Apple TV Ideas

I love my Apple TV. It’s better than any smart TV interface, or any Roku I’ve used while traveling or visiting friends. However, it seems that Apple has let the platform stagnate over last three years or so, in part, I’m sure, because they have effectively zero competition. I’d like to see Apple care about this product, like its fans do. If Apple really cared about this product, these are the sorts of things they’d be working on.

1) Connect Apple TV Profiles to Profiles within apps

My Apple TV has three user accounts: one for me, one for my wife, and one for my child. My Netflix App has three use accounts: one for me, one for my wife, and one for my child. My HBO app has three profile: one for me, one for my wife, and one for my child. Are you getting it yet? Have Netflix just know which account to go to based on the Apple TV user. I am sure there are going to be examples where there is an app Profile that isn’t represented in the Apple TV and vice versa. Thats fine, but allow me to connect them to one another.

 

2) Disallow custom video players

It seems that every app has a custom video player, and they are all crap. Disney+’s is terrible, HBOs is terrible, Amazon Prime’s is terrible, and the list goes on. The video player in the Apple TV app for Apple TV+ and iTunes purchases is genuinely good! Third party video players often don’t use system features, like “reduce loud sounds”, and imagine how great SharePlay could be if there was system-level integration from the control center all the way down to the video player. People might actually use it! Now, perhaps Apple needs to build in some APIs so that third parties can build in their own proprietary features, like Amazon’s X-ray, or YouTube’s pause-screen ads. Apple needs to listen to these developers as to why they’re not using the default.  It’ll be the platform better for everyone.

 

3) Add widgets

Why not? Weather, family calendar, things like this. They’d be great. Make them show data from users iPhones, like the Mac does, and like the rumored HomePod with a screen is rumored to work. 

 

4) Provide major changes to Up Next

Up Next used to be the primary thing when you launched the Apple TV app, and it displayed a great poster for the item listed. In the last 3-4 years, Apple moved to an auto-playing trailer for the latest thing they’re Promoting from Apple TV+. This is bad! I already paid $200 for this hardware. Let it serve me first, and let you advertise Apple TV+, which I also already pay for, second.

 

I have a few other ideas regarding Up Next that I’m going to just quick-fire below:

 

a) Separate out TV shows from Movies.

b) Allow me to create folders in Up Next. Imagine having easy watching shows separated from hard-hitting dramas, or scary movies from fun comedies, so that when October comes around, I know what are the best movies to watch get me in the season.

c) Allow for shared users for an up next list. This way my wife can keep track of what we’re watching with us, with our, kid, and we can separately track lists of what we’re watching separately

 

5) Netflix support in the Apple TV app

We know they built it, and they’re just waiting for… something. Just pay them. Pay them what they want, get them in the ecosystem. Again, this will make it better for everyone.

 

6) Better support for sports

Apple has done a great job with MLS support in the Apple TV app. For instance, if you’re late to a match, it can play a highlight reel catching you up. Thats great! Do it for other sports! Open it up! Apple heavily promoted the F1 app for their F1 movie this summer. Add Practices, and qualifying to my Up Next! Do the same thing for Formula E, and IndyCar

 

7) Add in Shortcuts

This would be great for Home automation. I’m not sure what else you’d do with it, but why not? Could be fun.

Davey Havok Interview with Alternative Press

Everyone on the internet is discussing Davey’s appearance in this video, which to be honest theres a lot to say about. However, he doesn’t frequently do interviews, and its nice seeing a long-form video interview with him. This video got me to go back and give Bodies a second try. I didn’t care much for that record when it released, however its definitely grown on me in the last week or two since I’ve been listening to it. Excited for the new record. 

 

RIP LaunchPad

I know LaunchPad has been the bud of many jokes ever since it was introduced in OSX 10.7 Lion, but I have been an avid user for years, meticulously organizing the pages and pages of apps. LaunchPad is gone in macOS Tahoe, which releases today. Clearly, Apple was trying to make the Mac more accessible to its larger, and growing (at the time) iPhone user base. Evidently, it never quite caught on. I found it to just be easy to use. Sometimes I use my Mac one-handed with a trackpad in my lap, and I could four finger pinch to access any app I want to launch.  In the end, I had two pages: my most-used applications for personal use, and those for more professional use. 

Favorite Albums of 2024

I’m continuing to go through my back-log regarding favorite records from the past few years. In no particular order, here are my favorite records of 2024.

POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – Bring Me The Horizon

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Bring Me the Horizon gave us the second installation in their Post Human series, and I daresay this installation is better than the first. The band seamless goes between their classic metal core, pop, and perhaps some hyper-pop vibes as well. The release was delayed several times, in part, due to their separation from Synthesizer and co-write Jordan Fish leaving the band. More on that later.

 

Saviors – Green Day

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Well, well, well, what do we have here? A good Green Day record? Boy, its been a while. I was a die hard fan throughout high school and college, but I haven’t really enjoyed the last 5 (!!!) records or so. Very happy to hear some fun new material. Songs like “Bobby Sox” seem to have struck a chord w/ the fan base and incorporated themselves as staples in the live set. Great to see a solid addition to their discography.

 

Negative Spaces – Poppy

And what did Jordan Fish work on in 2024 after being dismissed from Bring Me the Horizon? Poppy’s Negative Spaces. Poppy is a terribly interesting artist, which I’ll admit I don’t quite fully “get”. Her career started on YouTube…. She’s had several full-on pop records… but here she is just doing extremely heavy metal, intertwined with some solid pop-rock tracks. I first became aware of her on the single “Scary Mask” which featured Jason from Fever 333. That collabortion must have lead to her meeting Stephen Harrison, who co-wrote many of these songs, along w/ Jordan Fish, and has played a few things live w/ Poppy as well.

 

Live, Vol. One – mewithoutYou

As of writing this in the summer of 2025, volume 2 of this live series has just been released, so volume 1 has recently been in heavy rotation. Mewithoutyou is/was truely a remarkable one-of-a-kind band, which we are all better off for having existed. What a treat these live shows are. The end of the band went out as good as fans would have desired. 2 years notice, anniversary tours, a lengthy goodbye tour, professionally shot and streamed shows, and now these live records. We do not deserve them.

 

Heaven :x: Hell – Sum 41

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Heaven :x: Hell feels almost too on-the-nose. Sum 41 has forever straddled the line between metal and pop punk, and this, thier final record, just lays that out as clearly as possibe: Sum 41 is both. Overall, its a good record. Its a solid goodbye to their fanbase, and if I’m really being honest, it won’t shock me if they reunite in the next 5-10 years

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F–1 Trillion – Post Malone

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Huh, I didn’t expect this to be here. Its easy, its fun. Crack a bud light lime and sit back, man.

 

analysis paralysis – Four Year Strong

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This is another record I’m cheating with, because I didn’t get in to it until this year, 2025. Its another great Four Year Strong record. I think these guys keep growing and changing, and making interesting records. I’m not sure why I was so reluctant to try this one, but I was the same with the last record, Brain Pain, as well. Lesson learned.

 

American Motor Sports – Bilmuri

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Lastly, another record I’m cheating with. This band rules. My friends got me in to them earlier this year, so I was introduced to this as well as their back-catalog. They’re a fun/weird band, heavy, poppy, and unafraid to add in a little twang as well.