I found 5 hidden shortcuts for my Apple TV 4K that make it so much easier to use — here's how to use them

1. Quickly go to the Home Screen

One of the most frustrating things about Apple TV is the constant cycling backwards through menus in order to reach the Home Screen. Sometimes, you just want to be able to press a single button and view all of your apps again. So can that be done? Quick answer: yes!

Simply open the Settings app and select Remotes and devices then click TV Button to set it to Home Screen. Now when you press the TV button on the Remote, you will instantly go back to the Home Screen instead of opening Apple TV which is the default setting for this button.

2. Put apps into folders

The Apple TV interface can soon become cluttered but there are ways to help you better navigate the Home Screen. For starters, place your favorite apps in the top row of the Home Screen so that they are easily to hand. You can also highlight this row of icons to see a preview of the content.

More notably, however, you can also place apps into folders.

To move an app, you need to press and hold on the clickpad or touch surface of your remote and select Edit Home Screen. The clickpad or touch surface can then be used to drag an app icon around.

But if you select Move to and then select New Folder, you can begin to group your apps together in any way you wish (for example, by putting all the video apps in one folder). You’ll also be given the option to name the folder for easier identification.

3. Change the top row to Continue Watching

The Apple TV app uses the top row (or top shelf as it’s known) to promote shows it thinks you would like to use. This means you’ve got to put in a bit more effort to continue watching shows that you’ve already invested in but help is at hand.

If you open the Settings app and select Apps then choose TV, you can set Top Shelf to Continue Watching instead. Now when you open the Apple TV app, you can quickly pick up where you left off.

4. Make it easier to input letters

Entering text on an Apple TV 4K fills me with dread mainly because it’s just so fiddly. Thankfully there is a great workaround for this: you can use your iPhone or iPad as a keyboard. As long as your devices are signed into the same Apple Account and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled on the iPad or iPhone, then a notification will appear whenever a text field is present on screen.

There are times, however, when you don’t have your iPhone and iPad to hand (yes, shock, horror). So, if you’re relying on using the remote for text-entry, at least alter the keyboard layout so you’re not scrolling through a linear line of letters.

For this, open the Settings app, select General and choose Keyboard Layout then, from the options, select Grid.

5. Use the Control Center

You don’t necessarily need to open the Settings app to make quick changes. You can press and hold the TV button on the Remote to open Control Center instead.

From here, you can turn your Apple TV 4K off, change your Wi-Fi or Ethernet settings, activate Do Not Disturb so your viewing pleasure isn’t interrupted by notifications, and decide which speakers or headphones you wish to use.

The Control Center also lets you set a sleep timer and open game controller settings. There’s a search engine too so you can type or dictate any queries.