August 17, 2024

I’ve long been a fan of the Apple TV (Apple’s digital media player set-top, box–not to be confused with the Apple TV Plus streaming service or the frustrating Apple TV app). Thanks in large part to the set-top box’s operating system, tvOS, the Apple TV has, in my opinion, always been the best home entertainment media center available.

Apple TV’s tvOS user interface is intuitive, fluid, and beautiful with its large grid icons. If you know how to navigate the iPhone’s home screen, you’ll feel instantly familiar with the Apple TV’s interface.

But last week, something happened that I didn’t expect—the Apple TV started looking archaic. That’s because Google introduced its new Apple TV competitor and Chromecast replacement, the Google TV Streamer. It’s essentially Google’s version of the Apple TV, but it has one major advantage: AI integration.

The Google TV Streamer is an AI-first device

I’m generally as annoyed by the term “AI first” as the next person, considering how inaccurately and excessively it is used. But when it comes to the Google TV Streamer, I think it’s an apt description.

That’s because Google TV Streamer has Gemini built in. Gemini is Google’s large language model—its ChatGPT. And on the Google TV Streamer, Gemini is being integrated in a truly useful way. According to Google, Gemini will allow viewers to access AI-generated full summaries, review summaries, and season-by-season breakdowns of content available on the device. This includes both films and television shows.

Summarizing a large number of reviews is particularly useful to viewers because it allows you to quickly get an idea of what people are saying about a show without having to read through hundreds of individual reviews. This can vastly shorten the time it takes to decide what to watch.

Another cool AI feature integrated into Google TV Streamer is the ability to create unique screen savers. For example, you can tell Google TV Streamer to generate a screen saver of a “Serene sunset over a tranquil lake, reflecting vibrant colors of the sky” and it will do just that—displaying the AI-generated imagery whenever the screen saver kicks in.

I’d argue that this AI-generated screen-saver feature is one of the first use cases of generative AI art that is actually beneficial to the average person. You might be able to use Dall-E to generate AI art on your computer screen, but what are you going to use it for? By applying generative AI art capabilities to screen savers on your TV, you’ll actually benefit from the output because it will be displayed for you to enjoy in your living room whenever the Google TV Streamer goes idle.

Apple Intelligence is not coming to Apple TV—for now

When Apple announced its Apple Intelligence platform earlier this year, I was a bit surprised that the company wasn’t bringing it to the Apple TV. (It’s only coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac this year).

Media hubs like the Apple TV seem like they would be the perfect devices to be powered by AI—especially if the AI can help the user sift through the hundreds of thousands of pieces of content by summarizing reviews, descriptions, and breakdowns of episodes.

Google seems to have realized these benefits. As for why Apple has not . . . well, it’s entirely likely that the company has. But right now the Apple TV hardware is probably the reason that Apple can’t add Apple Intelligence to its media box.

Apple Intelligence requires the A17 Pro chip, which is only found in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The best Apple TV that Apple currently sells is the Apple TV 4K—but that only has the A15 Bionic chip, from 2021. It simply lacks the processing power to run advanced AI tasks like Apple Intelligence. 

Because of that, the Apple TV now looks relatively archaic compared to Google’s TV Streamer.

An AI-powered Apple TV?

Still, for Apple TV fans, there is some hope. Apple is likely well underway on plans for an Apple TV with an updated chipset. When the next Apple TV launches, it will likely sport the A17 Pro or the upcoming A18. Either would be able to run Apple Intelligence.

The question is when Apple will release this updated Apple TV. I’d like to believe that the company could make a surprise announcement about it this fall, when it releases the new iPhones, but given that the current betas of the upcoming tvOS 18 have no signs of Apple Intelligence, it’s likely that Apple feels its got its hands full enough already with launching iOS 18 on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac this year.

That’s why we probably won’t see an Apple Intelligence-powered Apple TV until next year, possibly as late as fall 2025. If that’s the case, and you want an AI-powered media hub now, your best option is Google’s new box.

The Google TV Streamer is available for preorder for $ 99 now and goes on sale to the public on September 24. The Apple TV 4K can currently be purchased starting at $ 129.

Fast Company

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