One of my favorite Apple devices is the Apple TV. Even though I have a premium smart TV, I don’t think it has an operating system as good as tvOS. Apple’s set-top box is reliable and fast and has several hidden features that make it the perfect device for consuming media. These are some of my favorite Apple TV functions. I use them daily, and I think you should, too.
Set a timer: Honestly, this is the Apple TV feature I use every single day. You just need to press and hold the TV button to open the Control Center. Find the timer function, and your set-top box will turn off automatically after 30 minutes, one hour, or two.
Automatic Subtitles: If you are using tvOS 18, the Apple TV app has a new feature called Automatic Subtitles. Whenever you’re on mute, ask Siri to play back a scene, or the default language changes in a scene, tvOS will automatically add subtitles for you.
InSight: This Amazon Prime Video-like feature displays timely information about actors, characters, and music from Apple TV+ movies and shows onscreen in real time. Users can select an actor to view their background and filmography page or quickly view the song playing in a scene and add it to an Apple Music playlist. It’s also available with the tvOS 18 update.
Apple Music Sing: This feature creates the perfect karaoke environment. If you have the latest Apple TV 4K, just open an Apple Music song and tap the microphone icon in the bottom right corner. It will lower the song’s main vocals, and you can sing along. Use your iPhone to create visual effects on your TV.
Apple Music SharePlay: If you usually have casual parties or gather your friends at home, you should be aware that you can have people add songs to your playlist. With Apple Music on your Apple TV or HomePod, open your iPhone and tap the SharePlay icon at the bottom of the Now Playing screen. Share that QR Code with friends so they can also add songs to play next.
Switch Profiles: Did you know you can switch profiles on the Control Center? If you have other people in your iCloud family, you can add their Accounts to the Apple TV. This helps bring personalized content, their own Apple Music profile, Photos, and Apple TV+ suggestions. Just long press the Home button and tap on your profile icon to switch profiles.
Third-party VPN app support: This benefits enterprise and education users who want to access content on their private networks, allowing Apple TV to be a great office and conference room solution in even more places.
Create folders: If you long-press an Apple TV app, you can create a folder with it. This is an easy way to arrange your most used apps and the ones you don’t need to have displayed at all times.
Change screen savers: Did you know you can add new screen saver options to your Apple TV? Just tap < twice and slide up to see other options.
