I appreciate the mute button and Thread support, but other than that, I’m really finding this upgrade to be completely lackluster. Apple really missed a prime opportunity here to increase their market share by either delivering a revolutionary new product or by lowering the price on them. I’ll be a day one buyer, obviously. But how many casual, mainstream customers will be tempted by yet another expensive and iterative upgrade?
I see nothing to buy here. YMMV.
I'm guessing that the AppleTV+ subscription comes with this for a year, but no idea if you get an extra year with each purchase, or if limited to one free year per AppleID.
Came here to say exactly that. It reminds me of the old remotes before they used a touch pad. I dread “click, click, clicking” around m the screen rather than just a swipe which can get me to the other side of the screen in a single gesture.
Thought I was the only one who liked and understood what the touch remote accomplished.
Agreed on the touchpad, it was way better than D-pad clicking. Momentum and scrubbing are so great, hope they persist that functionality. (haven’t watched event yet) Sounds like it has both:
The all-new Siri Remote features an innovative clickpad control that offers five-way navigation for better accuracy, and is also touch-enabled for the fast directional swipes Apple TV users love. The outer ring of the clickpad supports an intuitive circular gesture that turns it into a jog control — perfect for finding a scene in a movie or show.
The swipe pad worked well, except you couldn’t tell which way was up and if you tried to pick it up in the dark you would frequently inadvertently swipe or cause some other input that you didn’t want.
I’m excited and hopeful that this new remote will be a significant improvement. It’s hard to tell in the pictures but it also looks a bit bigger which would be good. THe old remote was actually too small and would easily slip between cushions, etc. The old siri remote was also too fragile - if you dropped it on a hard surface the swipe pad would shatter and you’d be out another $50 for a replacement. It appears taht the new one would be a bit more rugged in this regard.
my main disappointment is I was hoping for an apple sound bar that incorporated home pod speaker technology and apple TV. Oh well - I can’t say I was actually expecting that. It woudl have been an entirely new product line for apple and a bit of a departure for them.
Came here to say exactly that. It reminds me of the old remotes before they used a touch pad. I dread “click, click, clicking” around m the screen rather than just a swipe which can get me to the other side of the screen in a single gesture.
Thought I was the only one who liked and understood what the touch remote accomplished.
Agreed, and besides, you can tap (tap not clicks) on the edges of the current remote to mimic clicking.
...and that was one of the biggest problems with old remote. I’d reach for it in the dark and end up tapping or doing somehting I didn’t intend to do. Incredibly frustrating.
Came here to say exactly that. It reminds me of the old remotes before they used a touch pad. I dread “click, click, clicking” around m the screen rather than just a swipe which can get me to the other side of the screen in a single gesture.
Thought I was the only one who liked and understood what the touch remote accomplished.
Wow... seriously? I agree, I like the touch remote functionality, but it constantly has sensitivity and inconsistency issues. So they put buttons back in... which is great. So, swiping/touch?
It still does that AS WELL! Did you not see that? Buttons AND swiping... It's the best of both worlds. Plus scroll-wheeling on top to boot.
And the other huge issue with the previous remote that this one fixes: no longer vertically symmetrical so no more using it upside down.
Frankly, I think they finally got the damn thing right.
But complainers gotta complain...? Present a legitimate issue if you have one, but seriously... maybe you guys wanna get your information straight first?
I prefer the old remote and never understood the hate.
with that said I presented a way better implementation than Apple about 4 years ago. For the people who complained “too sensitive” the solution is SIMPLE. Integrate 3D Touch. This would allow the touch pad at both ends and only respond to the lightest and most natural finger pressure. This would also fix sensitive buttons and orientation issues and can even be a simple gaming controller with one side controlling movement. I should probably patent this idea but logically I thought Apple would evolve the remote into this direction.
I really don’t like the circle shape. I prefer the old simple seamless square that disappears.
I guess the only remaining question I have is: will it play 4K videos from my photo library at 4K? As it stands right now with the most recently available Apple TV 4K, it will only play my own videos back in 1080p resolution. This seems to be an artificial limitation, since it's obviously possible to play back 4K video from many different sources in various HDR formats at up to 30p on the current box.
If the new model is required for 4K playback of personal videos, that would be petty, but would probably still convince me to upgrade. But if not? Between the new remotes working with the older models as well as the iPhone-aided calibration working with the older models, there's not much going for the new model from what I can tell.
Apple probably caps those videos at 1080p to prevent pirating.
elijahg said: Actually part of it is Apple forces devs (with Apple Arcade at least) to target the iPhone 6S as a minimum spec.
Apple Arcade has a baseline spec, but all of the games scale the quality of graphics (like textures/lighting effects) to the SoC that is being used. That's similar to how PC gaming works.
Supposed to* except games look identical on my X as they do on the 6S it replaced, and on my iMac. Devs don’t bother with multiple levels of assets, apparently.
The baseline of the game will affect the rest of the hardware. It’s like upscaling. All games are like this which is why re-releases look the same except the resolution may be bumped up but ACTUAL remakes look updated. The developer is not gonna develop a different game for every chip model.
No mention of whether or not this new Apple TV will support Spatial Audio. Any idea?
On an iPhone and iPad, spatial audio in your AirPods Pro functions by identifying where the screen is, so that when you turn your head, the sounds orientation stay locked with the screen. This works on those devices because the device and screen are in the same place, and that device communicates that location/orientation information with your AirPods Pro. With an Apple TV box, it can sit in any orientation, near or far from your TV screen, so achieving that same audio orientation in your earphones/buds would require some sort of manual prompt that asks the user to confirm first that they are upright and facing the screen. Other than that, one would think any AppleTV 4K hardware could support the audio processing. It already supports Dolby Atmos sent to an external amp/speaker setup.
This is correct. Your TV manufacturer is not Apple. Therefore your AirPods have no idea where the TV is placed and if you’re looking at it.
The only solution would be for Apple to use both front and back facing cameras on an iPhone and asking you to fit the TV into the frame. The FaceID camera will capture your head orientation while the back camera captures the TV placement. Calculate and calibrate.
I wonder how this "new color balance feature" actually works and is it literally changing the TV''s settings, can it be disabled, does it restore to original settings when exited? My Sony Bravia XBR55A9G was professionally calibrated and I don't want my iPhone mucking with anything.
Your TV manufacturer is not Apple. Therefore Apple has no way to hack your TV settings or control them. This is Apple TV specific calibration. Some game consoles and DVD players also have device specific picture settings but once you leave the device those settings are disconnected.
No U1 chip in the remote. No speaker in the remote for feedback and Find My. No wireless charging for the remote.
Outdated chip that won’t encourage game developers.
No TrueDepth camera system for AR, gaming, fitness, FaceTime, Animoji, Spacial audio, mixed reality, user identification, Center Stage, TrueTone etc. This could have been a tiny 1/4” by 2” array that sits atop your TV.
They put an M1 chip in everything except the Apple TV?? At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if AirTags get an M1 chip before Apple TV does.
I agree this “update” is an excuse to shut down the A10x assembly line. But they could of at least future proofed the thing with an A13/14!!
No U1 chip in the remote. No speaker in the remote for feedback and Find My.
Outdated chip that won’t encourage game developers.
No TrueDepth camera system for AR, gaming, fitness, FaceTime, Animoji, Spacial audio, mixed reality etc. This could have been a tiny 1/4” by 2” array that sits atop your TV.
They put an M1 chip in everything except the Apple TV?? At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if AirTags get an M1 chip before Apple TV does.
I agree this “update” is an excuse to shut down the A10x assembly line. But they could of at least future proofed the thing with an A13/14!!
elijahg said: Supposed to* except games look identical on my X as they do on the 6S it replaced, and on my iMac. Devs don’t bother with multiple levels of assets, apparently.
There may be some 2D games that have less noticeable changes, but 3D games are pretty easy to see differences from my experience. Oceanhorn 2 was one of the first games that I played on Apple Arcade and the texture/lighting/draw distance on the A12 in my iPhone XS was waaaaay better than the A9X in my 1st gen iPad Pro.
A12 is slower for gaming than A10X.... are you sure it's not 12X?
While there may be some benchmarks that suggest what you are saying, in practice, the A12 is a more capable chips than the A10x. Playing a demanding game like World of Tanks Blitz, I can tell you that my son's iPad with A12 is better in practice than my aging A10x iPad Pro.
Apple's video indicated this was somehow a tremendous upgrade though. That clearly is NOT true. It's a very modest upgrade. I was hoping for an A12x at the minimum. However, when you think about it, the A12 is perfectly fine for a streaming box and modest Apple arcade style games.
I suppose the real disappointment comes from those of us who keep hoping for a gaming edition of the AppleTV. Something with like an M1 in it would be great. Of course, Apple would also have to commission a few A-list games to make it appealing. There have been rumors that Apple has been working on two versions of the Apple TV and one of them to be focused on gaming with an A14/M1 variant in it. Let's hope there is something exciting announced this fall.
Just saw that the feature is compatible with the first generation 4K ATV.
Can confirm with both the phone and AppleTV on the RCs. The difference was pretty subtle on my TV; I doubt i would have been able to tell without the toggle to show me.
No mention of whether or not this new Apple TV will support Spatial Audio. Any idea?
On an iPhone and iPad, spatial audio in your AirPods Pro functions by identifying where the screen is, so that when you turn your head, the sounds orientation stay locked with the screen. This works on those devices because the device and screen are in the same place, and that device communicates that location/orientation information with your AirPods Pro. With an Apple TV box, it can sit in any orientation, near or far from your TV screen, so achieving that same audio orientation in your earphones/buds would require some sort of manual prompt that asks the user to confirm first that they are upright and facing the screen. Other than that, one would think any AppleTV 4K hardware could support the audio processing. It already supports Dolby Atmos sent to an external amp/speaker setup.
Yeah, however, the most common placement of the AppleTV is where the television is. Mine sits just below it. I also imagine it would be relatively simple for Apple to use a software directional compensater for those who do place their Apple TVs elsewhere. Just surprised it’s not an available feature.
My Apple TVs are tie wrapped to the TV mounting bracket behind the TV so I don't see them. You could say I've "donglefied" them. Now ... if Apple made a sound bar version of the Apple TV it would open up a world of possibilities to do spatial specific processing of audio output, and input audio if they added mics and a camera to the thing. I hope they do something in the future to rationalize the price they charge for them. Is gaming on the Apple TV really a thing? If so, I guess the added horsepower and price can be more easily justified.
dewme said: Is gaming on the Apple TV really a thing? If so, I guess the added horsepower and price can be more easily justified.
It's developing into more of a thing with Apple Arcade due to the requirement for those games to also have ATV and Mac support. I always felt that people kind of missed the importance of that aspect when Arcade was originally released, but it's starting to get some momentum with games like NBA2K Arcade Edition showing up. NBA2K was a game that DID have iOS/iPadOS releases in the past, but never Mac or ATV support for bigger screen gaming. I think the new 24 inch M1 iMac will also help, as the screen quality + sound quality + graphics performance will be even more attractive for game use.
Comments
I'm guessing that the AppleTV+ subscription comes with this for a year, but no idea if you get an extra year with each purchase, or if limited to one free year per AppleID.
I’m excited and hopeful that this new remote will be a significant improvement. It’s hard to tell in the pictures but it also looks a bit bigger which would be good. THe old remote was actually too small and would easily slip between cushions, etc. The old siri remote was also too fragile - if you dropped it on a hard surface the swipe pad would shatter and you’d be out another $50 for a replacement. It appears taht the new one would be a bit more rugged in this regard.
my main disappointment is I was hoping for an apple sound bar that incorporated home pod speaker technology and apple TV. Oh well - I can’t say I was actually expecting that. It woudl have been an entirely new product line for apple and a bit of a departure for them.
I prefer the old remote and never understood the hate.
with that said I presented a way better implementation than Apple about 4 years ago. For the people who complained “too sensitive” the solution is SIMPLE. Integrate 3D Touch. This would allow the touch pad at both ends and only respond to the lightest and most natural finger pressure. This would also fix sensitive buttons and orientation issues and can even be a simple gaming controller with one side controlling movement. I should probably patent this idea but logically I thought Apple would evolve the remote into this direction.
I really don’t like the circle shape. I prefer the old simple seamless square that disappears.
The only solution would be for Apple to use both front and back facing cameras on an iPhone and asking you to fit the TV into the frame. The FaceID camera will capture your head orientation while the back camera captures the TV placement. Calculate and calibrate.
No U1 chip in the remote.
No speaker in the remote for feedback and Find My.
No wireless charging for the remote.
Outdated chip that won’t encourage game developers.
No TrueDepth camera system for AR, gaming, fitness, FaceTime, Animoji, Spacial audio, mixed reality, user identification, Center Stage, TrueTone etc.
This could have been a tiny 1/4” by 2” array that sits atop your TV.
They put an M1 chip in everything except the Apple TV?? At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if AirTags get an M1 chip before Apple TV does.
I agree this “update” is an excuse to shut down the A10x assembly line. But they could of at least future proofed the thing with an A13/14!!
Apple's video indicated this was somehow a tremendous upgrade though. That clearly is NOT true. It's a very modest upgrade. I was hoping for an A12x at the minimum. However, when you think about it, the A12 is perfectly fine for a streaming box and modest Apple arcade style games.
I suppose the real disappointment comes from those of us who keep hoping for a gaming edition of the AppleTV. Something with like an M1 in it would be great. Of course, Apple would also have to commission a few A-list games to make it appealing. There have been rumors that Apple has been working on two versions of the Apple TV and one of them to be focused on gaming with an A14/M1 variant in it. Let's hope there is something exciting announced this fall.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/A12-Bionic-vs-A10-Fusion-vs-A10X-Fusion_10166_8178_9162.247596.0.html
My Apple TVs are tie wrapped to the TV mounting bracket behind the TV so I don't see them. You could say I've "donglefied" them. Now ... if Apple made a sound bar version of the Apple TV it would open up a world of possibilities to do spatial specific processing of audio output, and input audio if they added mics and a camera to the thing. I hope they do something in the future to rationalize the price they charge for them. Is gaming on the Apple TV really a thing? If so, I guess the added horsepower and price can be more easily justified.