tvOS 13 review: privacy protections and support for game controllers and multiple users is nice, but some Arcade games run poorly and the YouTube app lacks 4K
Chris Welch / The Verge :
Context & Ripple Effects
This review lands three months after Apple's June preview of tvOS 13's multi-user support and DualShock 4/Xbox One S controller compatibility, and the verdict is mixed: the promised features arrived, but the software exposes gaps the announcement glossed over. The Arcade performance complaints echo what The Verge found days later reviewing macOS Catalina, where Arcade was 'solid' but noticeably thinner than on iOS — suggesting the service's quality varies by device rather than being uniform across Apple's ecosystem.
First-order effects
- Apple TV households get per-profile logins and can now pair console controllers, turning the box into a casual gaming device without new hardware.
- Buyers of the expensive Apple TV 4K still can't watch YouTube in 4K — a gap The Verge had already flagged back in its 2017 review of that same hardware, meaning two generations have shipped without resolution.
Second-order effects
- The controller support pushes Apple TV into direct feature competition with cheaper streamers like Amazon's Fire TV line, whose 4K Max review shows Amazon competing on raw performance and Wi-Fi specs instead — forcing both to differentiate on software layers rather than resolution alone.
- Poorly running Arcade titles pressure Apple to enforce performance standards or optimize the service per platform, since uneven quality undercuts the subscription pitch that spans iPhone, iPad, Mac, and TV.
Third-order effects
- If multi-user profiles mature, streaming boxes shift from shared household appliances toward personalized devices — an identity layer that determines recommendations, purchases, and now game saves on living-room hardware.
- The recurring YouTube 4K absence points to a structural tension: platform holders don't control third-party app priorities, so premium hardware can stay feature-incomplete indefinitely unless app makers see value in supporting it.
The trend: TV platforms are competing on software layers — multi-user identity, bundled gaming, privacy controls — while unresolved third-party app gaps like YouTube's missing 4K show where their control ends.