Siri on Apple TV will be restricted to just 8 of 80 launch countries, apps limited to 200MB

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited November 2015
When Apple announced its fourth-generation set-top box on Wednesday, the company put Siri front and center while proudly proclaiming that the new Apple TV would launch in 80 countries --?but the erstwhile voice recognition system will come to just eight.




Buried in the developer documentation for tvOS is confirmation that Apple will actually ship two Apple TV packages: one with the new Siri Remote and the other with what the company is calling the Apple TV Remote. Only consumers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the UK and the U.S. will receive the Siri Remote.

All others will receive the Apple TV Remote, which --?aside from not having access to Siri --?is functionally identical. Pressing the Siri button on this secondary remote will bring up the onscreen search app, presumably allowing users to enter their query manually.

There's no word on why Apple has limited Siri's availability, or how they chose which countries would be blessed first. Siri is currently available on iPhone and iPad in more than twice as many places.

It's also unclear whether Apple TVs purchased outside of the initial eight will gain Siri access at a later date, via software or firmware update. Technical specifications show that the Siri Remote includes dual microphones, but those microphones are not shown on the Apple TV Remote, suggesting that a hardware change could be required.

The developer documentation also reveals that Apple TV apps will be limited to 200 megabytes of on-device storage. Additional content can be dynamically downloaded from the App Store via iOS's on-demand resources functionality, with user data stored in CloudKit.

This will not be a problem for most apps, but those with large asset libraries --?like high-end games --?will need to carefully consider their architecture so as not to cause delays for users.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Even Apple with their billions can't make Siri understand Kiwi English ????
  • Reply 2 of 30
    No need to go into developer docs, just go to country specific Apple sites and you'll see that most leave out Siri on the Apple TV page. Spec page shows the microphone in the photo but does not label it.
  • Reply 3 of 30
    What about H.265?
  • Reply 4 of 30
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    There goes the possibility of really good games.
  • Reply 5 of 30
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Headline and article are wrong: apps are not limited to 200MB of onboard storage. They are limited to 200MB initial DOWNLOAD, but the additional content can still be downloaded from Apple servers and stored locally. (I don't see Asphalt working otherwise.)

    Games can be as big as they need%u2014devs just have to be aware of the initial download.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Kaipher View Post



    What about H.265?



    Well since A8 based iPhone 6/6+ have H.265 compatibility, I think it is safe to say the new ATV does as well, even though the official specs do not yet mention this.  http://www.apple.com/tv/specs/  Perhaps this will be a firmware/software update, hard to say, but Apple did similar w/enabling the ATV Bluetooth in the past that was previously disabled!  This is critical to keeping file sizes down when streaming, even for 1080P content, not to mention 4K (2160P) content!

  • Reply 7 of 30
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post



    Headline and article are wrong: apps are not limited to 200MB of onboard storage. They are limited to 200MB initial DOWNLOAD, but the additional content can still be downloaded from Apple servers and stored locally. (I don't see Asphalt working otherwise.)



    Games can be as big as they need%u2014devs just have to be aware of the initial download.

     

    I don't get how a site like Apple Insider can put out a headline that's so wrong... Unless for the clickbait "outrage" value... Entirely possible...

  • Reply 8 of 30
    lymflymf Posts: 65member
    This remote and Siri thing is really disappointing. Same price but a lesser remote? I guess I'll buy mine during my next trip to Frankfurt
  • Reply 9 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by foggyhill View Post

     

    I don't get how a site like Apple Insider can put out a headline that's so wrong... Unless for the clickbait "outrage" value... Entirely possible...


     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post



    Headline and article are wrong: apps are not limited to 200MB of onboard storage. They are limited to 200MB initial DOWNLOAD, but the additional content can still be downloaded from Apple servers and stored locally. (I don't see Asphalt working otherwise.)



    Games can be as big as they need%u2014devs just have to be aware of the initial download. 

     

    Are you people serious? The article is almost verbatim from the developer documentation

     

    Quote:


     

    Resource Limitations

     

    There is no persistent local storage for apps on Apple TV. This means that every app developed for the new Apple TV must be able to store data in iCloud and retrieve it in a way that provides a great customer experience.

     

    Along with the lack of local storage, the maximum size of an Apple TV app is limited to 200MB. Anything beyond this size needs to be packaged and loaded using on-demand resources. Knowing how and when to load new assets while keeping your users engaged is critical to creating a successful app. For information on on-demand resources, see On-Demand Resources Guide.



  • Reply 10 of 30
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    This has put me off buying the device 100%.
  • Reply 11 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post



    There goes the possibility of really good games.



    Such a negative nelly!

     

    The download size is an up front size restriction. From what Touch Arcade says it's related to App Thinning in iOS 9. It's so you can play something immediately, then the app in the background downloads assets, including any updates.

     

    More details of course are needed, but let's assume a home location, home network connection to iTunes (where full apps reside), the background download will be fast, it will be local and it won't (let's assume) affect game play. Given the storage limitations, it makes quite a lot of sense.

     

    So quick to jump to doom, one wonders how much delight there is in such an attitude.

  • Reply 12 of 30
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    There goes the possibility of really good games.


    Such a negative nelly!

    The download size is an up front size restriction. From what Touch Arcade says it's related to App Thinning in iOS 9. It's so you can play something immediately, then the app in the background downloads assets, including any updates.

    More details of course are needed, but let's assume a home location, home network connection to iTunes (where full apps reside), the background download will be fast, it will be local and it won't (let's assume) affect game play. Given the storage limitations, it makes quite a lot of sense.

    So quick to jump to doom, one wonders how much delight there is in such an attitude.

    So apps running on external storage? Where have I seen that be ridiculed?
  • Reply 13 of 30
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post



    So apps running on external storage? Where have I seen that be ridiculed?



    Is there no end to your negativity?

  • Reply 14 of 30
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post



    This has put me off buying the device 100%.

     

    Does not being able to read put you off the device too? seems that's the problem.

  • Reply 15 of 30
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    So apps running on external storage? Where have I seen that be ridiculed?


    Is there no end to your negativity?

    No, now answer the question.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    ireland wrote: »
    This has put me off buying the device 100%.

    Siri works in Ireland in the iPhone so why not this?
  • Reply 17 of 30
    robmrobm Posts: 1,068member
    hentaiboy wrote: »
    Even Apple with their billions can't make Siri understand Kiwi English ????

    Nope. Siri works fine for me. Siri's fine with kiwi although when first released it WAS comical.
    The only issue is, you guessed it, place names.
    But that's ok by me - most Foreigners mangle them :-)

    I'll bet Siri has a few spaz outs with Aussie place names - not to mention full on strine :-)
  • Reply 18 of 30
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RobM View Post





    Nope. Siri works fine for me. Siri's fine with kiwi although when first released it WAS comical.

    The only issue is, you guessed it, place names.

    But that's ok by me - most Foreigners mangle them :-)



    I'll bet Siri has a few spaz outs with Aussie place names - not to mention full on strine :-)

    You got that right. Try saying "Siri, where's the nearest watering hole in Barangaroo?"

  • Reply 19 of 30
    I'm sure it ships with the same remote. They just can't market a feature that isn't currently applicable to the country where it's sold. They won't call it a "Siri remote" if Siri is not going to work. That could be construed as false advertising.
  • Reply 20 of 30
    robmrobm Posts: 1,068member
    hentaiboy wrote: »
    You got that right. Try saying "Siri, where's the nearest watering hole in Barangaroo?"

    lmao - Siri gives me Wherethefuckshouldigofordrinks.com :D
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