Apple TV

Stay up-to-date on the latest Apple TV news and learn how to get the most out of your device with our comprehensive tutorials and guides. Discover new features, troubleshoot issues, and explore the best apps and games for your Apple TV.

Rumor: next-gen Apple TV has gaming functionality, TV tuner, built-in AirPort router

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 28, 2014

Piggy-backing on a report last week by iLounge which heard from sources that the next Apple TV set-top box will support wireless game controllers and possibly an app store for games, another reliable blogger has chimed in with additional tidbits.

Long story short, a much improved Apple TV hardware refresh is thought to include an 802.11ac wireless router functionality by way of AirPort Express integration. It should also come with a built-in TV tuner to control your existing cable boxes and TV stations and include gaming functionality.

Some hobby, eh?

Red Bull TV sports channel added to Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 28, 2014

Apple has added a new channel to its $99 media-streaming box, the Apple TV. The Red Bull TV action sports channel should be now available on everyone's Home screen (if not, manually check for updates by going to Settings > General > Software Updates and choosing Update Software).

Red Bull TV is an action-packed sports channel by the famous Austrian energy drinks company, Red Bull GmbH. The new Apple TV channel offers free action sports content, coverage of live events and more...

Good deal: 33% off FireCore’s aTV Flash (black)

Cody Lee ∙ January 27, 2014

Folks with a jailbroken second generation Apple TV should check out this sweet little deal going on over Stack Social. The deal site has the popular ATV software suite aTV Flash (black) on sale right now for under $20.

For those unfamiliar with Flash (black), it’s a popular software package that extends the capabilities of your Apple TV with tools like a web browser and a weather app, and it can play a wide range of different file types…

Rumor: Apple TV to get controller support and App Store of its own in March

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Being an avid gamer, this is one rumor I've been waiting for for years now. According to iLongue, a blog with somewhat mixed track record, Apple's $99 set-top box is about to receive a proper support for wireless Bluetooth game controllers.

There'll also be an Apple TV App Store of sorts that'll offer downloadable full HD games.

The best part: these new features are said to arrive via a software update, indicating that existing third-generation Apple TVs might be able to run games and use controllers...

How to jailbreak iOS 5.3 on the Apple TV 2 untethered

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

At iDB, we've been singing the praises of the Apple TV for years, especially one of the jailbroken variety. With a jailbroken Apple TV 2, you can do tons of cool stuff, like run XBMC, ATV Flash (black), and loads of other interesting apps and tweaks.

Simply put, the Apple TV hardware in and of itself is good, but jailbreaking the Apple TV 2 sends its value through the roof. Yesterday, FireCore, the creators of the Seas0nPass Apple TV jailbreak tool, released an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.3 thanks to some help from winocm and iH8sn0w. Check inside for the full video walkthrough that shows how to jailbreak your Apple TV 2 untethered.

Seas0nPass jailbreak tool updated for Apple TV 2 firmware 5.3

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Good news for Apple TV 2 owners who haven't updated to 6.0 yet. FireCore has updated its Seas0nPass utility to apply an untethered jailbreak to ATVs that are still running firmware version 5.3—which is essentially the equivalent of iOS 6.1.4.

The tool has, for a long time, been able to apply a tethered jailbreak to the 5.3 software. But thanks to recent developments in the community, it's now capable of an untethered hack, which means restarts and power up/downs will be hassle-free...

p0sixspwn updated with fixes for iMessage, LTE and Apple TV 2 support

Cody Lee ∙ December 31, 2013

For those that missed it this morning, p0sixspwn was updated to fix a few major bugs from the previous release. The untethered jailbreak, released for devices on iOS 6.1.3-6.1.5 by winocm and iH8Sn0w, should no longer create issues with iMessage or LTE.

Interestingly enough, the update also adds support for the Apple TV 2 (still no Apple TV 3). So while I don't think you can use it to directly jailbreak the set-top box, it shouldn't be too long before a utility like Seas0nPass takes advantage of the new capability...

Sky Sports channel with daily passes now available to UK’s Apple TV owners

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 17, 2013

If you live in the United Kingdom and own Apple's $99 Apple TV, turn on your media-streaming box and look for a newly-added content source, the Sky Sports channel from Now TV. There's a total of six different Sky Sports channels to choose from, including F1 racing, Barclays Premier League football matches, cricket and more.

And cable cutters, check this out - you can purchase rather pricey daily passes from within the app, without the need for a cable subscription, thanks to Now TV and Sky Sports both sharing the same parent company, British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (BSkyB)...

New concept reimagines Apple TV interface with iOS 7-like design, Siri and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Now that Apple has rebuilt iOS for its iPhone and iPad, the question is: will the new design make the leap to the Apple TV? Apple continues to refer to the set-top box as 'a hobby,' as it has quietly added several new apps and features to its software.

So let's just say that, for the sake of argument, Apple is planning to bring iOS 7's UI design to a future version of the Apple TV software. What would it look like? Well according to designer Andrew Ambrosino, it would look a little something like this...

Apple TV picks up ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle and KOR TV channels

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2013

After adding Yahoo Screen and PBS channels last month, Major League Soccer and Disney Junior channels in September as well as Vevo, Weather Channel, Disney, Smithsonian and a bunch of other content sources earlier this year, Apple's again expanded on the device's content sources.

The $99 media-streaming box is now even more useful with four additional channels from ABC, financial organization Bloomberg, Sony's streaming movie and TV show service Crackle and Korea-based on-demand video service KOR TV, all now accessible from the Apple TV's Home menu...

Time Warner Cable app could finally land on Apple TV this week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Time Warner Cable's Rob Marcus announced this morning that the company plans to add another platform to the list of those that can access the TWC TV app this week. The app enables TWC subscribers to stream live channels and watch videos on demand.

Now, he didn't say which platform it is exactly, but given that the app is already available on Roku, Xbox 360, and various smart TVs and mobile devices, there aren't many options left. And this of course has led to speculation that it's finally coming to Apple TV...

AllCast Android app streams content to Apple TV, Roku and other set-top streaming boxes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

I'm loving my Apple TV and AirPlay, an Apple media technology which streams content from the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac devices to television sets through the company's $99 set-top box.

Unfortunately, AirPlay is a proprietary technology that only works with Apple hardware. Don't you just wish the industry finally settled on a single cross-platform streaming media standard?

That's the issue a new application for Android devices is attempting to tackle. Created by CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta, the AllCast app lets you stream online (Dropbox, Google Drive and so forth) or locally-stored content to your Apple TV, Roku and a number of other set-top boxes and DLNA-compatible devices such as the PlayStation 3 console.

Currently in beta, the software works surprisingly well and I've included a video to show it to you right after the break...