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If you are an iPhone user and you own a TV, you're going to want the new Apple TV.
Whereas in the past, an Apple TV was something you only bought if you were truly, 100% devoted to the Apple ecosystem (Do you download your movies on iTunes? Do you live in iCloud?), now, it's something that will update just about anyone's living room for the better. With voice-based Siri search, an App Store with a growing number of third-party apps, and ample storage for downloading said apps, the Apple TV will transform and unify your living-room entertainment experience.
The new Apple TV doesn't look like much. In fact, it looks almost exactly like its predecessors, but thicker. If your entertainment center is primarily black, like mine is, you'll barely even notice this rectangular, obsidian puck sitting there. A small, touch-sensitive Siri remote accompanies the set-top box as a controller.
Setting up the Apple TV unit is surprisingly simple. You plug it in, plug in the HDMI cable to your TV, and then, instead of having to enter in your Wi-Fi network settings, you just hold your iOS 9.1-running iPhone next to the device when prompted, and it grabs your network information and your Apple ID. Then, you enter your Apple ID password, and later, login information for any apps you download — the biggest, and perhaps only, pain of the entire process.
With the new Google Chromecast and the new Roku 4, Apple has some serious competition in terms of living-room domination. But from what we've experienced so far, what it offers is tremendous. Read on to find out what it's like to use the 2015 Apple TV, and if it's right for you.
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