You Can Now Search Using Natural Language on Apple TV and Music
You can now use “natural language” to search both Apple Music and Apple TV. This small change is part of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, tvOS 18.12 and macOS Sequoia 15.2, which came out this week.According to Apple, the feature “allows you to describe what you’re looking for using any combination of categories, such as genres, sentiments, actors, decades, and more.”
This sounds great in theory, but how does it work in real life? I’d say it probably won’t change your life, but overall it’s ok. One tip before I start: Auto-fill results that appear as you type don’t use this feature, meaning you actually have to press the Search button on your device.
For example: I asked for a “disturbing office drama,” essentially setting up Apple to recommend its show Severance (and it’s awesome). And it worked: there was a British drama set outside the office, and then Severance . The results also included The Morning Show , which… I think is pretty good.
Maybe even more fun: I typed in “sitcoms like The Office ” and it recommended the (original) UK version of the show, which makes sense. Next comes Friends , which is quite different, although equally binge-watching, and Parks and Recreation , which is different in tone but shares the same writers and mockumentary format. The results also included The Big Bang Theory , which is inexcusable, and Mythic Quest , which honestly should have been higher.
So yes, a mixed bag of abstract questions – it seems to work, but has questionable taste. This works much more accurately if you are looking for films by a specific director or TV series starring a specific actor.
This feature also works on Apple Music. I was looking for artists “like Billie Eilish” and the top recommendation was Olivia Rodrigo, which I would be a little dubious about, but Eilish’s brother and collaborator FINEAS also showed up, which is fair enough.
I also searched for “Indie Christmas Albums” and found the classic “Songs for Christmas” by Sufjan Steven, which makes sense, and “Merry Christmas ” by Mariah Carey, which makes no sense. So, as with television, the results are mixed. Although it’s nothing if not interesting. Try it if you have a TV or music subscription.