeah. The ATV experience can't get much worse.

nicholfd

ihatescreennames said:

mcdave said:

I wish they’d just release tvOS Siri to all regions where Siri is supported, force mandatory content integration (Siri search and AppleTV App playback of 3rd-party content) and hand off purchase authentication to Touch/FaceID devices like parental controls does.  Oh, & apply content ratings to profiles for family sharing members.

tvOS needs work.

It really bugs me that Netflix shows don’t show up in Up Next. Also, there’s an issue where programs my daughter watches on Hulu show up in my Up Next and not in hers even though she is the selected user when watching said shows.

You need to talk to Netflix - the intentionally choose not to participate.

The current/latest Hulu UI (for past year or two) is TOTAL CRAP - WHO puts a line ABOVE something to indicate it is selected?!?!?!  Even though Hulu allows you to pick a "profile/user", it is not integrated or tied to Apple's "profile/user" feature - again, talk to Hulu about fixing their crappy app.