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YouTube TV Streaming Service Coming This Spring

Yesterday YouTube announced a forthcoming TV offering called YouTube TV. The streaming service consists of a bundle of over 40 networks, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN. YouTube Red Originals are thrown in too. When it launches this spring, the service will cost $35/month with no contracts or other commitments.

Upon launch, YouTube TV will be available as a new app, separate from the standard YouTube app. Yesterday’s blog post mentions an iOS app, but there is no reference to an Apple TV app.

You can watch YouTube TV on any screen—mobile, tablet or computer—and you can easily stream to your TV with a Google Chromecast or Chromecast built-in TV. YouTube TV works on both Android and iOS.

While this could be a simple oversight, it appears that watching on the big screen will require a Chromecast device. We’ll have to wait until launch to see for sure. Similarly, it’s unknown at this point if the iOS app will support Picture in Picture or Split View on iPad. The lack of an Apple TV app or iPad-specific features would make the service much less appealing to someone who watches most video on those devices.

The full channel lineup for YouTube TV.

The full channel lineup for YouTube TV.

One of the biggest selling points for YouTube TV is that it includes a cloud DVR with unlimited storage. The freedom to record anything and never worry about storage space is nice. Especially since, unlike many traditional cable or satellite services today, I would expect YouTube’s DVR to work flawlessly regardless of whether you’re watching on a mobile device or your TV. One small string attached to the DVR is that content gets erased nine months after it’s been recorded.

YouTube TV is the latest in a series of TV streaming offerings that bundles together big-name networks in a package resembling a traditional cable bundle. Sling TV was the first major player to dip its toes into the market, followed by PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now, and Hulu has announced they’ll have their own offering available soon. One advantage YouTube TV may have over its current competition is the experience gained from serving a billion hours of video content every day. YouTube should have no trouble scaling the service to reach large numbers of users for things like major sporting events.

Recently I shared in a Club MacStories newsletter how I had cut the cord and ended my satellite service. Because of that, streaming services like YouTube TV are more appealing to me than ever. Though the potential lack of iPad features or an Apple TV app are concerning, YouTube’s credentials make its service more appealing in my mind than any of its competition. YouTube knows what it’s doing with streaming video, so I’m looking forward to checking this service out.

Twitter Announces More User Safety Initiatives→

Continuing the company’s recent efforts geared at stopping abuse on its platform, Twitter today announced several changes in a blog post by Ed Ho.

One behind-the-scenes change is in how Twitter monitors potential abuse and proactively addresses it. The company has implemented algorithms meant to detect potentially abusive behavior and address it without the need for users to report the behavior. Ed Ho gives the examples of an account “repeatedly Tweeting without solicitation at non-followers or engaging in patterns of abusive behavior that is in violation of the Twitter Rules.” He admits that mistakes will likely be made as they begin this proactive monitoring, but states that the algorithms and tools will be continually worked on for improvement.

A change more visible to users involves additional tools found in the Twitter app. Ho writes:

We’re also introducing new filtering options for your notifications to give you more control over what you see from certain types of accounts, like those without a profile photo, unverified email addresses or phone numbers…We’re also expanding the mute feature to build on the work we did in November which lets you remove certain keywords, phrases, or entire conversations from your notifications. Now, you’ll be able to mute from your home timeline and you can decide how long this content is muted – one day, one week, one month, or indefinitely.

The final change announced today has to do with Twitter’s transparency in responding to reported harassment. Notifications will be used to confirm that a report of abuse has been received, and also to share if/when an action is taken in response to that report.

The user-facing features announced today will be rolling out soon to all users.

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Connected, Episode 131: The High School Reunion of Phones→

This week, Stephen yells at the cloud, Myke gets new emojis and Federico speaks wisdom to the masses.

Another fun episode of Connected this week, with plenty of speculation about USB-C on future Apple devices and what other companies are doing with smartphones in 2017. You can listen here.

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Tim Cook Affirms Apple’s Commitment to Pro Users in Annual Shareholder Meeting→

Apple hosted its annual shareholder meeting today, and Zac Hall of 9to5Mac has the scoop on Tim Cook’s remarks.

Besides mentioning that this would be the last shareholder meeting at Town Hall because Apple Park will open soon, Cook showed shareholders an unreleased AirPods promo video and called the new product “quite the cultural phenomenon.”

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit from the meeting had to do with Apple’s efforts in the pro market:

Cook also hinted at Apple’s product pipeline by promising Apple will “do more in the pro area.” Cook called out the creative field as especially important to Apple while pushing back against the notion that Apple is too consumer focused now. “Don’t think that something we’ve done or something we’re doing that isn’t visible yet is a signal that our priorities are elsewhere.”

While this isn’t confirmation of a new Mac Pro in the works, or substantial investment in pro software, it is good to hear Cook reaffirm that creatives are an important customer base. He seems convinced that Apple’s product pipeline will prove that the company’s priorities haven’t shifted when it comes to creative professionals.

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The Power of Apple TV’s Top Shelf→

Michael Rockwell of Initial Charge shares how the Apple TV’s Top Shelf feature impacted his recent reorganization of his Home screen:

As it turns out, if you create a folder on your Apple TV and place it among the top row of apps, you can scroll through its contents from the Top Shelf.

I hadn’t made use of this feature until this most recent reorganization, though. And it brought me to a conclusion that, perhaps, many others have already come to — the Top Shelf is the most powerful user interface element on tvOS. It turns the Apple TV’s boring grid of icons into an immensely practical display of content from within your favorite apps, that you can play straight from your home screen.

The Apple TV is regularly criticized for its iPhone-like interface of a grid of apps. Rockwell makes a good point though in highlighting how a feature like Top Shelf makes that grid of apps significantly more useful, whether as a tool to navigate folders of apps or to get straight to the content you want.

Despite the navigation improvements made possible by Top Shelf, very few apps make the most of the feature. Currently on my Apple TV’s Home screen, only the App Store and TV app have Top Shelf implementations that I find valuable.

Top Shelf seems to be one of the casualties of a weak App Store on the Apple TV. Because the demand for Apple TV apps appears weak, developers don’t have a strong incentive to take advantage of features like Top Shelf.

As a daily Apple TV user, I’m hopeful Apple will put more concerted efforts into the platform that sparks greater activity in the app ecosystem.

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The iMessage App Store’s Discoverability Problems→

Adam Howell sums up some of the major issues affecting the iMessage App Store and iMessage apps:

I love the idea of the iMessage App Store. I love Apple’s focus on privacy. I love building on top of an app I use all day everyday. But not only is the iMessage App Store dying —I’m afraid it might already be dead.

I agree with most of his design and functionality-related points. Using stickers and iMessage apps requires too much effort; a lot of users are still confused by iMessage-only apps; and I don’t understand why Apple thought Digital Touch was so important. I like his proposed solution for iMessage app activation, too.

On curation, though, I believe Apple has been doing a decent job with refreshing featured apps and sticker packs on weekly basis. A few months ago, Apple’s editorial team also started highlighting iMessage apps and stickers on the front page of the iOS App Store, which must drive some visibility. Every week, we discover new stickers to feature in our newsletter also thanks to Apple’s curation and the store’s top charts, which are dominated by Disney stickers as it’s a massive brand that has absolutely nailed the idea of selling “premium” iMessage sticker packs.

Aside from design and functional issues (in short, Apple should redesign the entire iMessage app drawer), I think the reality most iMessage apps are facing is a repeat (at a smaller scale) of what happened with the main App Store. Apple should make meaningful improvements to make developers’ lives easier, but it’s always going to be a tricky business to figure out in such a competitive landscape.

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