How to control Apple TV with your iPhone

One of the joys of Apple TV has always been how smoothly it links our digital tech to our tellies. While it’s wonderful for streaming Netflix, Apple Movies and TV, iTunes, BBC iPlayer, and NOW TV to our big screens, being able to beam your own photos and video up there too makes it extra special.

And if you love your movies and telly BIG as well as your touchscreen, then the launch of the Apple TV 4K will have been just as exciting as that of the iPhone X. With four times more pixels than standard HD when hooked up to a 4K TV, it’s never been more appealing. It also comes with the new voice-activated Siri Remote. Ask Siri, and you shall receive the entertainment of your choice.

But no matter which model of Apple TV you own, searching for and controlling content can be made easier and breezier when you add a keyboard and a trackpad to your toolkit. And if you’ve upgraded to iOS11, it’s even quicker.

Follow these simple steps and you can use your iPhone or iPad to control Apple TV.

Firstly, you’re going to need to download the Remote app to your iPhone. Find it here – you can install it on your iPad too, if you want to.

Once it’s on your device, you’ll need to turn your attention to Apple TV.

– Open up Settings and select Accounts, then Home Sharing. Turn Home Sharing to ‘On‘.

– When prompted, enter your Apple ID, then select ‘Continue‘.

– Now, enter your Apple password, and select ‘Sign In‘.

– Now, open up the Remote app on your iPhone (or iPad).

– Select ‘Set Up Home Sharing‘.

– You’ll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password.

You can swipe around the middle of the screen to move the cursor, and hold down the ‘Menu’ button to go straight to the Home screen. The control buttons let you play, pause, stop, rewind (you know the drill), and if you tap the keyboard icon in the top left corner, you can now type things into the Search bar. Just think – you’ll never have to hunt down the back of the sofa ever again.