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  • The New Apple TV: Why You Want This
Technology Articles > Entertainment > Televisions > The New Apple TV: Why You Want This

The new Apple TV is out, and the latest version is really (no, really) different from what Apple has been showcasing for the past five years.

Essentially, this version of the Apple TV takes everything that’s great about the iPhone and iPad, and combines it into a sleek and small box. Do you want or need this streaming device? If you’re an Apple TV fan, here’s why you do.

Nicer to Look At

If you owned an Apple TV previously, you have probably become pretty wary of staring at the same old screen. Once you load your Apple TV, everything on the screen looks the way it did when Apple introduced the Apple TV ages ago. Things were muddled and clunky, and it was somewhat hard to navigate different channels and movie selections. Now things are much clearer and cleaner, which makes for an overall better experience.

The other really great thing about the new Apple TV is that this one comes with a bigger remote - not much bigger, but definitely bigger than the last one. This may not seem like a big deal to you if you did not have the previous Apple TV model, but finding that small silver remote was beyond difficult once it was lost in the couch cushions.

The remote itself contains basic buttons to control your Apple TV and stereo system. This remote also comes with a trackpad that is really second nature, and is a much better idea than the older remote buttons.

Introducing Bluetooth

Another annoying thing about the previous Apple TV was that you had to be in direct line of the Apple TV box in order to activate it. The newest version comes with Bluetooth, so you don’t have to be directly in front of the box in order to make it work - you can really be anywhere in your living room, and this makes a huge difference.

And Siri

Of course, the biggest change to the latest Apple TV is the addition of Siri. Now, if you use Siri a lot with your iPhone (and you should) you can guess at how useful Siri is going to be when it comes to the Apple TV. A good example is when you want to search for an episode of a show that’s specific but you can’t remember the name of that episode. All you have to do is ask Siri to pull it up for you, and you’ll be watching reruns of Mad Men in no time.

With Siri for Apple TV comes new commands as well. You can ask Siri to pull up movies that include a specific actor (or director), or ask Siri to recommend shows based on your current favorites.

Using Siri means that you don’t have to flip forever in order to find something to watch, all you have to do is ask. You can also tell Siri to open things - like “Open Netflix,” and in minutes Netflix will be opened. Basically, Siri makes the whole experience much simpler.

The Cost

If you want the new Apple TV, you will have to pay $149 for the 32GB version and $199 for the 64GB version. These prices are higher than what Apple was asking for with the original Apple TV, but, hey, you get Siri with this one.