f1rehead

I have been using Roku since getting a Roku 2 XS in 2011. My current Roku 4 is not supported by the Apple TV app so I was looking to get a new streaming device. Just this week - Monday, in fact - I picked up an Apple TV 4K to solve my Apple TV app problem and because I really want to get HBO Max. These are my thoughts after a couple days with the Apple TV.

I appreciate the lack of advertising in the UI. I also like how you can "deep link" from the home screen directly to  show/movie in a specific app. Otherwise, I hate the UI. It's slow and cluttered with junk I can't get rid of and have to hide; things I have no intention of ever using. It suffers from the traditional Apple 'hide the features' game - I had to ask my brother how to turn off the Autoplay Trailers (mis)feature - it's in the Accessibility section of Settings, of course! Where else would it be? The Apple TV UI in general seems slower than Roku due to all the animations.

I expected more consistency across apps than Roku. Sadly, that is not the case. I would say apps are actually less consistent since they are often behind the level of the Roku apps.

The inability to turn off Autoplay Next in the Apple TV app is really lousy. I'm not looking forward to falling asleep in front of the TV and waking up to see that I've 'watched' all episode of some show. That's actually bitten me a couple times after going to make dinner after watching something and coming back to find that it's played through 2 episodes while I was away. I should be able to adjust that behavior. Maybe that's a general criticism of the Apple TV app across all platforms? I don't know.

The Apple TV ability to search across apps is great. Roku has this also, but it's not implemented very well. One usability issue I keep having is going to Search to look for apps, which you have to so in the App Store app. I'm sure I'd get used to that after a while.

The remote control is horrible. On the other hand, controlling it with an IR remote is very slow. A bad experience either way.

Why is everything called Apple TV? The device, the app, the service? Needlessly confusing.

Right now, if HBO Max comes to Roku, I'll switch back despite the issues with Roku. I'm sure I'll adjust after a couple months (Roku are you listening? That's your window to get me back), but right now I'm not sold on it.