Apps on your telly? What larks! But you’ll still be using this selection when the novelty wears off
I vividly recall during the reveal of one Apple TV update, former Apple CEO Tim Cook bullishly claiming that the “future of television is apps”. Which is fine – but that was the present of television at the time, if you owned a smart TV or rival streaming device.
Then it kind of fell apart. Today, there aren’t that many amazing Apple TV apps, but there’s still junk to fish through on the Apple TV App Store. Boo. But there are exceptions for your shiny new Apple TV 4K (or, er, older Apple TV). This guide lets you know how to find them – the best Apple TV apps that are actually worth using.
(Note: most of these apps are universal, meaning you can also install on your mobile Apple devices too, if you’d like to.)
Amazon Prime Video
In the beforetimes, there was no Amazon Prime Video on Apple TV. Finally, towards the end of 2017, Apple and Amazon had a big hug and the service finally came to Apple’s black box. All these years later, it still does the job, especially if until now you’ve been slumming it getting your The Boys and Man in the High Castle fix through a cheapo Fire TV stick.
Get Amazon Prime Video for Apple TV (free + sub)
Artcast
Turned your brain to mush by binging the entire MCU? Make your TV more highbrow by transforming it into a work of art. Or, more accurately, 100,000 works of art, which you can set up as a kind of slideshow while pretending you live in a posh gallery. The app’s ad-supported by default, but you can rent one-off galleries or subscribe for a monthly fee.
Buy Artcast (free + optional IAP)
Breathing Zone
You know that breathing app on your Apple Watch? This one does much the same for your Apple TV, only in big-screen fashion so it takes over your entire field of view. Just the thing when you need to calm down after an exhilarating end-of-season finale. There are plenty of options too, from colours to breathing types.
Get Breathing Zone for Apple TV (free)
Brian Eno: Reflection
“Thirty bucks!” you might yell, and then follow up with a choice expletive. But Reflection is something special – a Brian Eno album that never stops remixing itself. It shifts and changes depending on the time of day and even the season. On the TV, you also get an evolving Eno abstract painting, transforming your gogglebox into a slice of living art.
Get Brian Eno : Reflection for Apple TV ($30.99/£29.99)
Carrot Weather TV
Very different from its iPhone counterpart, Carrot for Apple TV nonetheless delivers forecasts with plenty of snark. The malevolent AI dishes out twisted animations along with rainfall predictions. Multiple locations can be stored, and secret places await discovery; but whatever you do, don’t poke Carrot’s ocular sensor!
Get Carrot Weather TV for Apple TV ($3.99/£3.99)
Disney+
Given the rate of knots at which Disney is buying up properties, it’s only a matter of time before Disney+ is the only streaming telly service. Until then, it’s fab for Marvel, Disney and Star Wars movies and series, along with a bunch of other stuff the House of Mouse has added to stop your eyeballs from straying.
Get Disney+ for Apple TV (free)
Earthlapse 4K
There’s something magical about seeing the Earth from above, and Earthlapse offers some stunning time-lapse photography. There are 20 carefully mastered views from the ISS to choose from, in all the way up to 4K quality. And you can muck about with speed, colour filters and the soundtrack as you gawk at our little blue planet zooming through space.
Get Earthlapse 4K for Apple TV ($1.99/£1.99)
FE File Explorer Pro TV
If you dump all your media on a drive and want to access it from any device, you need FE File Explorer Pro TV. It connects to local network shares and remote servers, whereupon you can stream movies and audio files, or rifle through your photos. Not sure if it’s right for you? Try the free version (‘Owlfiles’, for some reason) before plonking down your cash.
Get FE File Explorer Pro TV for Apple TV ($4.99/£4.99)
Infuse
If your digital video collection is mostly knocking around hard drives or dotted about cloud services, Infuse deals with all that. You don’t need a server – the app streams to your Apple TV, re-encoding files on-the-fly. Artwork, catalogue sorting and metadata is all automatic, making for a gorgeous browsing experience.
Get Infuse for Apple TV (free or sub)
JustWatch
Not sure what to watch? Or keen on watching something specific, but not sure where to watch it? JustWatch can help. It does a better job than Apple’s TV app of digging into a range of sources, and it also makes recommendations to feed your viewing habits, along with letting you build a service-agnostic wish list.
Get JustWatch for Apple TV (free)
Kitchen Stories
One of the best cookery apps around, Kitchen Stories is awash with gorgeous photography and tons of video. Unsurprisingly, Apple TV concentrates on the latter, with a selection of videos covering recipes and skills. If you’ve always wanted to know how to prepare a squid, make a hearty beef stew, or chop (rather than just eat) chocolate, this is the app for you.
Get Kitchen Stories for Apple TV (free)
Letterboxd
A social networking app on Apple TV might strike you as odd, but Letterboxd is all about telly – or, more accurately, films on your telly. You log and rate favourites, flag films you’d like to see, peruse trailers, and optionally gripe to everyone about how unfair it is that new Star Wars flicks aren’t identical to the one you’ve had in your head since 1983.
Get Letterboxd for Apple TV (free)
Lumy
Obsessed with daylight? A secret vampire who’ll only head out after dark? Then get Lumy on your telly, to help you track all the relevant data. It gives you all the geeky data, but does so in a manner that is visually sublime. There’s even a photo frame mode on Apple TV, transforming the progress of the sun and moon into a minimal slice of virtual art.
Get Lumy for Apple TV ($6.99/£6.99)
Netflix
With Netflix having infiltrated pretty much everything with a screen, we’re half surprised it doesn’t appear on Apple Watch and living room thermostats. The Apple TV version’s much as you’d expect: a usable, reliable way to delve into tons of great telly like Stranger Things – before realising with a start you’ve not actually moved from the sofa in three days.
Get Netflix for Apple TV (free)
Night Sky
If you’re a fan of stargazing, but not of going outside, you can peer at virtual heavens using an astronomy app on your phone. But if even that seems like too much effort, fire up Night Sky on your Apple TV. Using the Siri Remote, you can zip about constellations and tours that outline what will appear in the sky and when.
Get Night Sky for Apple TV (free or optional sub)
Play: Save Videos Watch Later
You know read-later apps? Well, this is a watch-later one. You use Play on your phone to stash videos from various sources – such as YouTube and Apple Music – and tag them if you’re an organised type. And on the Apple TV, you can then sit and watch everything. Buy a sub and the app will send all your YouTube subscriptions to the Channels Inbox too.
Buy Play: Save Videos Watch Later ($2.99/£2.99 + optional IAP)
Plex
Although Infuse is in this list, it would be wrong to omit Plex. The app appeared way back in unofficial form on jailbroken second-generation Apple TVs, but this is the real deal. Despite being built in just five weeks, PLEX for Apple TV started out as a quality for streaming media and finding new things to watch; it’s carried on being great ever since.
Get Plex for Apple TV (free + IAP)
Radio – Receiver
If you’re more the kind to want your ears occupied than your eyes, this turns your black box into an Apple Radio. Or something. It all looks very sleek and swish. You search for stations, add them to favourites, and then dance around the living room like a lunatic. The app also supports podcasts, for when you want your faves booming out of your telly.
Get Radio – Receiver for Apple TV ($3.99/£3.99)
Solar Walk 2
On iOS, Solar Walk 2 is a gorgeous educational tool for exploring the solar system. On Apple TV, it’s simplified, having you select a planet or moon and then use the Siri Remote to spin it about. However, you can still crack Saturn and co. open like eggs to peer at their innards, or view infographics that show how insignificant Earth is next to planetary giants.
Get Solar Walk 2 for Apple TV ($2.99/£2.99)
Speedtest by Ookla
Yes, speed-test apps aren’t entirely accurate. However, if your Apple TV is having trouble streaming your favourite shows, Speedtest by Ookla at least provides an indication of whether your broadband’s conked out or not. It’s dead easy to use: let it rip and within a minute or so you’ll get current ping, download and uploads speed estimates.
View Speediest by Ookla for Apple TV (free)
Steam Link
Apple Arcade aside, games aren’t exactly flying on to Apple TV. Still, you can use Apple’s black box for your Steam collection instead, streaming from a networked PC or Mac. Caveat time: controller set-up can be a faff, and you need very good connectivity to avoid stop-motion syndrome. But when it’s properly up and running, Stream Link’s a blast.
Get Steam Link for Apple TV (free)
Streaks Workout
With Streaks Workout, you only need your Apple TV, a floor, and some desire to get fit. You select exercises and how long you want to sweat for and then get going. The app tracks your streaks, encouraging you to continue burning off flab that ‘somehow’ appeared due to you spending too much time parked in front of your Apple TV doing less strenuous things.
Get Streaks Workout for Apple TV ($4.99/£4.99)
Tally
If you have games nights and constantly argue about scores – and also about people constantly being on their phones – you need Tally. It lets you tot up the current state of play on the big screen, with numbers so big you can see them from across the street. So there’s no chance of anyone sneakily changing their score without everyone noticing.
Get Tally (free)
TED
If you’ve been watching vacuous telly to the point your brain’s threatening to throttle your windpipe, just to end it all, try TED. You’ll find thousands of free videos that feature smart people talking about interesting things. You can search by type and stash favourites to later impress your friends that thought you only watched The Big Bang Theory on a loop.
Get TED for Apple TV (free)
White Noise
If you can’t relax without background noise, but don’t want it to be permanently angry ‘Landahners’ in EastEnders, or whatever Spotify serves up, get White Noise on your telly. You choose from audio loops, including gentle beach waves, a tick-tocking grandfather clock, and, er, a vacuum cleaner. Probably just clean the house if that last one’s your thing.
Get White Noise for Apple TV ($0.99/99p)
