You may think you know what you can do with the Apple TV, but if your idea of the benefits of the Apple TV is mostly streaming video and audio, and maybe a little gaming, you’re selling the device short. Apple TV is packed full of awesome, hidden features. Here are 15 of the best things you probably didn’t know you can do with the Apple TV.
The tips in this article apple to the 4th Gen. Apple TV and Apple TV 4K, running tvOS 11 and 12.
Find Free Streaming Options
When you’re looking for something to watch, don’t search inside apps. If you use the Apple TV’s universal voice search, it checks every app you have installed to let you know your options. It might even find a free way to watch the TV show or movie that you didn’t know about.
To find content this way, hold down the Siri button on the remote and say “Show me [the name of the thing you’re looking for].” Select your item in the results that pop up at the bottom of the screen. On the search result screen, look for the Available On line beneath the description for your options. Click Open In to launch the video in your preferred app.
Don’t Miss Hard to Hear Dialogue
With the Apple TV, you never have to miss mumbled or otherwise hard-to-hear dialogue. If you miss what one character says to another, hold down the Siri button on the Siri Remote and say “what did he/she say?” The video skips back a few seconds, temporarily turns on closed captioning, and boosts the volume.
Fast Forward or Go Back Precisely With Siri
Want to skip ahead in a movie or TV show exactly 102 seconds or go back 8 minutes? You can do it using Siri and the Apple TV. Just hold down the Siri button on the Siri Remote control and tell Apple TV what you want: “go back 2 minutes” or “skip ahead 90 seconds.”
Access Subtitles and Audio Settings
A lot of the content available on Apple TV has optional subtitles available. To access them, start watching any video and swipe down on the Siri Remote. Select Subtitles and then swipe across to the language you want. Click the remote to turn on subtitles in that language.
Subtitles aren’t the only options you can access this way. If you select Audio, you can control the spoken language of the video you’re watching. You can also access audio settings like equalizing volume to reduce loud sounds, and chose the speakers the audio is being sent to, including HomePods.
Control Your HDTV With Apple TV Remote
Forget needing multiple remotes to control different parts of your TV set up. If you have an Apple TV, you can use its Siri Remote control to power parts of your TV. With the right settings enabled, the Siri Remote can turn on your TV, receiver, and Apple TV at the same time, as well as control the volume on your TV (or Sonos system, with a few small limitations).
To do this, go to Settings > General > Remotes and Devices. First, toggle the Control TVs and Receivers menu to On. Then click Volume Control and select the option you prefer.
Choose Auto if you’re not sure.
Display Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac on Your TV
With Apple TV, you can project your iPhone, iPad, or Mac onto your HDTV. This feature is great for viewing photos on a big screen, playing videos from your device, or giving a presentation. To do this, you use AirPlay Mirroring, a feature built into iOS, macOS, and tvOS.
Use Dark Mode at Night
The Apple TV’s interface is full of big, bright, appealing colors and images. But that isn’t necessarily best if you’re watching in the dark. In that case, you might prefer a more muted look. You can get it with the Apple TV’s Dark Mode. Enable this, and the design of the home screen gets darker and more appropriate for low-light viewing.
To enable Apple TV Dark Mode, click Settings > Appearance > Dark.
Choose Automatic to have Apple TV switch to Dark Mode at night.
Use Apple TV to Control Your Smart Home
To automate your house with internet-connected smart home devices like thermostats, lights, and cameras, you need a smart home hub. The hub helps devices communicate with each other and lets you control them over the internet. For smart home devices that use Apple’s Homekit standard, you don’t need a separate device—your Apple TV can play this role for you.
To enable your Apple TV’s smart home features, go to Settings > Accounts > iCloud and toggle My Home to Connected.
Pair Bluetooth Headphones, Game Controllers, and Keyboards
Apple TV supports all kinds of Bluetooth accessories, including keyboards, wireless headphones, and game controllers. If you have a Bluetooth accessory, you can connect it to your Apple TV. Put the accessory in pairing mode and then go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth and select the accessory you want to pair. If the device requires a pin to pair, enter it.
Use iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch as Remote Control
If you lose the Siri Remote control or just don’t prefer it, you can use your iPhone, iPad, or even your Apple Watch as a remote. For the iPad and Apple Watch, you’ll need Apple’s free Remote app (for the Watch, Remote needs to be installed on the iPhone the Watch is paired to). If you have an iPhone running iOS 11 and up, Apple TV controls are built right into Control Center.
Use Any Remote Control, Not Just the Siri Remote
If your Apple TV is part of a home theater system, you probably have a universal remote that controls all your components. You can use it to control the Apple TV instead of relying on the Siri Remote or the app. You need to help the Apple TV “learn” the options, features, and buttons of your universal remote.
Launch Screensavers Using the Remote
The Apple TV’s gorgeous, hypnotic screensavers pop up after a few minutes of the TV sitting idle, but you can force them to launch immediately using the Siri Remote control. To do this, go to the Apple TV home screen and move to the top left corner of the screen. Then press the Menu button on the remote.
Pressing the Menu button while on the Home screen moves you to the upper left corner automatically.
Make Apple TV a Business Tool With Conference Room Display
Apple TV makes a great addition to offices. Because AirPlay lets you project a computer or device onto the TV, the Apple TV makes it easy to give presentations on the big screen. When you put the Apple TV in Conference Room Display mode, the TV is available for anyone to connect to and use. With that mode, the TV shows a screensaver and instructions for how to connect.
To enable this, go to Settings > AirPlay > Conference Room Display and toggle Conference Room Display to On.
Reboot Using the Remote Control
Just like an iPhone or computer, you need to reboot the Apple TV sometimes to solve problems. An option in the Settings app does this, but you can save a bunch of clicks by rebooting using the Siri Remote. To do that, hold down the Home and Menu buttons on the remote at the same time until the light on the front of the Apple TV starts blinking. Then let go of the buttons, and the Apple TV restarts.
Keep Multiple Apple TVs in Sync
If you own more than one Apple TV, you probably want them to have the same set of apps and options. You don’t have to arrange or sync them manually, however. With the One Home Screen feature, you don’t have to worry about it. Enable this option, and all Apple TVs using the same iCloud account automatically stay in sync for the apps they have installed, how the apps are arranged, folders, and more.
To enable One Home Screen, go to Settings > Accounts > iCloud and toggle One Home Screen to On.
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