I'm also eyeballing the new Apple TV and the new NOOK Glowlight Plus.
I'll try not to go into too much detail here as there is a dedicated Apple TV subforum but as I believe I mentioned my interest in the newest version way back at the start of the thread, I thought I'd offer my quick impressions.
In short, I was not very impressed in a number of aspects of the device and ultimately it led to me returning it. I'll preface that I've been using Apple TVs since the very first generation and presently have three version 3 running in our house, so I'm quite familiar with what they've historically been capable of.
My issues:
1) Remote application has not yet been updated to support it. This, coupled with the removal of bluetooth support for keyboards was actually the deal breaker for me. On it's own, I don't care about the BT keyboard support but without compatibility with the Remote app,
this meant every bit of text needs to be added on a hortizontal scroll using the Siri remote. To say this is an excrutiating experience is an understatement. Every time you need to input a user ID and password (which occurs with the setup of nearly every streaming app like Hulu, Netflix, any of the US networks, etc) you need to use this method. What's even more boggling about this is that the initial setup process is infinitely improved from the old models with what is essentially a tap to setup feature using an iPhone or iPad. So when I needed to authenticate my Apple ID at startup, I was able to use my iPhone to type in the password. Unfortunately, this is the last time you can do that.
And even though I had the Apple TV configured to no longer require the Apple ID password for purchasing content, I subsequently had to re-enter the password 4 more times through the process of navigation to previously purchased content or getting new apps.
Come on Apple, even Amazon has an iOS remote app that I can use with my Fire TV Stick.
2) Any games must be able to be played only using the Siri remote. So even though the Apple TV is compatible with MFI controllers, games cannot be configured to take control of the added available functionality provided because they have to work fully with the limited Siri remote. And even then, you can only use one Siri remote. This severely nerfs games, IMO.
There are certainly quite a bit of good to great aspects of the device but for me personally, nearly all the apps I want to use are already available on the Apple TV vers 3 and one of the key ones I want isn't available on either (Sling TV) and the benefits (Siri searching is quite and accurate, and great that it is across major streaming apps like Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and Showtime, overall performance is quite smooth and snappy) just don't outweigh the cons. Hell, there isn't even a Podcast app yet.
If you need access to light gaming, obsure streaming or maybe some fitness apps, the newest version may be worthwhile. Otherwise, the older version will probably fit your needs.
