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Apps on the ATV should be considered the responsibility of the author. Application capability varies from device to device for various, generally undisclosed, reasons but the competitive relationships between Apple, Amazon and Google result in various rendering issues. E.g. YouTube 4K/HDR isn't currently available on the ATV4K although it is available on some iOS devices. Atmos is not available on the ATV4K on Amazon features. These issues are well know and not limited to the ATV. Viz. YouTube on Amazon Fire devices or YouTube 4K/HDR via Safari vs. Chrome under macOS.
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This one's only slightly better. Based on some of the wording used, he gives the impression that he actually used it, but it's completely devoid of any specifics (e.g., how long it took for a Netflix movie to start, how the PQ compared to other Netflix devices). I'm guessing that what he actually got was a personal hands-on demonstration by an Apple rep. I'll give him positive points for expressing something which I pointed out (I believe in the other aTV thread in this forum), which is that the smart way to rent movies/shows seems to be to purchase them on your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and then stream them to your aTV, because if you purchase them on your aTV you can't move them to your portable device
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I read the whole thing. In typical Apple fashion, it's super-short with no screenshots, and doesn't cover every possible menu option. In fact, it's more of a set-up/troubleshooting guide, really. So no real revelations here. But one statement which might be of concern to some people is on page 28 (in the troubleshooting section) where if someone's TV screen appears fuzzy or black, it states, "Make sure your HDTV supports 720p video." This would suggest that the new aTV is not capable of upscaling 720p to 1080p, so you'll have to let your TV do that. This would also suggest that it won't display photos in anything above 720p, which seems especially lame, IMO.
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Now let's talk about apps. I expect them to come, but I'm actually starting to rethink the whole concept. I'm not so certain that we're going to see an aTV app store. I suspect that Apple will enhance the aTV and add new functionality to it over time. Perhaps we'll see Hulu Plus or Pandora added. That's hard to say, because on the one hand they offer services that compete with iTunes TV and music rentals, but then Apple is partnering with Netflix and that competes with iTunes movie rentals, so who knows. And maybe Apple will add in a way to see your local weather and even some local news.
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As pcmd has stated before, I think the AirPlay thing (combined with the huge userbase of iOS-device owners and huge library of iOS apps) has the potential to really make the aTV a must-have device when compared to other streamers. If Apple allows 3rd party devs to add AirPlay support to their apps, it won't matter as much if the aTV itself doesn't have Hulu Plus or MLB.TV or if those services add AirPlay support to their existing iOS apps.
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One gripe I have with the aTV is that the included remote can't control your TV/Receiver's power or volume. I know that a lot of us will probably make use of our iPhone/iPod Touch to control the aTV, which also won't control power or volume. But I know that when my family goes to use the aTV, they'll want to use a regular remote, so it would have been nice if they had offered even the simplest of TV control buttons on the stock remote.
