6 Useful Accessories For Your Apple TV 4K

There are a lot of smart TV devices out there, from Roku to the Amazon Fire Stick, and modern televisions have been loaded up with so many streaming services that it almost makes the need for an external gadget seem nonexistent. However, there is one smart TV box that really stands above the rest, and that is the Apple TV 4K. Not only does it give you access to all of your favorite streaming services, but it also connects you to all the media stored in your Apple account — be it movies, music, or photos, along with games, guided workouts, and so much more. Oh, and it can handle 4K quality with Dolby Vision, HDR, and Dolby Atmos.

Many Apple TV users only pair one thing with the device: The remote that comes with the box. That makes sense, but there are tons of other accessories that can make your Apple TV experience better, and not just electronics either. In this list, we run down six different accessories available for your Apple TV 4K that you may want to pick up. We chose them based on actual user experience and reviews from various publications.

If you already have an Apple TV 4K, chances are pretty good that you've invested in the Apple ecosystem with iPhones and MacBooks. If you're one of these people, you may also already have yourself a pair of AirPods Max. Watching TV with Bluetooth headphones can be a tricky proposition, as they tend to have latency issues when paired directly with a television (that's why most of the best wireless headphones for TV audio are RF headphones). However, Bluetooth works well when paired with an Apple TV, which reduces latency issues, and one of the best Bluetooth headphone sets on the market is the AirPods Max.

The first major selling point of these headphones is rather obvious — they have active noise cancellation, and being able to shut out the world for whatever you're watching can make the experience all the better. The other benefit is that they can handle Dolby Atmos-enabled media, giving you about as dynamic of a listening experience as you can get with a pair of headphones. AirPods Max do cost a pretty penny at $549, but the quality you're getting while staying within the Apple ecosystem makes that price worth it. Of course, you don't have to spring for a new pair — any model of AirPods, like the forthcoming AirPods 4, is able to pair with the Apple TV 4K. Frankly, any Bluetooth headphones you have should be able to pair with the device.

One of the more underutilized features on the Apple TV is the ability to play games. Because you have access to the Apple App Store, you have thousands upon thousands of options at your disposal, both paid and free. The reason why it's such an overlooked feature is because most people just have their standard Apple TV remote, which isn't exactly compatible with games unless their mechanics are incredibly simplistic. Well, it turns out that you can use other devices in its place. Thanks to Bluetooth, you can pair your PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller with your Apple TV 4K for the best playing experience.

Like the Apple AirPods Max, you might already have one of these controllers if you're a PlayStation owner, meaning you get to expand the use of your Apple TV 4K at no additional cost to yourself. If you're not a PlayStation owner, you can purchase one of these gamepads for $74.99 at the most basic level. It's not the only game controller that can pair with an Apple TV 4K, and in terms of price, it is on the higher end. But if you want to jump into the world of PlayStation or even play a controller-supported game on the App Store or Arcade, it's one of the best on the market.

Television setups vary wildly from person to person. Some like a big entertainment center with designated spots for every single device attached to their TV. Some just plop their TV onto any table or dresser that fits it. Others mount their TVs to the wall and prefer a clean look with no extraneous wires coming out of it. When you connect something like an Apple TV 4K, you have to deal with HDMI and power cables, which can disrupt that illusion of a TV floating on your wall. You have to hide that Apple TV behind your television, but you don't just want to crudely tape it to the back. It could fall off, or possibly overheat. This is where a company like TotalMount comes into play with its Pro Apple TV Installation System.

These mounts fasten to the back of your television, allowing you to easily slide your Apple TV 4K into a perfectly-fitted slot. It attaches with simple adhesives, and the model is also designed to manage your device's heat, allowing for enough airflow to keep your it working properly. Because of the Apple TV's shape, you can mount it in any direction you need to best access your television's HDMI ports. Apple sells the TotalMount on its site for $39.95, and it also comes with a mount for your remote.

The Apple TV 4K isn't the only thing you can mount to your television — you can also attach your iPhone. Granted, this is a much more specialized circumstance. But in certain settings, you can use the Belkin iPhone Mount to interact with your Apple TV in a way you may not have realized is possible.

Why would you want to do this? The primary reason has to do with video calling. Whether you're using Apple's FaceTime feature or a video conferencing platform like Zoom, you can place your iPhone on top of your television and use it as a webcam while the people you're talking with stream to your screen. This is most obviously useful in a business setting, where you want to get multiple people in the same office in one camera frame rather than having every single person sequestered in their own setting. However, this could also be useful at home, like when a family contacts another family member who couldn't make it to the get-together. You might also just struggle to see the smaller iPhone screen and want to converse with someone on a large television. Whatever the reason may be, you can pick up a Belkin iPhone Mount for $49.99.

If you're someone who travels a lot, you've no doubt faced the perils of arriving at your hotel or homestay and realizing that the television options are either extremely limited or totally nonexistent. The channel selection could be very slim, or you have to sign-in to your streaming account on a device that's not yours, potentially compromising your password on a public machine. These circumstances can be totally eliminated if you just simply bring your Apple TV 4K with you and connect to whatever television you encounter in your travels. The problem is that there is quite a bit to carry in this scenario — you have the Apple TV itself, plus the remote, the HDMI cable, and the power cord. It can get unwieldy if not packed correctly. Thankfully, one company has a solution: the RLSOCO Hard Case for Apple TV 4K.

Retailing for just $18.99, this is a specially designed case that has one side dedicated to securely holding your Apple TV and remote in place, while the other keeps your two cables in netting. It is very simple but effective. Plus, this is a hard case design, giving your device extra protection if you're dealing with some particularly rocky travel accommodations like turbulence or even a stuffed suitcase. With an overall Amazon customer rating of 4.7 stars, this RLSOCO case is a great way to vastly improve your on-the-road TV experience.

The Apple TV remote is incredibly simple and easy to use. Whether it is the earlier model with the larger trackpad or the current one with directional buttons, it's amazing what you can do with such a small device. If there is one issue with the Apple TV remote, though, it's the size. Because it's so narrow and so thin, it can easily slip away from you and wind up in places that you never wanted it to be. You also may not feel like you have a firm grip on the thin remote — it feels like it might snap if you hold it too tightly or break if you drop it. Like you would with an iPhone, you can get yourself a case for your Apple TV 4K remote, and one of the best out there is Elago's R1 Intelli Case.

This case is made from a thick silicone that gives you the best possible grip on your remote. If you're worried that a case like this will block off the Siri button on the side that allows you voice control of your Apple TV 4K, you don't need to worry — it has a perfectly cut hole so you can access it. Elago sells its R1 Intelli case for just $12.99 on its website, but you can grab it for even cheaper on Amazon for $9.99, where it has an overall average customer rating of 4.7 stars across over 5,500 ratings.

There are plenty of other accessories available for your Apple TV 4K, particularly from brands offering similar products. Several companies, for instance, make cases for the Siri remote and compatible game controllers. In order to narrow things down to these six accessories, we took a few different factors into consideration. 

The first was personal experience. As an Apple TV 4K owner who uses it on a daily basis, I've used the AirPods and PlayStation DualSense controller very often with great results. Beyond that, reviews from publications like Make Use Of were used to aid in the expansion of this list. Lastly, we looked to customer reviews on sites like Amazon because they represent the opinions of people who actually use these accessories regularly rather than just for the trial period required to write a published review. Using all three of these factors together, we were able to put together some semblance of a consensus and narrow down the candidates for our list.