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Chomp81

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 23, 2014
203
160
Hi all,

This is going to sound very naive; but I just bought a TV after 6 years (a Sony with Android TV). My first SmartTV
I've been using Apple TV for years and love it; but with the Smart TV, having both seems redundant.

What's the use of an Apple TV with a SmartTV (AndroidTV)? Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!
 
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russell_314

macrumors 604
Feb 10, 2019
6,695
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USA
One is a separate box and the other is a smart box built into the TV. They both do the same functions and you could use each separately. Many people buy a separate box whether it be a Roku or AppleTV because they like that particular operating system compared to their TV operating system. Also those boxes like Roku and Apple TV often get updated more than the built in OS of the TV. If you like how the Apple TV works you could use that or if you prefer how the android TV works you can use that one. I actually have Roku built-in to my particular TV, a separate android TV box and an Apple TV box. I have these just to play around because they weren’t expensive but they seem to actually perform the same function.
 
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Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,397
23,904
Singapore
Hi all,

This is going to sound very naive; but I just bought a TV after 6 years (a Sony with Android TV). My first SmartTV
I've been using Apple TV for years and love it; but with the Smart TV, having both seems redundant.

What's the use of an Apple TV with a SmartTV (AndroidTV)? Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

The Apple TV is there for users who already own an iPhone and are fairly invested in the Apple ecosystem. Basically, it’s there for you to access Apple’s apps and services.

For example, on my Apple TV, I can access Apple Music, podcasts, photos, airplay mirroring and Apple Arcade. Performance may also be better (the 4K Apple TV has 3gb ram and A10x processor), and I am probably one of those outliers who actually prefers using the Apple TV remote.

Last, doing your surfing on an Apple TV means the manufacturers of your smart tv never gets your user data, if you suspect they might be collecting them.

That’s what I am doing. My smart tv is not connected to the internet, and it’s really just there to serve as a 4K screen for my Apple TV.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,460
9,326
Last, doing your surfing on an Apple TV means the manufacturers of your smart tv never gets your user data, if you suspect they might be collecting them.

That’s what I am doing. My smart tv is not connected to the internet, and it’s really just there to serve as a 4K screen for my Apple TV.
Yes. That's what I do too. Using Android TV means that Google is watching your every move. I don't like that, so I turn off wifi on the TV and use AppleTV for my streaming programs.
 
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russell_314

macrumors 604
Feb 10, 2019
6,695
10,294
USA
The Apple TV is there for users who already own an iPhone and are fairly invested in the Apple ecosystem. Basically, it’s there for you to access Apple’s apps and services.

For example, on my Apple TV, I can access Apple Music, podcasts, photos, airplay mirroring and Apple Arcade. Performance may also be better (the 4K Apple TV has 3gb ram and A10x processor), and I am probably one of those outliers who actually prefers using the Apple TV remote.

Last, doing your surfing on an Apple TV means the manufacturers of your smart tv never gets your user data, if you suspect they might be collecting them.

That’s what I am doing. My smart tv is not connected to the internet, and it’s really just there to serve as a 4K screen for my Apple TV.
I did the exact same thing with my Roku TV. My main reason was since I don’t use it there’s no reason for it to be connected to the Internet. It’s just another device pulling bandwidth and possibly a security issue
 
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-Gonzo-

macrumors 65832
Nov 14, 2015
1,504
851
One thing to consider if you buy movies from iTunes is that although a smart TV may have the ATV app, you don’t get iTunes Extras with the smart tv app which also means if any movies come with directors/extended cuts then you’ll miss out on those.
 
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Chomp81

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 23, 2014
203
160
Thank you very much!!

I was missing the privacy point; the main reason I trust Apple and I'm embedded in their ecosystem!
 
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