Product test
Apple TV Plus: is it really that bad?
by Luca Fontana
tvOS 14 with new features and Apple TV+ with "Foundation"
23.6.2020
Translation: machine translated
Apple's tvOS 14 is getting smarter and brings UHD for YouTube and Airplay. AppleTV+ also shows the first images from the ambitious sci-fi series "Foundation".
At the World Wide Developer Conference, WWDC for short, Cindy Lin, Head of "Programme Management for Media Products Engineering", used the attention to present the new features for the Apple TV operating system. Namely: tvOS 14.
And: Apple TV+ shows the first images of its large-scale sci-fi series "Foundation".
Smart Home, Picture-in-Picture, and improved Apple Arcade
The operating system of Apple's TV box, tvOS 14, aims above all to better integrate Apple HomeKit into its ecosystem. This is the software framework that allows users to set up their iPhones, iWatches or other Apple devices to configure and control smart home devices from Apple or other compatible manufacturers. The Home app for tvOS is being introduced for the first time.
It becomes visible, for example, when someone rings the doorbell while you are watching "See", an Apple in-house production. The app then displays the live image from the HomeKit security camera - if you have one installed - in the Home overview. The cameras are also able to detect whether someone is simply approaching the house. If you wish, you can then receive a push notification on your Home. Thanks to new facial recognition software for HomeKit products, you can also receive a "Honey Bear is coming home."
In addition, tvOS 14 gives the Home app a revised "Control Centre", which is visually similar to that under iOS or iPadOS. From there, devices integrated into the smart home can be controlled without having to switch to the corresponding submenu in the Home app.
The Control Centre is activated with a swipe from the right edge of the screen (or from the right edge of the fingerpad on the Apple TV remote control). It then floats into the screen from the right. This makes it pretty easy to switch between user profiles - Apple calls them controllers - for example.
This is also good for Apple TV, the streaming service. As with Netflix and the like, the Apple algorithm can more easily recognise which content interests the respective user controller and make more accurate suggestions accordingly.
And: tvOS 14 introduces "multi-user support" for games. At least for Apple Arcade games that can be played with the Apple TV box. Thanks to PS4 and Xbox controller support, even quite well. Multi-user support in this context means that each user can create their own save game. So one save per user, not per box.
Speaking of controllers: Microsoft's Xbox Elite 2 wireless controller and the adaptive Xbox One controller supported.
Youtube app and AirPlay now with UHD support
The YouTube app integrated on the Apple TV box is causing a bit more of a stir. It now finally supports 4K, i.e. UHD resolution. The same applies to AirPlay. At least if you want to stream UHD material you've filmed yourself from your mobile or iPad to the box. Whether this also applies to other applications - such as Netflix or Disney+ - is not known. But it's not relevant either. Both apps can be installed and used directly on the box.
More interesting than the information that YouTube will be UHD-capable would be to find out how this comes about from a technological point of view. The reason for this is a very specific passage of text in Apple's marketing: "Watch the latest YouTube videos in their full 4K resolution."
Specifically: Why only the latest videos? Industry magazine The Verge asked YouTube. The assumption: YouTube is now streaming UHD content using the licence-free AV1 codec, which is supported by manufacturers or suppliers such as Apple, Netflix, LG and Samsung. AV1 is said to be significantly more efficient than the HEVC and VP9 codecs, which require a licence. Incidentally, this is an innovation that YouTube has already adopted for TVs with operating systems based on Android TV . Sony and TCL TVs, for example.
Old UHD videos that are still streamed exclusively via HEVC or VP9 codecs from YouTube would therefore still not run on the Apple TV box. At least not in UHD resolution. Hence the reference to the "latest" videos.
YouTube has yet to respond.
New Apple TV+ series: "Foundation"
The fact that something was in the stars had been known for quite some time. Two years, to be precise. Now there's the first trailer for the new Apple series "Foundation" - based on the award-winning novels by Russian-American biochemist, non-fiction author and one of the most famous science fiction writers of his time: Isaac Asimov.
The best-known and originally central part of Asimov's works is the "Foundation" trilogy, which was written in the early 1950s. It is about the fall of a galactic empire and the subsequent rebuilding of human civilisation. As the showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer explains, the "Foundation" books are said to have served George Lucas as a model for his classic "Star Wars" trilogy.
The teaser trailer doesn't reveal much more about the story. Instead, it shows incredibly elaborate special effects and sets that would put even Disney's successful "The Mandalorian" series to shame. Plus seasoned actors such as Lee Pace and Jared Harris in leading roles. With all the anticipation, you could almost forget that Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" is waiting in the wings for December 2020.
"Foundation" will be released a little later on Apple TV+. An exact date is not yet known, namely 2021.
Conclusion? Well...
Most of the innovations - as "amazing" as they are presented by Cindy Li - are not very spectacular. I mean: Switching back and forth between users. Yeah, okay. Great.
Other new features, on the other hand, feel as if they should be a matter of course. For example, the Picture-in-Picture mode, which allows messages to be displayed during my workout. In fact, why have an "Apple TV 4K" box if it couldn't also stream my 4K content via AirPlay or YouTube videos in 4K resolution in addition to films and series?
I agree: The fact that scores from Apple arcade games are saved per user is actually a useful and nice new feature. And the new teaser trailer for Apple's own production "Foundation" is already making my mouth water.
Well, the updates are welcome and should be available in a public beta from July 2020 - the final version from around September 2020.
If you don't want to miss news and background information about the world of cinema and television, then follow me by clicking on the "Follow author" button. <p
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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