Apple TV and HomePod not only share the title as Apple’s smart hubs, but also the same operating system: tvOS. So why aren’t they better integrated? There are several ways that Apple could improve this integration …
The original HomePod is long gone, but Apple has said the HomePod mini is the future. As for Apple’s set-top box, it just got updated with a second-generation 4K Apple TV with an A12 Bionic chip and a redesigned Siri remote.
Soon, with tvOS 15, Apple will allow users to set a pair of HomePod mini speakers as the main Apple TV speakers, but I think Apple should do more. For example, I can ask the HomePod to turn on / off the (Apple) TV, although I cannot ask the smart speaker to increase / decrease the volume of the Apple TV. Why can I do one thing but not the other?
And even when I pair the HomePod with Apple’s set-top box, I can’t ask it to open an app on Apple TV. Instead, I have to use the Siri remote.
To me, it seems like it shouldn’t be a big deal for Apple to better integrate these two products, mainly because they share the same operating system and are both a smart hub for the Home app. from Apple.
If the company can create something like the Universal Control feature, bringing together iPadOS and macOS in a seemingly seamless experience, why is it so difficult to develop a Universal Siri or at least a Siri that understands tvOS better?
Another feature that I would like Apple to present is a sleep timer for the Apple TV. If the decoder already turns off if I spend some time without interacting with it, why can’t I set a 30 minute timer?
These are just small tweaks that won’t even require the release of a brand new cycle update, but Apple is still showing signs of mixing on tvOS and its related products.
For example, Apple barely mentioned tvOS 15 at WWDC21, didn’t give it a preview page on its website, and stopped selling the original HomePod. But at the same time, the company launched a new Apple TV 4K and said it is moving into the smart speaker business.
Should customers believe what Apple says or what Apple does? A few months ago, my feature request post was for the HomePod for a better number of songs played on it using Apple Music. Over the months I’ve learned that the smart speaker plays random versions of a song instead of looking for what’s already in my library and that’s probably why it has trouble counting my songs correctly. .
This time around, I’m wondering if Apple will ever bring up this topic or continue to ignore tvOS for a few more years.
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