How To Watch The Free Apple TV+ Shows
The TV app is the exclusive destination for Apple TV+, but the TV app is a little confusing because it blends together purchasable TV shows and movies from the iTunes Store, which you can buy or rent, the integration of content from other apps like Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer, and Apple TV Channels.
The Watch Now screen does not really distinguish between content that you own and can watch, and just Apples general recommendations.
The easiest way to get started with Apple TV+ is to open the Apple TV app on your device, and tap on the Originals tab.
This tab takes you to the Apple TV+ channel page. This screen shows you all of the Apple TV+ shows and movies available to watch, separated into categories like comedy, drama and family fun.
Note that tv.apple.com is very stripped down compared to the native TV app on devices, and it only shows Apple original content. Both the website and the Mac TV app lack key features like the ability to skip intro or automatic next episode suggestions when you finish an episode.
What Are The Differences Between The Apple TV Models
There are currently two different models for sale and one model recently discontinued. And as you can expect, there are some big differences between them.
- Apple TV 4K. This is the flagship Apple TV model it supports 4K and HDR video and contains the same A10 processor as the iPad Pro. If you’re looking to buy Apple TV, this is the top-shelf model.
- Apple TV . This model supports 1080p HD video and has the A8 processor, which is the same processor as the iPhone 6. While you may be tempted to buy the 4th-generation if you don’t have a television that supports 4K or HDR, this model not only buys you the ability to upgrade your television in the future, it also doubles the speed of the processor and quadruples the speed of the graphics.
- Apple TV . This model is no longer available, but you may find one at auction sites like eBay or person-to-person sites like Craigslist. This version delivers video streaming capabilities without the processing power, and it doesn’t have access to the App Store. It’s cheaper than the other models because it’s older, but you may be better off investing in another streaming device like a Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
Yes The Remote Is Really Good Now
The word “Finally!” sums up the reaction of many longtime Apple TV fans when they first heard about the new remote. The black glass remote bundled with the older Apple TV had a sleek-looking design, but a slippery, imprecise trackpad was its downfall. I constantly found myself struggling with basic navigation tasks using the older remote. The trackpad’s sensitivity caused me to overshoot menu items like movies, apps, TV shows or text, making even the simplest scrolls and selections a chore to control.
The new Siri Remote solves many of those woes. Bundled with new Apple TV purchases, or available as a separate $59 upgrade that works with the older Apple TV, the new remote replaces that trackpad with something Apple calls a “clickpad.” It’s basically a circular controller that combines a touchpad with directional buttons you can actually click.
I found myself greatly appreciating the return of the button-based directional controls. I also like that Apple didn’t completely remove touchpad functionality, which is useful for quickly scrolling through a list or playing certain Apple Arcade games.
If you hate the touchpad on the clickpad, you’ll be pleased to know that Apple does allow you to disable the feature in the Remote and Devices section of the Settings menu. I still have a hit-or-miss relationship with the feature with moments of overshooting my intended target so I may soon turn it off, but I appreciate that there is an option either way.
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The Best Apple TV Hd Sales And Deals
Along with the new release of Apple TV 4K, Amazon also upgraded the Apple TV HD with a starting price of $149/£139/AUS$209. The 4th generation Apple TV is an upgrade from Apple’s entry-level 2015 model and now includes the new Siri remote, which allows you to open apps, browse shows and control compatible smart home devices using just your voice.The biggest difference between the Apple TV 4K and the HD version is the resolutions they support. Apple’s HD streaming device supports resolutions up to Full HD at 1080p, while the Apple TV 4K supports resolutions up to Ultra HD at 2160p. If you don’t own a 4K TV, then Apple’s HD model would be the best choice for you.
Best Overall: Apple TV 4k
The Apple TV 4K is the best streaming box Apple makes, and an updated version was recently unveiled at Apple’s April 2021 Special Event. As the name suggests, it supports 4K content, but it also supports high-frame rate HDR and Dolby Vision, which offer outstandingly vibrant colors on supported content. Dolby Atmos support also allows for an immersive audio experience with supported movies. The updated Apple TV 4K is powered by the A12 Bionic processor, which allows for improved video performance, such as smoother 60fps video.
Included with the Apple TV 4K is the new and improved Siri Remote that contains a circular clickpad control that offers five-way navigation for improved accuracy. It is also touch-enabled, so you can navigate by swiping as you did with the previous Siri Remote. The new Siri Remote also contains a power button for your TV.
Coming in 32GB and 64GB models, you might wonder why the smaller storage size was chosen. Honestly, it’s mostly about price. As a streaming box, the Apple TV doesn’t need to download a lot of video content directly onto the box itself. True, if you want to use many apps, especially games, you might want more storage, but if you mostly use the Apple TV as a video streaming box, save yourself some money and get the 32GB model.
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Apple Airplay Mirror Your Device To Your TV
Through the use of a wireless technology called Airplay, Apple TV can display whatever is on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac screen onto your TV. So basically, you have the ability to view any iPad app on your TV!
Above is my 42 flatscreen TV mirroring my iPad screen while using the NBC iPad App. Note that I had to use my TVs zoom feature to make the picture fill the whole screen, but the picture quality was still good.
So, while the Apple TV itself doesnt have the hundreds of channels that Roku does, it basically allows you to view any app that will run on your iPad, which kind of makes up for the lack of native Apple TV channels.
Note that really old iPhones, iPads first-gen, and Macs made before 2011 dont support Airplay. But all recent Apple devices do.
Overall, Airplay is a killer feature, and its the one reason that I still use my Apple TV, even though I usually use a Roku.
Who Are You Charlie Brown
Watch Trailer Released June 25, 2021 Documentary
Featuring interviews with people that worked with him and were inspired by him, this documentary explores the life of Charles Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown. It shows how Schulz became interested in cartoons and how that evolved into the development of the Peanuts series. The film interweaves a new Peanuts animation featuring Charlie Brown and the gang tackle the question of who are you? in a school essay.
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All The Reasons To Still Buy An Apple TV In 2021
Now that Apple has integrating features such as HomeKit, AirPlay 2 and even iTunes into many popular smart TVs, are there any reasons to buy Apple TV anymore? The answer is yes. Lots.
It’s 2021 and there are fewer reasons to buy an Apple TV streaming box. Thats because Apple has partnered with many of the biggest TV manufacturers, such as LG, Sony, Vizio and Samsung, and integrated most of the Apple TV’s best features HomeKit, AirPlay 2 and even iTunes into their TVs. The reason is simple: Apple wants as many people to have access to Apple TV+.
To watch Apple TV+ you need to have access to Apples TV app, which had previously only been available on Apple hardware: iPhone, iPad or Apple TV . But now it’s available on pretty much every smart TV and operating system. This has left Apple’s streaming box in a tricky position. Is there any reason to get one?
The answer is: yes. There are still a number of reasons to buy one of Apple’s streaming boxes either an Apple TV 4K or an Apple TV HD because there are a number of things that Apples TV streaming box can do those new smart TVs with Apple TV-esque features cant.
If you want the older Siri Remote, you can still buy one from Amazon.
The Hardware: Apple Quality Sort Of
For $69 you get the Apple TV, a remote, and a slender two-prong power cord .
As streaming boxes go, its well made, heavy , and has a nice rubberized bottom. That, combined with its weight, and the Apple TV is unlikely to get pulled or knocked off your entertainment center.
The remote, on the other hand, is terrible. Dont get us wrong, its very well made. How many times do you get a remote sculpted out of a single piece of aluminum? So, it has good material workmanship and it looks nice, but thats about it. Its small and uncomfortable to use, which is unfortunate because if you dont have a Bluetooth keyboard handy with the Apple TV), you have to type with the remote and trust us, this is no good, no good at all.
Luckily, if you do want to use a remote, you can pair the Apple TV with other remotes, so its not like youre stuck with the included one.
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Consider Buying Multiple Apple TVs For Multiple TVs
The simplest way to play Apple TV content on multiple TVs is to buy an Apple TV streaming box for each TV. You cant sync playback across each of the TVs using this method. But you can choose to play multiple things at the same time.
You can also use Apple TVs One Home Screen feature to sync your apps and Home screen layout across each TV automatically.
It may not seem so initially, but buying multiple Apple TVs can actually be the cheapest solution as well.
Just add up the costs of getting a high-quality HDMI splitter and amplifier and piping long HDMI cables through the walls of your house to find out for yourself. Before long, $200 on a new Apple TV 4K seems pretty reasonable.
The Cheapest And Fastest Way To Get Apple TV+ On Your TV
– Apple’s TV service – Apple TV+ – offers a range of new and exclusive content to subscribers. Apple is taking on the likes of Netflix, Amazon Video and Disney+, looking to get you to subscribe to its service – but you’ll also be able to access Apple TV+ on a wide range of platforms.
Access through Apple devices is easy enough – just head to the Apple TV app on your iPad, iPhone or Mac – but you’ll also be able to access it through smart TVs and, importantly, a range of streaming boxes.
While your TV might not offer the app – the best way to get access to Apple’s content is going to be via Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV Stick where the Apple TV app is available. Apple TV+ costs $4.99 / £4.99 per month for a family subscription.
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How To Get Apple TV Plus For Free
In order to help boost its newcomer streaming service, Apple initially offered a free year of Apple TV Plus to anyone who recently purchased an Apple device. This includes iPhones, iPads, Macs, iPods, and Apple TV set-top boxes.
However, the offer does not stand for new purchases now. Apple stopped offering a free year of Apple TV Plus in July 2021. From now on, youll get just three months of no-cost access before you have to consider a paid subscription. New Roku devices also include three free months of Apple TV Plus. Other new users can still get seven days of Apple TV Plus for free. Learn more about how to get Apple TV Plus for free at the link below.
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Display Resolution Dynamic Range And Audio Output Options
Now that you know which Apple TV supports 4K, HD, HDR, and SDR, its time to explain what all of that means:
- 4K and HD relate to the number of pixels, or dots, that make up an image. This is also called resolution. 4K TVs have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, whereas HD TVs only offer 1920 x 1080 pixels. The more pixels, the sharper the image. So, because 4K TVs have more pixels, they look noticeably better, particularly on larger screens.
- HDR and SDR relate to the number of colors a display can produce, as well as its maximum brightness. TVs capable of HDR can display deeper blacks and brighter whites than those that only offer SDR. Unlike 4K TVs , HDR is immediately obvious, no matter the screen size.
Both models of Apple TV 4K support both of the following:
- Dolby Vision is a version of HDR. Unlike standard HDR, it uses frame-by-frame metadata that provides additional information to the TV. Dolby Vision also supports improved brightness when compared to standard HDR.
- Dolby Atmos is a version of surround sound that doesnt map sounds to specific speakers. Instead, it maps them to 3D space between those speakers. This allows improved positional audio on setups that support it.
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Apple Designed The Apple TV To Work With A Single TV
When designing how the Apple TV streaming box works, Apple only intended for you to connect it to a single TV screen.
Some users have likened it to a digital DVD player in this way. To play content on a different TV, you need to move the Apple TV and physically connect it to that TV instead.
Luckily, the Apple TV is small and easy to disconnect and move around. If you only want to watch a single TV at a time, the easiest solution might be to move your Apple TV from room to room between them.
However, this wont help if you want to play Apple TV content on multiple screens at once.
Second And Third Generation
The 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs run a version of iOS, rather than the modified Mac OS X of the original model. The interface on Apple TV Software 4 is similar to that of previous versions, with only minor changes and feature additions throughout. In March 2012, Apple released a major new software update, with the Apple TV 3rd generation, labeled as Apple TV Software 5 , which shipped with the new 3rd generation Apple TV. This update completely revised the look of the home screen to make it resemble the icon grid seen on iOS. Instead of 7 columns, content and third-party channels are shown in a tiled grid format, which can be rearranged. Throughout the years, for Apple TV Software 56, Apple released minor revisions, content additions, and feature updates.
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Buy A Movie Or TV Show On Your iPhone Or Ipod Touch
To see all of the movies and TV shows that you purchased, go to the Library tab.
How To Watch Apple TV+ From Anywhere
Apple TV plus is not available in all regions, so if youre on a trip you might not be able to watch it. Also, streaming services like Apple TV+ could be banned when youre using a school/company network. To unblock Apple TV plus and watch it from anywhere, you can use a VPN.
A reminder: we dont recommend using any free VPNs as they can be highly risky and also slow your connection down. Here are some good VPNs for streaming videos :
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The Downsides To Using An Hdmi Splitter
When you use an HDMI splitter to connect an Apple TV to multiple TV screens, every TV shows the same content at the same time. Its not possible to watch two different things at once, for that, you need to buy a second Apple TV.
But even if youre happy to play the same content on each TV, using an HDMI splitter with an Apple TV can still lead to other problems.
First of all, you need to make sure you wont come into any HDCP issues.