Apple TV 4

Review: SteelSeries Nimbus Wireless Controller

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

If you want to do serious gaming on the Apple TV, then using a wireless Bluetooth controller isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. Yes, Apple controversially made it a requirement for all games on its platform to support the Siri Remote, but that’s not going to cut it for any game with an even mildly complex control scheme.

Games like Alto’s Adventure and Mr. Jump play perfectly fine, and are even suited for the Siri Remote, but in most cases, you’re definitely going to want a controller as an option.

Unfortunately, there is no Apple-branded controller to speak of, but Apple did co-design a controller with the help of SteelSeries. The result of that partnership is the SteelSeries Nimbus, and Apple is promoting this controller as the de facto standard alternative input device for the Apple TV.

All of that considered, while there are other 3rd-party Bluetooth controllers that work with the Apple TV, the most obvious choice is the SteelSeries Nimbus.

I purchased a Nimbus on day one, and have been playing with it for weeks. Is the $49.99 controller worth your time and hard-earned money? Is it really the best way to control games on the Apple TV?

Preview: Infuse for Apple TV + developer interview

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

As an Apple TV believer since its inception, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never jailbroken my device even though the lack of downloadable media player apps that would let me play “foreign” video file types has been driving me nuts.

When the latest Apple TV launched, I immediately got in touch with James Abeler, better known as prominent jailbreak developer FireCore, who happens to be the brains behind the ultimate Apple TV jailbreak, aTV Flash Black, and the creator of a versatile iOS media player, called Infuse.

As someone who has been pretty much cheerleading Infuse since its April 2013 debut, I was extremely impatient to find out if an Apple TV edition of Infuse would be on par with its iOS counterpart.

James was kind enough to add me as a beta tester so I was able to play with Infuse for Apple TV for about a week, and here's what I was able to gather.

How to bring back old password-entry grid on fourth-generation Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 26, 2019

To me, the new software keyboard in tvOS is absolutely the biggest pain point and a major step back from the old password-entry grid on previous Apple TV models.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Apple has opted to put all the characters in a single line, two-row layout. This isn't just odd from a user experience standpoint, the new keyboard design in tvOS is a lot slower and clunkier to maneuver than the previous grid-style one.

And with the amount of passwords needing entering in third-party video apps, it's especially annoying and cumbersome. But as it turns out, there's a way to bring back the old password-entry grid to speed up typing those passwords.

This flexible mounting system attaches Apple TV and Siri Remote to the back of your telly

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 23, 2015

A United States company called Innovelis today announced that its brand new flexible mounting system for the fourth-generation Apple TV set-top box and Siri Remote is available for purchase exclusively via Apple's retail and online stores around the world.

Retailing for just $29.95, this useful accessory is especially convenient for Apple TV fans with a wall-mounted TV.

Dubbed the TotalMount Pro, it attaches your Apple TV directly to the back of a television set, helping eliminate both the clutter and the need to tunnel the HDMI cable through the wall from your TV area.

Beat Sports review: turn your Apple TV into a Wii, sort of

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

With the fourth-generation Apple TV now available, we are getting a glimpse at the types of apps and games that are being developed for our living room. One surprising addition to the gaming world comes from Harmonix (creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band).

Beat Sports is a rhythm-based sports game. Players use their Siri Remote control as a sort of Wii style motion-based remote to swing away at oncoming balls. We've got a full game review of Beat Sports for your reading enjoyment.

How to enable high-contrast cursor on Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 7, 2023

In this tutorial, you will learn how to turn on a high-contrast cursor on your Apple TV with just a few taps to better see select content and text.

tvOS 9.1 beta 3 now available to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2015

In addition to releasing iOS 9.2 beta 4 to developers and public beta testers, Apple on Wednesday also released a third beta of tvOS 9.1 to developers, its operating system for the fourth-generation Apple TV.

The tvOS 9.1 beta 3 update (build number: 13U5077a) is available over-the-air on the new Apple TV to developers who are on a prior tvOS beta, as well as a standalone download through Apple's portal for developers.

FireCore confirms Infuse media player hitting new Apple TV ‘very soon’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 12, 2018

Well regarded jailbreak developer FireCore today put an end to speculation, confirming that its speedy, powerful and versatile media player for iOS devices, Infuse, will be coming to the 4th generation Apple TV.

“We're now starting to see a beautiful bright light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is coming into form as Infuse 4 for Apple TV,” reads the post. Infuse 4 for Apple TV will be a free update for all current Infuse Pro users.

Hack makes new Apple TV run native tvOS browser

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 6, 2015

A new hack by Dutch developer jvanakker makes the fourth-generation Apple TV run a native tvOS web browser despite the fact that Apple's operating system powering the set-top box lacks web browsing functionality.

The most interesting thing about this hack is its use of Apple's private API based on the UIWebView class, which the company typically provides to iPhone and iPad developers as an officially sanctioned solution for embedding web views inside apps.

How to program a universal infrared remote to control your Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 13, 2023

Your universal infrared remote which used to control your old Apple TV should work just fine with the fourth-generation Apple TV right out of the box. In some cases, however, your legacy remote might need configuring in order to learn the signals that the Siri Remote generates.

In this post, we're going to show you how you can program a universal infrared remote that came with your TV, cable box or DVD/Blu-ray player in order to navigate the entirety of tvOS, or use it with a prior Apple TV model.

Here’s why Siri on Apple TV only supports eight countries so far

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 4, 2015

The new Apple TV ships with the same remote everywhere but Siri on the set-top box is only supported in these eight languages and countries: English (Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, German (Germany), French (France), Spanish (Spain) and Japanese (Japan).

Why is that? After all, Siri on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad support the most basic features in a total of 29 countries, as per Apple's iOS Feature Availability webpage.

Based on an interview that the German-language blog MacPrime conducted with several Apple TV project managers, it's all about the differences in the pronunciation of actor names, films and directors in various countries. But rest assured, Apple is already hard at work on training the Apple TV's Siri for additional countries.

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.