New Apple TV App Finally Kills the Middle Man
Finally, the frictionless peak-TV experience we’ve always wanted
I was thrilled when Apple first introduced single sign-on for cable channels in its Apple TV app. Finally, I could access content from services like HBO, Showtime, and NBC through my Apple TV after linking it to my cable provider — no more signing into different apps!
Except it didn’t work out that way.
Whenever a channel app updates, I have to go through the authentication routine again, which means I need that damn authentication code. You know the one: the special code that you can only get by visiting a cable channel’s website — usually via a desktop computer that, of course, isn’t in the same room as your Apple TV — and that you have to enter back into the app interface on Apple TV. For some services, this is a monthly exercise. So much for the promise of frictionless TV consumption.
But Apple promises to end this small but recurring nightmare with its new Apple TV channels, part of the redesigned Apple TV app launched on Monday. Unlike separate cable channel apps, Apple TV channels are fully integrated into the Apple iCloud sign-on ecosystem.
Apple TV will display shows you can watch through your various subscriptions, but it will also display aspirational content — stuff you can’t watch unless you sign up for a service.
In a recent demo I saw, it took exactly two steps to add the HBO channel: Find its listing within the new Apple TV interface, and click a large “confirm” button. Whatever updates or changes HBO might make to its channel interface will never prompt another sign-in or request for a code. And family members can use Apple’s integrated family sharing to view, for example, HBO channel content. This is progress.
Apple also convinced HBO to do something it has never done before: offer all archival content for download and offline viewing. It’s a strategy that’s done very well for Netflix Originals.
(If, by the way, you already have an HBO Now app subscription, the Apple TV channel update won’t affect it, nor will the system push you to abandon the app and switch to the HBO channel under Apple TV.)
Obviously, Apple TV’s big update is not just about channels — which is good, as there’s a limited number of partners at launch. They include HBO, Starz, Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, and Epix. Aside from CBS All Access, networks like ABC, NBC, and Fox are not yet among the channel list, nor are there any options for local TV network apps.
Here’s what else you can expect.
The new face
This Apple TV update, which arrives in tvOS and iOS months ahead of Apple’s TV+ planned original offerings and offers no hints of what’s to come in that regard, is still very recognizable. The cosmetic changes — a darker background, more curves — are less important than the reorganization. The store is gone, in favor of Movies and TV Shows sections pulled from iTunes, and there’s a new Kids tab.
The Watch Now section still dominates, giving you quick access to the newest stuff in your orbit. Game of Thrones watchers, for instance, will see the latest episode listed, along with content from other networks and apps depending on their level of integration within the TV app.
Apple TV’s ability to be channel agnostic and simply offer you everything you want in one consolidated interface, or through Siri’s universal search, is one of my favorite features. Holding the Siri button on your Apple TV remote and saying something like, “I want to watch something with Angelina Jolie,” will bring up a wide array of Jolie content from across the platform.
Category shelves with shows or movies are now redesigned with cards that include large autoplaying trailers. A simple swipe to the right sends you to the next show on the shelf. It’s a pretty smooth vehicle for content discovery.
The more you use Apple TV, the more your system knows about you, and like many of Apple’s other devices, it uses local machine learning to help you find additional movies and binge-worthy content that might appeal to you without sending personal information to the cloud. It’s all listed in the For You section. Even though the listings are automated, Apple employs editors who work on the descriptions. The descriptors they settle on can help determine if a show will end up in your curated feed. For example, if you like dark shows (see Game of Thrones), the program might pull in other dark shows, defined as such by the editors.
Those editors are also filling up the New and Noteworthy queue, but if you’ve made it that far down in the interface, perhaps Apple TV hasn’t done a good enough job showing you what should appeal to you.
In general, Apple TV will display shows you can watch through your various subscriptions, but it will also display what I’d call aspirational content — stuff you can’t watch unless you sign up for a service.
iTunes and kids
Apple’s also integrating the iTunes movie and TV library into the new Apple TV app, which means TV app curation will recommend a much wider swath of content — there are more than 100,000 movies and TV shows available on iTunes.
The new Kids section is as kid-friendly as you’d expect, full of well-known titles and a lot of curated, family-friendly fare. While you can use parental controls and Screen Time to apply child-friendly usage settings like “ask to buy,” there’s no way to set the Kids tab as the default or the only screen a child sees when they open the TV app.
Apple TV everywhere
I also got a look at a pair of third-party hardware devices that now integrate the Apple TV app — a major shift for Cupertino, which used to insist that consumers buy a separate Apple TV box.
First, there was the Samsung HDTV. (Some 2018 models and all 2019 Samsung HDTVs will support the new Apple TV app and iTunes content.) It lists the Apple TV app right next to competitors like Netflix. Once inside, it’s almost indistinguishable from the experience on Apple TV hardware. However, there are some differences. For instance, if you have the Hulu app integrated in the Apple TV app on other platforms, like your iPhone, content from Hulu won’t appear within the experience on your Samsung TV. And the third-party version of Apple TV app does not include the App Store.
But the experience is fuller than you might expect. We used an iPhone and AirPlay 2 to control the app on a Vizio TV, commanding Siri to play Mission Impossible. The Vizio instantly powered on and started playing the movie from the integrated Apple TV app. The virtual remote let us control volume and playback, though we could also use Siri to “go back 15 seconds,” exactly as you would if you were using an Apple TV remote. If I wanted, I could also play Hulu content on my iPhone’s Apple TV app and then use the mirroring feature to stream a full-screen version to the Vizio TV.
When to grab it
The software update will arrive on Monday as a tvOS update for Apple TV 4K and HD devices. The third-generation Apple TV will get the update, but no App Store features. It will, however, support the new channels, as well as the iTunes TV and movie library integration.
