Google's YouTube App for tvOS: Missing Features and Annoying Operation
Users of Apple's multimedia box often use the official YouTube app intensively. However, operation and maintenance remain inconsistent.
YouTube on tvOS: Frequently used, but apparently a stepchild for Google.
(Image: Google)
Apple TV devices are likely among the most popular streaming boxes on the market, despite the comparatively high price starting at 169 Euros when buying directly from the manufacturer. The devices are usually connected to the main television in the home and are primarily used for playing streaming services. Apple's own TV app, which opens up further offerings, is used a lot, in addition to its own apps like those from Netflix or Amazon Prime. And Google's YouTube is particularly popular: As with iOS and iPadOS, there is an official tvOS client here. However, anyone who looks at its App Store release notes will notice that it is poorly and, above all, unclearly maintained: in 2025, for example, only twice (in July and September), which Google consequently describes as follows: "We fixed bugs, improved performance, took out the trash, and mowed the lawn – time for a nap."
Recommendations cannot be saved
This "nap" means that the company does not fix problems and usability inconsistencies. For example, you can add videos found in the standard menus – and also from search – to the watchlist by long-pressing, as you are used to.
However, if further suitable films are recommended in a running video, this is no longer possible: a long press is not possible here, a short press immediately starts the new video and you lose the progress of the old one. In practice, this means that users have to photograph the recommendations to search for them manually later (which is known to be rather annoying on tvOS, even with voice control).
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Unmotivated jumping back and forth
In addition, there are other issues, such as the inconsistent transfer of the playback position from other devices despite logging in. If you have reached a certain position in a video on an iPhone or in the browser, for example, the video on Apple TV simply starts from the beginning. The player itself is also poorly designed: jumping forward or backward is not simply possible with the corresponding buttons, but only when you pause the video. Finally, there are regular reports of incompatibilities with new tvOS versions, as Google, as mentioned, hardly does any product maintenance.
Since the last version from last September, the player has become even less appealing, and sometimes wild jumps between video segments occur when fast-forwarding or rewinding. Google doesn't seem to be putting much effort into the tvOS client for YouTube – even though it likely has a comparatively large number of users. The app is free, but you can also log in with your Premium account and are therefore a paying viewer.
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