Apple TVs in the default configuration show large video ads for Apple stuff in the hero unit on the homescreen, same as Amazon is being accused of doing in TFA.
I’m not getting ads from the lowest rung trash TV someone is pushing, random consumer electronics, things I’ve googled, etc.
As far as I can tell it’s basically the best experience on a modern smart TV without going full HTPC custom.
(LG was pretty good they’re getting worse with promoting things to you, it seems)
The fact that they got to do this (and show it off via screensaver) is one of my favorite “we have unlimited money and power” Apple flexes.
The amount of time, money, and planning to produce these is staggering. They’re slow motion, probably shot in 8K, and are drone shots with expensive cinema lenses. There is probably a team of 1-3 people dedicated simply to the paperwork and approvals and flight planning, not counting cinematography/DP and postproduction.
I would love a reddit-style Q&A with Apple’s internal filmmaking team.
They’re not aerial, but they’re beautiful paid apps: search “magic window” on the ATV app store. They have a few timelapse video apps that I love to leave playing on my ATVs.
For whatever reason, they dropped that in the 4. All of the screensavers (as far as I can tell) are static now, which is kind of a shame.
Aerial Views https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4PPSNT6
You can change the apps in the first row to prevent this, but by default the behavior is the same: home screen ads.
Calling this ‘ads’ is disingenuous.
I think there may be an option to turn that off too, I don’t remember.
Honestly I’m never on that screen for more than a few seconds. I don’t find that problematic at all.