Apple's "It's Show Time" media event discussion thread

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Nah. 1-2 weeks is pretty tame for a new launch. I've seen shipping estimates that slipped to 1-2 months for other products. No sense ramping up manufacturing capacity to perfectly meet launch demand when it would just sit idle the rest of the year.

Maybe, but I still think they probably didn't order enough. But then I've never bought or ordered any of the latest greatest Apple devices within the first few weeks. I usually have to save my pennies, and by the time I get around to buying the latest greatest it is often just a few weeks or months from being updated by the next latest greatest version! And sometimes it has already been updated and I wind up getting the last version which they still have for sale.

[OtinG]

According to this MacRumors article, iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 betas introduce Apple's new TV app.

[AnemicOak]

Looks like the new TV app beta is out...

https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/27/apple...beta-channels/

EDIT: Nevermind, I see OtinG posted already...

[OtinG]

Here is a short video from MacRumors taking a quick look at what is new in the revamped iOS TV app and Apple TV OS as per the betas just released.



It looks a lot like Amazon Prime Video, which is not a good thing IMO. I cannot foresee wanting to browse all through that maze, but to each their own...

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Here is a short video from MacRumors taking a quick look at what is new in the revamped iOS TV app and Apple TV OS as per the betas just released.



It looks a lot like Amazon Prime Video, which is not a good thing IMO. I cannot foresee wanting to browse all through that maze, but to each their own...

Yea, I've got the beta. It's not incredibly different that the current TV app actually, just a few changes. Apple tends to go with incremental changes rather than sudden shifts. I really like the enhancement they made to the library tab. I didn't think that I would like the what's up next line, but after you have been using it a while it's real handy, especially if you are bing watching a couple TV series.



The knock about Apple has long been with Apple everything is either easy or impossible, i.e. you do things the Apple way. There are times where I hate the Apple way because it's not how I want to do it. I'm sure anyone who reads the audiobook forum has seen my complaints about the change in how Apple handles audiobooks. But I suspect that it works better for the majority of their audience.

If you think about it, a lot of people like to know what everyone else is watching (or reading). It's the paradigm that everyone seems to be using in this space. Prime Video, Netflix and the Apple TV app are a lot more similar than they are different.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

If you think about it, a lot of people like to know what everyone else is watching (or reading). It's the paradigm that everyone seems to be using in this space. Prime Video, Netflix and the Apple TV app are a lot more similar than they are different.

The "what's trending" paradigm so prevalent in social media and entertainment services does not appeal to me at all, although I realize that it does for the younger people. I've been using computer technology since before most of Apple's current crop of fans were even a gleam in their daddy's eye! I could not care less about what is trending, but unfortunately the younger generations do, and since they are the major target group, they get what they want. At any rate, I don't see much innovation in TV+. It is mostly just the  logo attached to a tired old paradigm but that logo often causes fans to go wild with joy and spend money. That makes Apple happy, but not me.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The "what's trending" paradigm so prevalent in social media and entertainment services does not appeal to me at all, although I realize that it does for the younger people. I've been using computer technology since before most of Apple's current crop of fans were even a gleam in their daddy's eye! I could not care less about what is trending, but unfortunately the younger generations do, and since they are the major target group, they get what they want. At any rate, I don't see much innovation in TV+. It is mostly just the  logo attached to a tired old paradigm but that logo often causes fans to go wild with joy and spend money. That makes Apple happy, but not me.

I get annoyed at whats trending because it ends up restricting what you can see. I'll see how things go... was interested to see that they are updating the firmware for the AppleTV3 so it can have the TV app but it looks like its going to be as chunky as the AppleTV4/5... huge icons which I hate. I liked the smaller ones on the AppleTV3. I may finally send mine to live someplace else if theres that much of a change. Sometimes I like to access netflix on my 3 because its easier to find stuff.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

I get annoyed at whats trending because it ends up restricting what you can see. I'll see how things go... was interested to see that they are updating the firmware for the AppleTV3 so it can have the TV app but it looks like its going to be as chunky as the AppleTV4/5... huge icons which I hate. I liked the smaller ones on the AppleTV3. I may finally send mine to live someplace else if theres that much of a change. Sometimes I like to access netflix on my 3 because its easier to find stuff.

I don't use Netflix, but it is definitely easier to find things in Hulu than with Apple TV (I also have the gen 3) or with Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video emphasizes stuff that cost extra (rent or buy), and it is so cluttered as to be nearly useless. The new Apple TV looks similar to the Amazon Prime Video interface, so meh! Obviously they make the interface for pushing us into browsing, but I hate that. I want to quickly find what I want to watch then watch it, not spend hours browsing.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I don't use Netflix, but it is definitely easier to find things in Hulu than with Apple TV (I also have the gen 3) or with Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video emphasizes stuff that cost extra (rent or buy), and it is so cluttered as to be nearly useless. The new Apple TV looks similar to the Amazon Prime Video interface, so meh! Obviously they make the interface for pushing us into browsing, but I hate that. I want to quickly find what I want to watch then watch it, not spend hours browsing.

If you know what you want, then you can just tell siri to show that program to you. "Hey Siri, show me Aquaman" or whatever the show. If you don't like Siri, you can do a search. They do their best to read your mind, but so far, they aren't quite there.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

If you know what you want, then you can just tell siri to show that program to you. "Hey Siri, show me Aquaman" or whatever the show. If you don't like Siri, you can do a search. They do their best to read your mind, but so far, they aren't quite there.

I understand what Apple and others like Amazon are trying to do, but it just makes for a highly cluttered and clunky browsing experience that I hate. I don't always know exactly what I want to watch, but I also know that there can be better browsing than looking at clunky tiles that have to be scrolled side to side and multiple rows from top to bottom. With Amazon it is even more frustrating when I search and search, finally find something interesting, but then am told I have to buy or rent it. I suspect that will occur as well in tv+. They all need to rethink their interface designs. But they want, because it is like a grocery store that rearranges the items in the aisles every few weeks in hopes of making you browse for the items on your list and thus find other things to purchase along the way. The more stuff they can make use browse through, the better chance they have os getting more money.

[OtinG]

According to this MacRumors article, in store pickup is now available for the new iPads.

[OtinG]

Apple has dropped the price of the HomePod $50 down to $299, which is still too expensive IMO given their competitors's pricing. I wonder if they might be getting ready to release the next generation. I'm not sure if or how this might tie into the release of tv+ service, but I think it can be used to control the tv devices much like the Echos can control the FireTV devices. Personally I'm sticking with FireTV and Roku for now. The tv definitely has the best specs, but it is way too expensive.

[kyteflyer]

I can't see any use for the Homepod at all. It may have a fabulous speaker system, but it doesnt really do much else. For example, if I want Siri to turn my lights on or off when I am not at home, she does so... the AppleTV4 has become the hub for that kind of thing. Don't really want her to read the news to me, and I don't listen to much music anymore for a reason best known to my subconscious.

I've even changed my mind about getting a new iPad. The 12.9" might be a bit large, but I've got it now so I may as well make good use of it.

[OtinG]

I've already bought into Amazon Alexa for music and home automation, so I too am not interested in Apple's HomePod. Last time I checked, my LED lightbulbs are not compatible with Apple Siri. I bought them to be compatible with Amazon Alexa.

I'm leaning away from getting the new iPad mini 5 any time soon. I think my iPhone XR has a sufficiently large enough screen for most of the tasks I wanted the mini for, mostly reading. I still like my iPad Pro 9.7" and I really like the quad-speaker system. I would have missed the sound quality had I traded my Pro for the new mini.

[peaceridge]

I have the Mini 5 and love it. So much so that I'm not liking the Pro 11" as much. I don't like the face sign on and downloading apps seems to take more steps than the button on the mini.