How to use Siri on the Apple TV

It had a slow start and felt like an Apple hobby rather than a product they took seriously. But the Apple TV has improved vastly in features and content since its inception and is widely regarded to be one of the best quality streaming devices on the market.

The Apple TV also provides seamless interaction with Siri.

Where is Siri available on the Apple TV?

Siri can be used on the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV (4th generation) in these countries, regions, and languages:

Australia — English, Brazil — Portuguese, Canada — English and French, France — French, Germany — German, Japan — Japanese, Mexico — Spanish, Netherlands — Dutch, Norway — Norwegian Bokmål, Spain — Spanish, Sweden — Swedish, UK — English, US — English, and Spanish.

How to turn Siri on and off on an Apple TV?

To enable or disable Siri features on your Apple TV, go to:

Settings > General > Siri.

Activating and using Siri

Hold down the Siri button on the Apple TV Remote, say what you want, then let go of the Siri button.

Siri searches many apps (compatible apps will depend on your country) and shows your viewing options or the answer to your question.

Siri on the Apple TV doesn't give audio feedback but displays text on the screen; this is to avoid interrupting your viewing or listening.

If you press and release the Siri button, Siri will give you ideas on what you can use it for.

Searching for movies and TV shows with Siri

You can search content on your Apple TV by:

• Title
• Genre
• Cast
• Rating
• Age
• Popularity
• Director
• Actors

For example:

Find Star Wars

Show me some fantasy movies

Show me moves starring Jennifer Lawrence

Find me popular TV shows

Show me new releases

Find me new movies in 4k

Once you have the results of your search, you can refine them by asking:

Only ones from this year

Only dramas

If you're not sure what you want to watch, you can ask Siri to make some suggestions for you, even narrowing it down to a particular genre:

Show me something new

Show me something funny

Controlling an Apple TV with Siri

Use simple commands to control an Apple TV.

Play

Pause

Skip back**forward 5 minutes**seconds

Start from the beginning

Saying 'What did he/she say?' will skip back 15 seconds and turn on the subtitles.

If you're having trouble understanding what characters are saying on screen, or wish to watch in a foreign language with subtitles, try these phrases:

Turn on Subtitles

Turn on Closed Captioning

Using Siri with Apple Music

If you have a subscription to Apple Music, it's possible to search and play music via your Apple TV.

Siri can search for music using artist names, song titles, album titles, genres, and years.

Play music from U2

Play the latest Adele album

Play All I want for Christmas

Play songs from the 1970s

Play the top dance songs

Play the number one song from 2010

To control music once it's playing:

Play the next song

Skip this song

Play a song by a similar artist

Add this song to my library

Shuffle Adele songs

Siri can also play a radio station or create one for you:

Play country radio

Create a radio station based on Titanium

Other things Siri can do on the Apple TV

Besides being able to search and control TV, movies, and music, Siri offers a few other valuable services.

Check the weather

Siri can check the weather locally and worldwide to the same extent it can on the iPhone or iPad.

How warm is it today?

How's the weather in Seattle?

When is sunrise in Berlin?

Check stock prices

Find prices for stocks and worldwide markets.

How's Google stock today?

How is the FTSE 100 doing today?

Check sports results

Find out the latest scores and ask for information about players and teams.

Who won the World Cup?

Open and search for apps and content

Open installed apps on your Apple TV.

Open Netflix

Open Settings

Open Photos

Find lifestyle apps

Find podcasts about movies

Search YouTube for move trailers

Find cooking tips on YouTube