You recently purchased a brand-new Apple TV 4K, and now that the fundamentals have been configured, you may be wanting to download some of your favourite apps. Well, adding apps to Apple TV is actually fairly simple, and there are lots of ways to install apps and even effortlessly rearrange apps on the Apple TV 4K. So, here’s how to add apps to Apple TV, whether you want to play some incredible Apple TV games or install your favourite streaming services like Netflix.
Install Apps in Apple TV (tvOS) in 2022
We will cover all of it in this article, whether you’re looking to search and install a new app, re-download a previously used programme, or customise your tvOS home screen. As always, utilise the table of contents below to jump to any part you’re interested in learning more about.
How to Add Apps in Apple TV
Let’s start by looking at how to add new (and already downloaded) apps to your Apple TV. On Apple TV, we’ll look at both downloading and re-downloading apps.
Install New Apps on Apple TV
- On your Apple TV, open the App Store.
- Here, you can check out the best apps according to Apple in the Discover tab, or head over to any of the other tabs to see apps, games, Apple Arcade games for Apple TV, and more.
- Head over to the Search icon in the Apple TV.
- You can now type to search the app you want, or press and hold the mic icon in the Apple TV remote to dictate the app you are searching for. In this example, we will search and install Just Watch .
- Once you ve typed (or spoken) the name of the app, select it from the results below.
- Press the middle button on the remote to open the app s App Store page, and then click on the Get button. In case it s an app you ve previously downloaded, you will see the re-download icon instead (cloud with a down arrow icon).
Note:Before downloading the app, your Apple TV might prompt you to confirm your Apple ID password. The password is simple to type on your iPhone. Additionally, you may control your Apple TV with your iPhone.
How to Re-download Apps
You can still access an app that you previously purchased or downloaded on your Apple TV 4K but later removed. Here’s how to find previously used paid apps on your Apple TV or search for them in tvOS 15 to re-download them.
Re-download apps by searching
- Open the App Store, and head to the search tab.
- Here, search for the app you want to download again. For this example, I will be reinstalling the Prime Video app.
- Open the app s App Store page, and you will see the re-download icon as shown in the screenshot below. Simply click on this icon to reinstall the app on your Apple TV.
Find purchased apps in the App Store
You can simply locate all of your previously used, downloaded, or paid apps even if you can’t recall their exact name. The best thing is that if you’ve used the app on one Apple TV connected to your Apple ID but not on another, it will still appear on any other Apple TVs connected to that same Apple ID.
- Open the App Store, and head to the Purchased tab.
- Here, you can use the filters on the left of the screen to easily find the app you re looking for.
- Recently Purchased: these are apps you ve recently downloaded, regardless of whether they are currently installed or not.
- Not on This TV: these are the apps that are in your library, but have not been installed.
- All Apps: these are all the apps you have ever purchased or downloaded on any Apple TV connected with your Apple ID, regardless of whether they are currently installed or not.
- Find the app you want to install by navigating through the Purchased section, and open its App Store listing.
- Then, click on the re-download icon to reinstall the app on Apple TV.
That completes the installation of the app on your Apple TV; it will now appear on your home screen.
How to Rearrange Apps on Home Screen in tvOS 15
Your home screen could appear a little busy now that you’ve installed a lot of your favourite Apple TV apps. Perhaps you want to organise your apps according to how frequently you use them, or perhaps you just want to refresh your top row so your favourite apps can provide content recommendations. Here’s how to reorder apps on the tvOS 15 home screen in either case.
- Select the app you want to move and long press the center button on your Apple TV remote. The app will start jiggling.
- You can now move the app around on the home screen and place it wherever you like.
How to Create Folders in Apple TV Home Screen
On the home page of your Apple TV, you may create folders for even better organisation. This is how to go about it.
- Long press on an app to enter jiggle mode.
- Move the app such that it hovers over another app on the home screen. In a second or two, tvOS will create a folder as you can see in the GIF below.
- Simply press the center button on the remote to add the app to the folder, and that s it.
Bonus: Switch Between Open Apps and Force Quit Apps on Apple TV
Did you know that the Apple TV allows for multitasking? Yes, you can, and doing it is actually very simple. And if an app isn’t working properly, you can very easily force shut it on Apple TV.
- Double press the TV button on the Apple TV remote. This will open up the recent apps screen on your Apple TV.
- You can now swipe through the app cards to switch to a different app.
- What s more, you can select an app in the recents app screen and then swipe up on your Apple TV remote trackpad, and it will quit the app. This is similar to how it works on an iPhone, so it s quite intuitive.
Get Your Favourite Apple TV Apps Right Now
In order to gather all your favourite smart TV apps in one location, this is how you can effortlessly add apps to Apple TV. Additionally, you may rearrange the apps on your home screen so that the ones you use the most prominently are at the top, and you can even make folders for better organisation. What applications do you run on your Apple TV? Please tell us in the comments. You should also have a look at the 25 Best Apple Arcade Games on Apple TV in the interim.