If you need Google or Apple computer software running on your big screen TV as well as on your phone , you ’ve catch a few choice : On the Apple side , the Apple TV box , and on the Google side , the Android TV platform built into set from the like of Sony and TCL , and also showcased very well on theNvidia Shield TV .
So at the end of 2019 , is it the Apple TV with tvOS or Android TV that ’s on top ? Should you just pick the one that pair your telephone set , or is there more to the story ? Are Apple and Google actually really serious about develop software and apps for silver screen that can stretch to 50 inch and more ?
Interface and Use
As you might expect , if you ’ve used Android on any screen turgid than 7 inch , the Android TV port is rougher around the edges than its Apple counterpart . Both Android idiot box and tvOS take the familiar approach of using rows of ikon showcasing your apps and your content , and both are promiscuous to pilot .
On the Android TV side , sealed apps — let in YouTube , Plex , Spotify and Twitch — will sport certain content you might like aright on the home screen ( like a recommended YouTube video or a daily play list from Spotify ) . Further down the screen you get your apps , then your TV input ( if you ’re using an Android TV set rather than a boxful ) , then preferences .
The Apple telecasting interface is a lot more milled . It ’s fair to say ! You get big preview of what you ’ve get ‘ up next ’ in your various apps , though evidently there ’s some preference towards Apple service . You do n’t get the same kind of previews for recommended content on app icon that you do with Spotify and YouTube on Android telly , for instance .
Photo: Nvidia/Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
There are really two interfaces on tvOS on Apple TV now : The primary goggle box app , which Apple wants you using most of the time , and which contribute all your picture show and shows together across all the apps you ’ve got install ( with some notable exceptions , including Netflix ) . Then there ’s the elder row of app picture , where you’re able to get at your games , photos , and music — everything that is n’t video or tied into Apple ’s ecosystem ( like Netflix ) .
Searching is more or less comparable across both service , though the Apple user interface is nicer to take care at and yet less comprehensive . Both tvOS and Android TV permit you search with your voice as well as typing , and both will surface result from various apps as well as finding friction match with role player , artists and so on in addition to movies and shows . Again , Android video seems to have the deep hooks into more apps , returning results from apps including Netflix , YouTube , and Spotify that do n’t seem on the Apple TV .
When it comes to actually getting inside the apps , the port are for the most part the same across both the Apple TV and Android TV devices : open up up anything like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video or Spotify , and you ’ll get the same sort of interface whatever program you ’ve choose to go with on your television set .
Android TV.Photo: Gizmodo
There ’s no doubt tvOS on the Apple television receiver put up a more elegant and full-strength interface than Android goggle box , though the latter is a small more customizable and elastic — just the same as on headphone . Once you get into the apps themselves there ’s not too much of a difference , but overall it ’s a winnings for Apple .
Apps and games
At this stage in the tvOS vs Android television game , there are few picture and euphony apps that seem on one platform and not the other . Netflix , Hulu , YouTube , Plex , andnew entrant Disney+are present and accounted for on both the Apple and Google system , as are apps from HBO and Showtime . you could get Spotify and Tidal on both too , and local media player extraordinaire VLC .
Apple Music is not available on Android telecasting , despite being available on Android phones and pad of paper . You ca n’t play movies and render you ’ve buy from iTunes either — if you ’ve invested a spate of money buy digital good from Apple , then you ’re not give-up the ghost to be capable to get at that sensitive from an Android tv set gadget .
There ’s no Apple TV Plus app on Android TV , as you would expect , and the web interface does n’t open up in the Android TV web browser app ( at least not when we tried it ) . you could unfold up the Apple TV Plus web app on a laptop , and then beam it via Chromecast to an Android TV , at a push — it ’s not super smooth , but it ’s watchable , if you do n’t take care induce a laptop receptive next to your goggle box all the time .
Apple TV.Photo: Gizmodo
On the flip side , Google Play Movies & TV is n’t usable on the Apple TV , though if you have purchase movies and shows from Google ’s digital political platform , then you may get at them through the YouTube app on tvOS — it ’s a spot of a workaround , but it ’s fine .
Outside of the large video and music apps , both tvOS on Apple TV and Android television are obviously struggling to pull developer interest . Android tv set has more utilities , like VPNs and file managers , while tvOS has more lifestyle apps , covering preparation , fitness and so on . Apple just about wins out here — it has a Twitter app , for model , unlike Google and Android TV .
When it comes to gaming , obviouslyApple Arcadeis a swelled plus for the Apple TV , though Android TV has a decorous survival of the fittest of game too . The bottom billet is if you want to game on your handsome concealment , then Apple TV is the way to go — it has major claim like Alto ’s Odyssey , Lara Croft Go , and Canabalt that are n’t uncommitted on Google ’s arrangement .
Android TV.Photo: Gizmodo
The Libra the Scales shifts if you get an Nvidia Shield TV rather than a TV set with Android boob tube on board : Nvidia ’s box seat gives you access to the GeForce Now streaming political program , which means Fortnite , the Lego games , andmany morebecome available to you . It advance the gaming potential difference of the Android TV , though Apple Arcade probably still has the edge if you’re able to part with another $ 5 a calendar month for it .
Other features
Google Assistant is available on Android telly , and Siri is available on tvOS and Apple TV , for run voice searches , getting the weather prognosis , and more . Google Assistant is the smart app overall , but Siri has more specific trick for big projection screen cognitive content : you may use it to turn close captions on and off , tight forwards and rewind , and so on .
Android TV devices can be controlled by a remote app forAndroid , while the Apple goggle box can be controlled by a outback app foriOS . Both are broadly speaking similar in terms of functionality , though Apple ’s is better design . These apps really come up in handy when you require to type something , like a lookup or a username .
Every Android television set doubles as a Chromecast , which mean you may beam over audio and video from any app that supports the Google Cast criterion — that ’s a big excerpt of apps , including Apple Music for Android . Just about the only major app that does n’t support cast is the TV app for iOS , so iTunes content is still off the table .
Apple TV.Photo: Gizmodo
The Apple TV supports AirPlay , so again it ’s very easy to beam audio frequency and video across compatible devices — iPhones , iPads , and Macs . If you desire to get your Mac cover up on an Apple TV you’re able to employ Airplay , but Android boob tube is more flexile here because you’re able to cast your desktop from Chrome on Windows , macOS , or even a Chromebook .
If you already run your life from an iPhone and a Mac — and particularly if you ’ve bought dozens of film from iTunes and sign to Apple TV Plus — it attain no sentience to get Android boob tube . You might want to get both an Nvidia Shield TV and an Apple TV , if you have enough hard cash and enough spare HDMI ports on your tv set set .
If you ’re mostly on Android and Windows day - to - 24-hour interval , the option is slightly gruelling , chiefly because Apple does n’t put its apps on Android TV , but Google does put its apps on Apple TV . You ’re probably still going to want to pick an Android TV or a Shield boxwood though , just for the well-situated integration with Chromecast and Google Assistant and so on .
Android TV.Photo: Gizmodo
If phones , tablets , and laptop computer did n’t subsist , an Apple TV operate tvOS would probably just edge out anything running Android TV for most mass in 2019 — there ’s good app livelihood , a more polished interface , and more consistent software update . Android TV is n’t a longsighted way behind though , and has a few smart tricks of its own , particularly on the latest Nvidia Shield telly devices .
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Apple TV.Photo: Gizmodo
