How to control your TV or receiver volume using the Apple TV remote

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2023

In addition to using your Siri Remote to navigate the tvOS user interface and play games on the fourth-generation Apple TV, you can program it to control power and adjust volume levels of your television set or home theater receiver.

That's because your Apple TV and the Siri Remote that came with it are compatible with HDMI-CEC and outfitted with a built-in infrared receiver and blaster.

This means owners of the new Apple TV can adjust the volume of their TVs and home theater receivers via the HDMI cable or line of sight, using just their Siri Remote.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to program your Siri Remote and configure it to work with your home entertainment equipment.

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Apple seeds OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

In addition to iOS 9.2 beta 2 and tvOS 9.1 beta 1, members of the Apple Developer Program can also download OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 (build number 15C31f).

Arriving a week after the first beta of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 hit, the new software is now available to download on Macs with a previous beta through the Mac App Store's Software Update mechanism, or as a standalone download via Apple's portal for developers.

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Tweetbot 4.1 is out with support for Apple Watch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

The folks at Tapbots on Tuesday issued an update for their popular Twitter client Tweetbot 4, bringing the iOS app to version 4.1. The update brings about a number of fixes for bugs including timeline jumping and in-app browser issues, as well as proper Apple Watch support.

With Tweetbot on Apple Watch, you can view your 'Activity' feed—which shows things like @ Tweets, Favorited (or liked) Tweets and new followers—and reply to those notifications. You can also Favorite Tweets, reply to Direct Messages and compose Tweets using voice dictation.

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Apple seeds tvOS 9.1 beta 1 to developers

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Apple has released its first post-release beta of tvOS to developers. tvOS 9.1 beta 1 is a 900MB download arrives with build number 13U5061d. Apple has released a change log alongside the tvOS beta, but it doesn't include any user-facing features that should impact day to day usage of a non-developer.

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Apple seeds iOS 9.2 beta 2 to developers with additional fixes and enhancements

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 3, 2015

Apple has seeded its second release of the iOS 9.2 beta to developers for all eligible iOS devices. The update is available right now as an OTA update for devices running the previous beta, and is also available via Apple's developer Member Center. iOS 9.2 beta 1 contained new features and fixes for Safari View Controller.

This latest beta, which comes with a build number of 13C5060d, comes with several bug fixes and changes, including edge swipe-to-dismiss for Safari View Controller. Check out the rest of this post for more important details from the change log.

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How to use a 4-digit passcode for purchases on Apple TV

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 27, 2019

Yesterday, on Let's Talk iOS, we discussed how arduous and tedious it is to enter a password on the Apple TV interface. It's a difficult process, because the Apple TV lacks support for Bluetooth keyboards, and features an A-Z text entry setup that makes the process even more difficult that it was on last generation's Apple TV.

Fortunately, the Apple TV features an option that allows you to never require a password for iTunes & App Store purchases. While using such an option works, it leaves your device open to unauthorized purchases. The good news is that, as we discussed on the podcast, you can easily set up restrictions for App Store and iTunes purchases, which will make it so that purchases only require the entry of a 4-digit passcode.

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Apple researching completely switch-less Mac keyboard with Force Touch feedback

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

Apple's new Magic Keyboard is awesome—if you don't believe me, check out my colleague Jeff Benjamin's excellent video review—but it lacks Force Touch feedback currently found on the Apple Watch and iPhone 6s display and MacBook trackpads.

But Apple seems to be interested in bringing this technology to a future Mac keyboard, according to a patent granted to the company on Tuesday by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

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For better or worse, Twitter’s Stars and Favorites are now Hearts and Likes

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

So you've been starring and favoriting tweets for later use in your favorite Twitter client, just like many other die-hard Twitter fans do? Well, starting today all those Stars and Favorites shall be presented henceforth as Hearts and Likes, the micro-blogging startup unexpectedly announced today.

The rebranding effort is meant to permit Twitter fans to show how they feel on Twitter “without missing a beat,” but already the change seems to have drawn ire and ridicule from hardcore fans of the service.

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Let’s Talk iOS 107: As seen on TV

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 3, 2015

Episode 107: Sebastien tries a couple of knock-off Hermès‎ bands for Apple Watch. The crew discusses their initial impressions of the new Apple TV, including the initial setup process, Siri Remote, revamped interface, favorite apps and games. We also talk about our overall outlook for the future of the device.

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Support Let's Talk iOS: Start protecting your home with Canary today. Go to meetcanary.com and use the promo code “talkios" to get free overnight shipping.

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Google rolling out Smart Replies to Gmail’s Inbox app later this week

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

The Gmail team's Inbox mobile email client, which was born out of Google's 2012 acquisition of the popular iPhone email app Sparrow, is about to get a whole lot smarter with a new feature called Smart Reply, the company announced on the Gmail blog Tuesday.

The feature analyzes your emails and uses machine learning to recognize emails that need responses and then generates the natural language responses on the fly.

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Nomad’s Wallet puts a full charge for your iPhone 6s in your wallet

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

Nomad today launched an interesting lifestyle accessory for your iPhone, dubbed the Wallet. It's literally a premium bifold leather wallet with an integrated 3.5-inch Lightning cable and a built-in 2,400mAh battery, enough to provide a full charge for your Lightning-based iPhone and then some more.

The wallet holds six credit or gift cards, cash, is made from Saffiano leather and is just 0.75 inch thick when closed. If you're a fan of real wallets, not those iPhone cases that double as wallets, you can pre-order Nomad's Wallet for $79.

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