My Apple TV makes me wish I had an iPhone

The Apple TV 4K is my favorite streaming device on the market, and it’s not particularly close. To be fair, just about anything is better when you’re coming from the smart TV interface, but the Apple TV has gone above and beyond my expectations. I only have a first-gen device, and although it’s getting up there in age, it sure beats using my TV’s apps for my streaming needs.

Perhaps the most interesting part of owning one is how it doesn’t need the greater Apple ecosystem to work. If you’re like me and don’t own any other Apple devices, you can rest easy knowing an Apple TV is still as simple as buying it and plugging it into your TV. You can still enjoy all the same apps, the same shows, movies, and everything else somebody that’s part of the ecosystem enjoys. However, there are still some features I’m missing out on because I don’t have an iPhone. Amazingly, I’m still hanging onto my OnePlus 8 Pro, but an upgrade is coming sooner rather than later, and my Apple TV has me eyeing an iPhone.

Related

A new iPhone SE 4 leak gives us our best look at the phone yet

A video possibly showcasing Apple’s newest iPhone SE has leaked.

I wish I had an iPhone

Things could be much better

I want to reiterate that my Apple TV 4K works just fine without an iPhone. Everything I want to do with my device I’m able to, but there are some cool features I’m leaving on the tablet by not investing further in the Apple family. For a while, I was okay with just watching TV and movies, but now I wish I could do a little more.

It’s easy to take for granted how unified things are with Apple if all you’ve ever had are Apple products. You might be well aware of the Find my iPhone feature, but that also applies to the Apple TV remote. With the remote being so small, it’s easy to misplace it or lose it in your couch cushions. Instead of having to spend hours looking for it, you can use your iPhone and find it through the Find my Remote feature. That’s a huge thing I’m missing out on by not having an iPhone, and it doesn’t stop there.

While I can’t imagine I’d use it very often, FaceTime is another feature included with the Apple TV 4K that only works if I have an iPhone. The Apple TV runs the app while I could use my iPhone as a camera. It’s a cool feature, and even if I used it only sparingly, it’d be cool to have the option.

Perhaps the biggest thing is InSight. If you’re familiar with Prime Video’s X-Ray mode, it’s the same thing. This feature lets you see the actors in a scene and the song playing without having to pause the program and look it up yourself. It’s a godsend for people who recognize a face but just can’t place their finger on who it is. With an iPhone, you can do it all from your phone without having an extra menu pop up on the TV screen. This is a way to quietly answer your question if you’re walking alongside somebody else.

To be fair, investing in one brand is typically worth it in the tech world, so I can’t just single out Apple for this. If I had an entire Google ecosystem, I could reap the same benefits. For example, my old Google Chromecast works with my Google Home as I can just ask it to cast a channel from YouTube TV, and it does it. The thing that stopped me from going further into the Google ecosystem is the sheer fact that I like using my Apple TV more. This means when the time comes to get a new phone, I’ll strongly weigh getting an iPhone, or at least an iPad for some additional functionality.

For me, having an Apple TV 4K without another Apple device is a bit like having a PS5, but only using it to only play PS4 games. It works for that purpose, but you’re leaving a lot on the table by using it that way. I’m sure there’s even more that I’m not aware of just because I’m not entrenched in the ecosystem. In some ways, it’s better that I don’t know everything I’m missing out on, because it would only make the FOMO even greater. They say knowledge is power, but the only thing knowledge does here is make me wish I had a different phone.

Related

The rumored 4th-gen Apple TV 4K is coming at the perfect time

The 4th-gen Apple TV 4K is the right upgrade at the right time.

The rich get richer

Not required, but it’s recommended

If you’re on the fence about buying an Apple TV 4K because you don’t have another Apple product, I’d say ignore that feeling and just go for it. I’ve been getting by just fine without any other Apple products, but you could very easily end up like me and wish you had other products to pair with it. You’ll quickly find out that simply buying a $1,000 phone isn’t as simple as it sounds, and then you’ll be stuck with knowing about all these cool things with no way to use them.

Another thing that flies under the radar with the Apple TV being your only product is that it’s difficult to cancel a subscription. I signed up for the then-Bally Sports app on my Apple TV 4K, and when I wanted to cancel it, I had to go through the Apple TV 4K. On the surface, that’s not an issue, but when I run into error messages, there’s no other way to cancel a service. I had to go through Apple Support to finally get it canceled, but it was something I thought was more complicated than it needed to be.

That’s just one of the real world situations I ran into without owning another Apple product. I’m not rushing out to upgrade my phone right away because of these features, but it does give me a sense of being on the outside looking in. A lot of people can get by just fine without having an iPhone to pair with the Apple TV 4K, but there’s no doubt you’re missing out on a lot of cool things.

Related

The sneaky two-second tweak every Apple TV owner needs to know

Sometimes, it takes a force-close for your Apple TV 4K to run smoothly again.