- Apple TV or Google TV?
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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 that you'll be able to share these insights
with a friend who's trying to make the same decision.
Let's get into it.
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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
than 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 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 from directly on the TV itself.
Once you get into Apple TV's TV Home,
it's similar in design to Google TV
and that 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 their own services content heavily
as you scroll through that tabs 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 who immediately pushes their 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 the 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 their services content 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
which 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
that 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 on that one.
Both interfaces are very responsive
and the only quirks 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.
Like 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 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 ambient mode or screensavers.
I love the images you get with both services,
but the clarity and sharpness of Apple's imagery
is 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 the 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, both platforms are really good.
Both have their strong suits.
Google definitely stronger when it comes to live 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 on the next video.
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