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6 Apple TV Features I Wish Existed

6 Apple TV Features I Wish Existed

Ben Bowman
Ben Bowman was the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.
Read full bio ›
Ben Bowman

I love my Apple TV devices. I love them so much, I spend more time watching smaller TVs in my home that have Apple TVs attached, rather than deal with the clunky non-Apple interface on my Sony Bravia TVs. Still, the Apple TV is not perfect, and I have a wish list of things I’d like to see moving forward.

Split Screen Functionality

I love multitasking, but my Apple TV does not. It would be great if I could use the Apple TV to watch a football game on one part of my TV while I listen to a YouTube video on another. Maybe I want to watch a silly comedy on Netflix while keeping another window open to keep eyes on a live news channel.

This shouldn’t be hard. Picture-in-picture technology is several decades old. Fubo allows Apple TV users to watch four channels at once. Nearly every other Apple product allows some variation of multi-window multitasking. It’s odd that Apple TV stubbornly refuses to offer this feature.

4K Upscaling

One of the points in favor of the rival NVIDIA Shield is that it automatically upscales content to 4K. While true 4K is ideal, upscaling can do in a pinch, and it’s strange that Apple hasn’t invested in that feature.

A Remote Finder

Apple TV device and remote

When I was in college, I worked at Best Buy. At the time, Magnavox came out with a remote control that would chirp if you pressed a button on the TV set. Why doesn’t Apple TV have that kind of functionality? It would be great if you could press a small button on the back of the Apple TV box and hear your remote ping until you find it.

Who among us has not torn apart a couch, looking for the remote between the cushions? My wife literally threw an Apple TV remote in our washing machine because it went unnoticed in some laundry. For a company that makes “smart” devices, the lack of a remote finder is anything but smart.

Roku Channel Compatibility

The Roku Channel may be one of the most popular free streaming platforms, but Roku and Apple don’t work together. I can access Roku Channel on my iPhone, but I want to be able to watch on my Apple TV. Since the two are competitors in the streaming arena, I understand the impasse, but it’s annoying. Come together to bombard my eyeballs with ads and split that sweet, sweet revenue!

Auto-Start Sequences

I wish I could program my Apple TV to automatically open Fubo to my preferred multiview every time I turn it on. Imagine if the Apple TV were smart enough to know your habits. Maybe every Sunday afternoon, you get a reminder to turn on NFL RedZone. Or you could have the Apple TV “wake” to turn on the local news as an alarm clock.

As a parent, this would also be great if I wanted my Apple TV to automatically open to Disney+ or PBS Kids whenever my kids access the device.

A Built-in Antenna

Antenna signal image

I understand that antenna placement is a tricky thing, and Apple would likely never include a feature that would have a high rate of failure. But I wish the wizards in Cupertino could come together to make an antenna inside the Apple TV box that would stop me from having to dangle a clunky flat antenna near a window in a spare room.

I do have a HDHomerun box that transmits an antenna signal into my Apple TV, but I wish Apple would cut out the middle-man and make that black box even more of a Swiss Army knife.

Imagine plugging in an Apple TV and getting crystal-clear ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and PBS! Throw in a DVR while you’re at it!

Ben Bowman
Ben Bowman was the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.
Read full bio ›
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  • You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Sling TV website.
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Hulu Live TV Cash Back

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You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Offer Terms

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  • You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Hulu Live TV website.
  • You’ll receive gift card 4-6 weeks after purchase (~2 weeks after your first month).
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