Apple TV isn't just for watching movies and TV shows or playing games. It can also play an important role in your smart home. With the Cupertino Digital Media Player, you can now download and install apps to do everyday tasks around the home, like check your security cameras, monitor your Wi-Fi network, and turn on your lights.
To get started, all you need is a fourth or fifth generation Apple TV. How to set up and use your Apple TV How to set up and use your Apple TV Here's how to set up your Apple TV, what you can do with it. , and what to do when things don't behave as expected. Read More
In this article, you'll learn about some of the most popular lifestyle and utility apps for Apple TV.
It should come as no surprise that some of the most popular smart lighting systems are controllable through Apple TV. After all, many of these products offer mood lighting, which is perfect for an evening with the family in the living room or a romantic getaway in the bedroom. These Apple TV apps should help you set the mood, whatever it may be.
Hue TV is a simple Apple TV app for Philips Hue users. With it, you can control all of your Hue lights using your Apple TV and Siri remote. With Hue TV, you can turn lights on or off, control bulbs individually or as a group, change the color and brightness of lights, set your favorite scenes, and more. You can even select colors directly from your TV screen that you want to mimic with your lighting!
You can buy Hue TV for less than $3 in the Apple TV app store.
Lightbow has always been one of the most popular home automation apps for iOS, and now it's available for Apple TV users as well. Although one of the most expensive on this list, Lightbow is one of the few apps capable of controlling connected light bulbs from multiple companies, including Philips Hue 4 ways Philips Hue can take your lighting to the next level 4 ways Philips Hue can boost your lighting to the next level Without Philips Hue, however, the smart home concept may never have taken off. Here are some cool ways to make use of them. Read more, LIFX and Belkin WeMo.
The Lightbow app (about $4) offers colorful starter packs to help you set the mood in your home. Many of these are seasonal, including those for Halloween and Christmas, while others revolve around a theme like the space exploration pack.
Additional starter packs are available by making an in-app purchase. Or you can unlock them all by purchasing an annual Lightbow membership.
Looking for even more customization? Consider animating a short lighting sequence, transitioning between settings via crossfades or flashes, or triggering a sequence using a countdown trigger.
Without a home Wi-Fi network How to protect your Wi-Fi and prevent your neighbors from stealing it How to protect your Wi-Fi and prevent your neighbors from stealing it If your Wi-Fi SSID is broadcast to surrounding houses, there is the possibility that your internet is being stolen Find out how to prevent this from happening and keep control of your bandwidth. Read More That would mean no video streaming, web browsing, or in most cases smart devices or gadgets. In other words, when your home network is down, there's not much you can do. The following Apple TV apps should help keep your network running smoothly for years to come.
Speedtest by Ookla has been a popular web service since at least 2006. The app provides free analysis of Internet access performance metrics. Originally only available on Speedtest.net, the service measures the bandwidth (speed) and latency of a visitor's Internet connection against servers around the world.
Do you have a slow connection? Speedtest will let you know.
Apart from being free, the best part about Speedtest is how easy it is to use. Whether it's through a mobile device or Apple TV, Speedtest is always there to help you lead the way. Pick it up today from the Apple TV App Store and never wonder about the relative speed of your Internet connection again.
For those looking for a more advanced network tool for Apple TV, consider Air Discover. Described as a professional network scanner utility, the app automatically detects network devices and services. By doing so, it helps you troubleshoot network problems and find unnecessary and possibly dangerous network services in a home or office environment.
With Air Discover, you can view DNS servers, look up domain names, display default gateways and VPN connections, and much more.
You can buy Air Discover for Apple TV (about $4) from the Apple TV App Store.
Apple TV is a great way to check your security cameras while you're at home. And, because of the small size of Apple TV, you can also take it with you on the go and monitor what's happening while you're away.
Canary offers some of the best smart home security systems on the market, offering both indoor and outdoor cameras. Why Premium Accounts With Nest, Canary And More Are Worth It Why Are Premium Accounts With Nest, Canary And More Worth It In this article, you will learn more about the most popular home security cameras on the market today and the type of premium subscription plans they offer, if any. Read more . Thanks to the Canary Apple TV app, you can stream live from your camera as well as view saved recordings on your timeline.
The free Canary Apple TV app also lets you monitor every metric captured by Canary's HomeHealth data, including room temperature, humidity, and air quality.
A Canary starter pack is priced around $350 on the official Canary online store. Includes a canary and a canary.
The Nokia Home Cam app for Apple TV offers similar features for customers using your Home Cam. With the Apple TV companion app, you can watch HD streaming video Practical Uses for Your Home Surveillance Cameras Practical Uses for Your Home Surveillance Cameras Home surveillance cameras are becoming more popular with each passing year as technology improves and prices fall. Here are some practical uses for home security cameras, some of which may surprise you. Read More
You can also take advantage of the advanced baby and child monitor features that Home Cam offers.
The Nokia Home Cam - Video &Air Quality Monitor app allows you to view up to four cameras from your Apple TV at the same time. Like Canary, you can also access real-time air quality feedback to help keep your environment free of harmful toxins.
Priced around $200, Nokia's home video and air quality monitor is available through Nokia's website, on Amazon, and from other retailers.
Nokia Home - Video and Air Quality Monitor Nokia Home - Video and Air Quality Monitor Buy now on Amazon $69.99
Do you prefer to limit the number of Apple TV apps you use to perform various tasks? While there isn't yet a complete all-in-one smart home solution for Apple TV, there are at least two apps moving in that direction.
Looming offers compatibility with some of the most popular smart home products on the market. These include Apple HomeKit compatible devices such as:Phillips Hue lights, August Smart locks, Nanoleaf lights, Netatmo thermostats, and more.
With the Looming Apple TV app, you can create scenes for one-touch automation to use with your Apple TV remote or Siri.
Automation examples include:
About $2 is coming up in the Apple TV app store.
With Master Switch, you can control lights, switches, and other smart home products from your Apple “Hobby” device, including Philips Hue, LIFX, Belkin WeMo, and Apple HomeKit.
Features include the ability to dim individual or group lights, delay on/off actions for switched devices such as air conditioners, and more. While not as pretty as the one to come, this app is the perfect solution for users looking for simple automations or creating complex scenes.
Just like coming up, Master Switch is around $2 on the Apple TV app store.
As you can see, your Apple TV does much more than just let you watch Netflix or your favorite movie How to watch movies from Google Play on Apple TV How to watch movies from Google Play on Apple TV If you have purchased movies from YouTube or Google Play movies and want to watch them on your Apple TV, don't despair. Here are two methods that make this easy. Read more . You can also use it to control your smart home devices like lights, security cameras, and more.
The fourth and fifth generation Apple TV is available through Apple with prices starting at around $150 for the 32GB model.
What are your favorite apps for your Apple TV? Let us know using the comments below.
