Apple TV

How to control volume with your Apple TV remote

By

One Remote To Rule Them All
All hail the mighty Siri Remote.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

You can set up your Apple TV to control volume on a separate sound system, like a sound bar. It may not work out of the box, but poking around in Settings, you can use the convenient volume buttons built into the Siri Remote.

If you have a separate sound system or an older television, the volume buttons on your Apple TV remote may not work directly. You don’t have to keep two or three remotes sitting around — you can make it all work from just one. It just takes a little setup

Through Wednesday only: Up to 83% off Apple accessories

By

Apple MagSafe Duo wireless charger
You can get a MagSafe Duo wireless charger for iPhone and Apple Watch for 38% off.
Photo: Apple

Amazon bargain site Woot! is offering deep discounts, anywhere from 13% to 83% off, on dozens of Apple accessories and a few choice items like Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Pro — but only until Wednesday at 9:59 p.m. PT.

As of Tuesday morning, one item had sold out and 52 remained, including accessories for iPhone, Apple Watch, AirTag, AirPods and more. See some highlights below.

More Messi: 2024 MLS Season Pass opens to new subscriptions

By

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
MLS Season Pass gives fans access to every MLS game, in-depth analysis and exclusive content.
Photo: Apple

Major League Soccer’s 29th season kicks off February 21 on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, but fans can subscribe to the service starting Monday, Apple said.

International superstar Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami CF late last season, so 2024 will see his first full season with the club, and fans can also check out a variety of exclusive content.

Apple pitches Vision Pro as ‘ultimate entertainment device’

By

Apple Vision Pro Environments
Environments are dynamic vistas in your space that change as the day progresses.
Photo: Apple

New entertainment experiences launching with Apple Vision Pro on February 2 should be dazzling, as users can turn any space into a personal theater, enjoy more than 150 3D movies and experience “the future of entertainment” with Immersive Video, Apple said Tuesday.

“Apple Vision Pro is the ultimate entertainment device,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. “Users can turn any place into the best seat in the house, enjoy personal concerts and adventures with Apple Immersive Video, interact with lifelike prehistoric creatures in Encounter Dinosaurs, and even land on the surface of the moon using Environments. It’s unlike anything users have ever seen before and we can’t wait for them to experience it for themselves.”

Zoom video-chat app launches on Apple TV [Awesome Apps]

By

Zoom for Apple TV
You can now make Zoom calls on your biggest screen via Apple TV.
Photo: Zoom/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsFrom the “better late than never” category, a version of the Zoom video conferencing app has launched for Apple TV. This means it’s now easier to make Zoom calls using a TV’s large display.

Turns out the long wait was actually Apple’s fault.

Apple Black Friday deals: AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad and more [Held over!]

By

Illustrative graphic with the text 'Best Apple Black Friday deals'
There are some great deals to be had on Apple gear and accessories during the 2023 Black Friday sales.
Photo: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Update: Black Friday might be over but the deals certainly are not. Many of the best deals on Apple products are still live and you can score some hefty discounts on them this shopping season. In fact, some of these deals disappeared for a while on Black Friday — like the iPad (9th gen) for just $229 (save $100) — then reappeared at some point!

For starters, don’t miss this killer deal on AirPods Pro 2 (with USB-C) for just $189 (save $60) — this is the best price we’ve seen on the best AirPods you can get. Plus, Apple Watch SE (2nd gen., 2022) is down to just $179 (save $70) — the SE is a great gift for someone this Xmas. Or, if you are shopping for yourself, the latest Apple Watch Series 9 is just $329 (save $70).

There are lots of great Apple deals to be had on Black Friday 2023 — just not from Apple itself. Apple is usually pretty stingy when it comes to Black Friday (Tim Cook loves his margins!). This year, you can get an Apple gift card worth up to $200 when you splash out on select products, but the latest and greatest — iPhone 15, M3 MacBook Pros, iMac, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 — are not included.

However, there are great savings on Apple products from third-party retailers like Best Buy, B&H Photo, Target and Walmart. All these stores offer significant discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPads, iPhones and more. Here are the best deals on Apple gear we’ve found.

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

Apple accessories blowout sale: Get up to 90% off iPhone cases and more

By

Woot Apple accessories sale
Here's your chance to bag great deals on Apple accessories.
Photo: Woot!

Amazon bargain site Woot! launched an Apple accessories sale with something for almost everyone — and deals as good as 90% off certain iPhone cases and 61% off an Apple Thunderbolt 3 Pro cable.

But with 49 products on sale, that’s just a taste. Act fast, the sale ends November 10 at 9:59 p.m. PT.

How to find your lost Apple TV remote

By

Where’s The Clicker?
A modern solution to an age-old problem.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

How can you find a lost Apple TV remote? Whether it’s wedged between the cushions or kicked far under the couch, a handy-dandy new feature in iOS 17 and tvOS 17 lets you find the remote using your iPhone.

The mind races when one imagines how many hours of human life might have been saved if everyone had this feature 30 years ago.

Sure, you can take the L and simply use your iPhone or Apple Watch to control your Apple TV. But I like having the physical remote on hand, too. Let me show you how to find it.

Apple adds 100+ podcasts with improved access

By

iOS 17 gives Apple Podcasts users a refreshed player and queue, episode art, search filters and the ability to connect subscriptions to top apps.
iOS 17 gives Apple Podcasts users a refreshed player and queue, episode art, search filters and the ability to connect subscriptions to top apps.
Photo: Apple

Now you can listen to more than 100 new podcasts from various apps and services in Apple Podcasts, the company said Tuesday.

“Subscribers to Apple Music, Apple News+ and participating apps like Calm and Lingokids can connect their subscriptions to access new shows and more,” Apple noted.

Mark your calendars for iPhone 15 launch [The CultCast]

By

iPhone 15: Coming soon! The CultCast logo, episode 607.
What will iPhone 15 look like? We're about to find out.
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Looks like we have an iPhone 15 launch date. An early hint pinpointed September 13, but now it looks like the big reveal might come a day earlier. Mark your calendars (but maybe use a pencil rather than a Sharpie).

Also on The CultCast:

  • We take a closer look at what the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 Bionic chip can do.
  • Apple’s working on a wide array of M3 Macs — here’s a rundown. Plus, the M3 Max chip sounds particularly beastly.
  • Total Mac aficionado Griffin explains why an iPad makes a better choice than a MacBook Air for college students.
  • Apple TV 4K is about to get a sweet upgrade just for AirPods fans.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Introvert Marcie takes center stage in new Peanuts trailer

By

You remember Marcie, don't you? She's the smart, quiet one.
You remember Marcie, don't you? She's the smart, quiet one.
Photo: Apple

“Sometimes, the people who make the biggest difference aren’t the ones who grab the spotlight,” Apple TV+ said Wednesday, when it dropped a trailer for a new Peanuts special focusing on the introverted character Marcie and all the behind-the-scenes work she does.

Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie premieres Friday, August 18.

Get organized with Function101 accessories at 20% off

By

You can use the BentoStack to neatly store you Apple accessories (and charge them).
You can use the BentoStack to neatly store you Apple accessories (and charge them).
Photo: Function101

Do you ever feel like you could be neater and less disorganized? Some of us always feel like that. But plenty of tools exist to help you get organized, like the Function101 accessories listed for 20% this week in the Cult of Mac Store.

You can find 10 helpful items in the Function101 collection, from desktop organizers to cable-management must-haves. See some highlights of the sale below. The sale runs through July 5.

Apple is reportedly working on iMac with 30-inch-plus screen

By

New iMac with 30-inch display in development
Would you buy an iMac with a 30-inch+ display?
Photo/Graphics: Apple/Rajesh

Aside from the inevitable iPhone refresh (and the headset everyone’s buzzing about), Apple reportedly has several other major new products lined up for launch in 2023 and the first half of 2024. This includes revamped iPad Pros with OLED displays, new Macs powered by a next-gen M3 processor and an upgrade to the Apple Watch Ultra.

Apple also is supposedly in the early stages of developing an iMac with a display that measures more than 30 inches.

Juliette discovers the big lie this week on Silo [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

By

Common and Iain Glen in ★★★★☆
Sims (played by Common, left) thinks maybe Juliette's dad Peter (Iain Glen) can help the authorities find her.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Juliette is on the lam this week in the penultimate installment of Silo’s first season. The Apple TV+ sci-fi show, about the woman who discovers a massive conspiracy in the equally massive underground bunker containing the last dregs of humanity, finds Juliette looking for help and hope in all the strangest places.

Sims, Bernard and Billings all sweat her escape and what it might mean for the future of the silo in a white-knuckle episode entitled “The Getaway.”

High Desert makes a mad dash for the finish line [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

By

Patricia Arquette and Rupert Friend in ★★★★☆
Everyone seems to be running from something in the High Desert season finale.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s noir comedy High Desert comes to a close this week with a nicely judged final half-hour where streams and plots cross.

Arman and Heather, the Gatchis, Carol and Denny are all looking for Peggy in the High Desert season finale, entitled “I Need a Hero.” Can Peggy make up for a lifetime of misbehaving and lying and self-interest in one gesture? It’s a perfectly ridiculous ending to this laconic, if fast-talking, crime saga.

In search of the perfect podcast? Now it’s easier to find.

By

Nine new subcategories of Podcasts with their own popularity charts help you narrow down the search.
Nine new subcategories of Podcasts with their own popularity charts help you narrow down the search.
Photo: Apple

If you feel lost in a sea of podcasts without a paddle, Apple offered some new rowing implements Tuesday. After all, navigating podcasts can feel as hopeless as floundering among streaming TV shows and movies.

The company said Apple Podcasts will elevate nine “new and noteworthy” subcategories for browsing, plus related popularity charts and the new Podcasts by Language browsing tool.

Silo starts to give up its horrible secrets [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

By

Avi Nash and Rebecca Ferguson in ★★★★☆
Lukas (played by Avi Nash, left) and Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) stumble upon something strange.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Silo, the hit Apple TV+ series about people dwelling in a titanic subterranean structure years after an apocalyptic event turned Earth’s air toxic, begins its final act this week.

Juliette discovers a horrible clue hidden in the memory of someone who can’t access it. And a risky mission will put her in close proximity to the one person she doesn’t want to see, but it’s now or never time in the silo.

The episode, entitled “The Flamekeepers,” is a very well-handled lynchpin episode of Silo.

City on Fire lights a fuse and hopes for the best this week [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

By

Wyatt Oleff in ★★★☆☆
Will Charlie (played by Wyatt Oleff) ever get to the bottom of Sam's shooting?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Apple TV+ drama City on Fire drops a bomb this week.

Charlie and Keith meet up under less-than-ideal circumstances, while Sam fights for her life. Nicky and Sol have one last missive for the city of New York — and the fat cat who set them up. And William has one more act left in his life as an amateur detective — and a family to reunite.

This week’s episode, entitled “The Demon Brother,” is full of engaging, but deeply ridiculous, stuff.

Silo thrills with action and conspiracies [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

By

Rebecca Ferguson in ★★★
Sheriff Juliette Nichols (played by Rebecca Ferguson) just keeps getting deeper down the rabbit hole of silo conspiracies.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Apple TV+ dystopian sci-fi hit Silo sends Juliette out on her second day as sheriff and into a minefield this week.

The show, about the last few thousand people on earth living inside a massive underground structure, unveils more tentacles of its political conspiracy. When Juliette and her new deputy look into the murder of their predecessors, they find corruption and lies in every corner they search. The episode, entitled “The Janitor’s Boy,” is a thrilling chapter in the Silo saga.

City on Fire dishes out clues and catastrophes [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

By

Wyatt Oleff and Chase Sui Wonders in ★★★★☆
Charlie (played by Wyatt Oleff, left) is desperate to figure out who shot his friend Sam (Chase Sui Wonders), and why they did it.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewCity on Fire, the new Apple TV+ drama about a web of connections that expands from the attempted murder of an NYU student, nears what looks like a breakthrough this week.

Charlie finds a roll of undeveloped film that’s a missing piece of the puzzle surrounding the near-death of Samantha, the object of his affection. Nicky thinks he has the upper hand, but learns he’ll always be someone’s patsy. Plus, Keith and Regan follow a lead to a dead end, and Amory starts to sweat.

Entitled “Brass Tactics,” it’s an action-packed episode with few of City on Fire’s usual misplaced steps.

Drops of God prepares for its final showdown [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

By

Fleur Geffrier and Tomohisa Yamashita in ★★★★☆
Camille (played by Fleur Geffrier, left) and Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita) get ready for their third wine-soaked challenge.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review This week on Drops of God, the excellent Apple TV+ show about two people competing for the title of greatest sommelier on earth, Camille and Issei consider their places in the world — and in their family lines.

Issei, fuming over a secret long kept, needs to focus for the final challenge. Camille, weighing an impulsive business decision, wonders what the next step for her will be, no matter whether she wins or loses.