There are a few other tasks your Apple TV can handle.
If you’ve upgraded your Apple TV 4K to the latest generation, it’s really best to repurpose the old device if you can. As streaming add-ons go, the product has always been overbuilt, no matter that you’re now paying $300 for the privilege. Tossing out an old Apple TV because you’ve got a replacement is a bit like tossing a Swiss Army knife because the new one has a few extra tools.
The catch is that an Apple TV isn’t a generic Android box. It’s running tvOS on custom Apple silicon, so you can’t just flash it and run whatever software you like. If you’re going to reuse it, you have to get creative, working within Apple’s walled garden.
This is where the device’s excessive power comes in handy. There are a few things you can do with an older model, ranging from the obvious — moving it to a secondary TV — to using it to anchor your other smart home accessories.
The many things your old Apple TV 4K can do
If you’ve got any secondary TVs in your home, even a 2017 Apple TV might be an upgrade. I find tvOS to be a lot smoother to use than its rivals, partly because it has far fewer ads or forced recommendations. It’s probably a great upgrade for a child’s TV, or that small set you just mounted in your garage gym — where the main concern is going to be loading Rocky IV as quickly as possible, not whether you can watch with HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos.
It’s also worth remembering that unlike other streaming devices, an Apple TV 4K can run games you’d actually want to play, including console-style titles like Dead Cells, Inside or Wreckfest. You might intentionally buy a small TV or monitor for it. It’s wise to pair an Xbox or PlayStation controller, though, since few games work well with just the Siri Remote. The big exception to this is the many Jackbox party games available on the platform, which players can join simply by visiting a website on their phone. If you haven’t tried one, I highly recommend it.
Another secret weapon is AirPlay. If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you can use AirPlay to mirror screen content to a TV in order to get work (or fun) done on a much larger canvas. There are a few important notes to make, however. First, an Apple TV may be redundant in this regard, since a lot of TVs now support AirPlay out of the box. Second, there’s inherent lag in wireless casting, so AirPlay isn’t going to be a viable option for action games like Resident Evil 4. Lastly, AirPlay mirroring doesn’t preserve features like Dolby Vision, so you should always stream movies and shows locally on an Apple TV if you can.
The smart home angle
One particularly good reason to leave an Apple TV connected, even if you never switch inputs, is to have another Home Hub for HomeKit, Apple’s smart home platform. HomeKit is technically usable without a Hub — but having one might as well be mandatory, since it’s what enables remote access and allows automations to trigger 24/7.
While you can also use HomePods and HomeViews for this purpose, the more Hubs you have, the better. That’s because one can take over if another disconnects or needs to be updated. Although these problems may not be frequent, that’s cold comfort if you’re counting on HomeKit to adjust the temperature or trigger room lighting.
Apple TVs also serve as Matter controllers, allowing them to pair Matter-ready accessories with HomeKit. Second-, fourth- and some third-generation models can act additionally act as Thread border routers, bridging compatible accessories with each other and the internet. You most definitely want as many Thread devices in your home as possible, because the more you have, the more resilient and responsive the Thread mesh network becomes. That could count for a lot if Apple doesn’t lose its reborn interest in smart home tech.
