The YouTube app on Apple TV has never been anything to write home about, but it has just received a graphical and functional update. The bad news? Video advertising. Apple has also added three other apps.

New YouTube experience on Apple TV
Apple TV is approaching three years without a hardware update, but Apple continues to add new apps – mostly in the US. This update includes a revamped YouTube app.

The new app has received a facelift, making it easier to navigate the massive catalogue of YouTube videos. “Popular on YouTube” is available as a category, as are other categories such as “music” and “sports”.




There is also new functionality, including an improved search engine with predictive search results. It is easier to sign up to new channels (btw Flatpanels is on YouTube) and you also get personalized recommendations based on what you have watched so far. In many ways the update looks and feels like the YouTube experience on Android TV that we recently reviewed.

The bad news? YouTube on Apple TV now plays an ad before most videos. That was not the case before where Apple TV was one of the few boxes without YouTube ads.

The YouTube app on Apple TV naturally still supports Airplay from an iPhone or iPad.

Three additional services were also added to Apple TV in the same update. These include Conde Nast’s The Scene, Dailymotion for video uploading, and UFC, which is a $99 premium subscription service for fighting.