Siri Remote

Hands-on with tvOS 10.2: fast scrolling, updated Remote app & more

You no longer have to scroll through long lists on your Apple TV for minutes on end like an animal, courtesy of the latest firmware released yesterday alongside iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and watchOS 3.2.

It lets you scroll through longs lists with ease and contains other user-facing features and under-the-hood improvements. For instance, rented iTunes movies can be finally enjoyed on other devices.

And with the updated Remote app, you can control the set-top box via your iPad or other iOS device, browse your playlists and more. Be sure to watch Andrew’s hands-on video for everything new in tvOS 10.2 and share your favorite new feature in comments.

Apple TV Remote app gains support for iPad, lyrics, playlists, chapters & more

Apple’s free app for controlling Apple TVs from anywhere in your home via your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch was just updated on App Store following a barrage of software updates that the company released for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS earlier this morning. Bumped to version 1.1, the official Apple TV Remote app finally supports iPad natively and now lets you see music lyrics, browse playlists, navigate chapters and more.

How to change the behavior of the Home button on your Apple TV remote

Starting with the release of tvOS 10.1 and the launch of the new TV app for Apple TV, the behavior of the Home button (the one looking like a TV icon) has changed. Prior to this update, pressing the Home button would take you back to the main Home screen. But after the tvOS 10.1 update, pressing the Home button takes you to the new TV app.

This can bring some confusion or downright frustration, especially if you’re not planning on using the new TV app. Fortunately, as someone pointed out to me, there is an easy way to remap the Home button so it takes you to the main screen again instead of launching the TV app.

Apple TV games are no longer required to support Siri Remote

Apple has dropped the requirement for tvOS games to use the Siri Remote, according to a refreshed version of the official Game Controller Programming Guide. With this change in place, games for the fourth-generation Apple TV are now permitted to require a ‘Made for iOS’ (MFi) controller without needing to also support the Siri Remote.

Apple TV’s Siri can now tune you in to live broadcasts in supported apps

Apple has enhanced the tvOS operating system via a silent backend update that now permits users to ask Siri to tune in to live broadcasts in supported apps such as Disney XD, ESPN and CBS, the latter having gained integration with the Apple TV’s universal search feature yesterday.

MacRumors has caught wind of this useful new feature addition on a splash screen that customers see after upgrading their 4th-generation Apple TV to the new tvOS software.

Tip: use this secret Siri Remote shortcut to manually send tvOS diagnostic logs to Apple

Much like other Apple devices, your Apple TV lets you elect to have tvOS periodically send usage data to Apple and share crash logs with developers. When Share with App Developers is enabled underneath the Diagnostics Data heading in Settings → General → Privacy, your Apple TV will send diagnostic and usage information to Apple.

This data is used for the sole purpose of improving Apple’s products and services. None of the collected information identifies users personally but those who are concerned about their privacy will likely have this feature disabled, just in case.

There are cases when Apple might ask you to send them these log files manually—for instance, when using the Apple TV’s hidden remote diagnostic feature to help an advisor troubleshoot any problems you may be plagued with.

Thankfully, tvOS has a secret Siri Remote shortcut to override your Privacy settings and manually send those crash logs and diagnostic data straight to Apple.