15 Awesome Things You Can Do With Apple TV

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 a TV show or movie 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 Available On under 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 miss mumbled or 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/they 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. Hold 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.

Control Your HDTV With Apple TV Remote

Forget needing multiple remotes to control different parts of your TV setup. 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 > Remotes and Devices. First, enable Turn On Your TV with Your Remote (or Control TVs and Receivers on older models). Then click Volume Control and select the option you prefer.

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.

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.

Open up Control Center and select the HomeKit icon to see all your devices connected to your Apple account. To enable Apple TV's smart home features on older devices, 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 press the Back or Menu button on the remote.

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 + Back or 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.