AppleTV or GoogleTV? Which is better? | Which better meets YOUR needs?
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AppleTV or GoogleTV? Which is better? | Which better meets YOUR needs?
Video Duration 00:10:17
Description: – Apple TV or Google TV? Which is better? More importantly, I think the question should be, which better meets your needs? I’m gonna walk you through a high-level overview with a few deeper dives into the features I think each platform is strongest in. My hope is that by the end of this video,
You’ll know which is right for you and your home, or you’ll be able to share these insights with a friend who’s trying to make the same decision. Let’s get into it. Hey, if any of these videos from my colleagues on the channel, if this one helps you, please consider hitting us with the thumbs up, clicking on that subscribe button, and hitting that notification bell so you’ll be notified when we upload the latest content. And when we announce our contests,
’cause we have some pretty cool contests going on, y’all. When you first turn on your TV connected to Google TV, you’re immediately greeted with what I think are the most relevant viewing options. Apple TV feels more like a mobile interface at first glance. More like yesterday’s Android TV
Then the current Google TV offering. You’ll have to click on the TV icon on Apple TV to get to the good stuff, though you can scroll and go app by an app from this Home screen. One quick note on both pieces of hardware, I think that they both level up
The picture quality on your TV if you’re using one of the entry or mid-level smart TVs. I have one of the entry-level 4K LCD Sharp Rokus in my bedroom and the first time I connected the Apple TV 4K, I immediately notice the delightful difference in picture quality streaming from the same apps,
I’d stream directly on the TV itself. Once you get into Apple TV’s TV Home, it’s similar in design to Google TV, and it’s based on tab headers at the top of the screen. The landing tab, the first one the TV interface has come upon, is For You in Google land
And Watch Now on Apple. Both push the content of their own service heavily as you scroll through that tab’s content, but only Google TV places live TV front and center. In Google’s Top Picks For You category, the first one down from their featured content carousel you’ll find a mix of content
From your live streaming services, YouTube or Sling TV, as well as content from your subscriptions. Unlike Google which immediately pushes its featured content, Apple TV’s first row of content under Watch Now is Up Next. Sort of a continue watching which takes a look at what shows you’ve been watching
And shows you the next episode in a series. Or when you hover over it, has a progress bar so you can see where you stop watching a show and pick up from there. This is also where you’ll find shows you’ve watched listed in the Apple TV app on mobile.
Scrolling further down just gets you to more of the content of their service pushed mixed with suggestions by category based on your viewing habits. The next tab over is the Live tab on Google TV and this is where I think the platform really shines as far as its TV interface goes.
It gives users a familiar grid guide-based interface, which pulls content from their Sling or YouTube TV accounts based on the scheduled content for that day or Live TV. This is a big deal for cable cutters who are trying to take control of their watching and their budget by going ala carte
Instead of paying cable package prices. On Apple TV, you’ll have to go back to the primary Home screen to get to your Sling, YouTube TV, or whatever other streaming account you have that services live content. From the Apple TV app home, you can get to some live TV
Via that Sports tab up top, but it’s just that, sports content. Nothing else. I wanna dive into a few other features of each interface, but let’s take a moment to talk about, well, interfacing with the interface. I’m going to go much deeper into that in a future video,
But for today, we’re only going to talk about the hardware which comes with each service, these remotes. Part of navigating these tabs and apps and settings is how easy it is to access them. For the purity of the platforms, I’m gonna focus on the remote that comes with Google’s Chromecast since it’s standard
Rather than the remote that comes with the TCL 5-Series, which is what I’m demoing both platforms on for you today. In the playlist on my personal YouTube channel, I have a full review of the 5-Series QLED TV, if you’re interested in that. I’ll talk about that remote there,
So you can check that out. Right off the bat, Apple TV’s remote is, well, it’s an Apple product. Their design choices tend to begin with making a product feel premium and the fact that you’re paying quite a bit more for the Apple 4K TV compared to the 4K Chromecast
Tells you all you need to know. Both remotes have a similar layout: large scroll wheel up front, out at the top, front, and center. But Google places the Google Assistant button right there on the face of the remote and the volume rocker on the right side, while Apple places the volume rocker
On the face of the remote and Siri on the right side. I don’t think either is any better or more efficient than the other. For those used to such things, I think it was smart of Apple to place a play/pause button on the face of the remote, something Google’s remote lacks.
For that functionality on Google’s remote, you have to push the center button of the nav wheel, which you can also do with Apple’s remote. And the interface on both large wheels is different as well. Going back to that premium, Apple gives you a capacitive touch wheel,
Which is also mechanical and can be clicked. So you can swipe through menus and swipe around the circle for forward and rewind, or you can click your way through. Google’s remote is completely mechanical. You’ll be clicking your way through that one. Both interfaces are very responsive
And the only quirk I’ve run into is that using Apple’s wheel as a scroll wheel can be an inconsistent experience across different apps when it comes to using that fast-forward capacitive or rewind functionality. That said, I think Apple’s play, pause, fast forward, and rewind interface is more intuitive and easier to use.
Clicking the wheel pauses, then you can scroll or click to move forward and back, then click again to play. And you can use that play/pause button on the top of the remote as well. Apple definitely wins here, in my opinion. A feature for which I don’t think
Either is better than the other is power. Removable batteries power Google’s remote while a fixed rechargeable powers Apple. So, do you prefer plugging up a recharging remote or popping that cover off and replacing batteries? I’m definitely a bigger fan of Apple’s remote for its premium fill and build quality,
And their play, pause, fast forward and rewind interface. Now, one of the other big differences in the devices comes internally with storage. With Apple TV you’re going to get more space for downloadable content and apps. The unit I’m using comes with 64 gigabytes of storage,
But the Chromecast I have comes with only four gigabytes. You’ll see that content when you look at the last tab on each platform’s interface, the Library tab. One of the things I really like about Google’s Library tab is that you’ll find the Wishlist there.
As I said, we’re going to get more in-depth on the mobile side of this in the next video. But with Google, I can search up a show or mobile on a desktop and add it to my wishlist right from that Google search. Then, it will show up on my Wishlist on Chromecast.
Google definitely has the market cornered on that. If I wanna do this on mobile with Apple I’ll have to open up the Apple TV app, search there, then add to my Up Next queue from there. I bring this up because a lot of times
We’re out and about, or at work, or at a party, or someone tells us about a great show to watch and it’s easy to take out our phones real quick and add that show to a watch list so we don’t forget. And last for this comparison, but definitely not the least
Is it ambient mode or screensavers? I love the images you get with both services, but the clarity and sharpness of Apple’s imagery are often awe-inspiring. Seriously, my wife and I just sit sometimes and watch Apple’s aerial images. With Apple though, you might think they don’t have an ambient mode like Google TV,
But you just have to go into Settings and change the time out to whatever you like. If you’re truly going for a persistent ambient mode, then you set it to Never sleep. We could make an entire hour-long episode here because there’s so much to go into,
But we’re gonna stop here for now. Well, that is until the next video where we’ll talk about the accessory interfaces to both services and get into some gaming talk as well. Both boxes and both platforms are really good. Both have strong suits. Google definitely stronger when it comes to living TV
And providing that familiar legacy grid interface. But at the end of the day, I think the best platform is the one most compatible with the devices you already use. So, if you use iOS products, Apple TV is best integrated with your home. And if you use Android or have Google Home products,
Then it’s Google TV. Hey, I’m Tshaka Armstrong for reviews.org. Don’t take it lightly that you spent your time watching here with us today. If there are anything, any questions I didn’t answer in this look at both platforms and services, go ahead and leave those questions in the comments below. I’ll get to them.
Love chatting with you all. I will catch you in the next video.
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