How to Manage Apps on Apple TV

If you’re the kind of Apple TV user who has already figured out how to download apps from the App Store and uses your system to access all kinds of video contentthen you may already be suffering from Home Screen Confusion.

What’s That?

Home Screen Confusion is what happens when you have installed so many Apple TV apps you need to scroll frantically down the Home Screen to find the app you need. If you remember the name of the app you want to use you can ask Siri to launch it for you.

It is also sensible to learn how to move and delete apps, and organize them into folders on Apple TV using the remote. You’re in the right place to find out how this is done, all you need is one of your remote controls…

How to Move Apps Around

When you download apps to your Apple TV they will appear at the bottom of your Home Screen, just below the last app you downloaded. In time you may find the apps you most want to use are situated all over the place on the page, and you might want to place your most used apps at the top of the Home Screen. To achieve this you should follow these steps:

Using your Apple Siri Remote control (or an alternative) you should select the app you want to move.
On a Siri Remote or an alternative remote with a touch surface, you should now depress the touch surface until the app begins to move.
If you are using a remote that is not equipped with a touch surface then you should select the app and hold down the select button until the app begins to move.

You can now move the selected, vibrating app by swiping left, right, down or up on your touch surface, or by using the directional keys on other remotes.
Once you have moved your app to the position on the screen you prepare you just need to press the touch surface or press select once again to release the app.

Repeat these steps for each app you wish to move. You may find that as apps are moved to the top those situated lower down the list may move, so you may need to shift some apps two or more times to get the positioning you need.

This is also how to ensure your most popular apps (Netflix, for example) are stored on the top shelf of your Apple TV, enabling you to see previews and other content when that app is selected.

How to Delete Apps You Don’t Need

The amount of space on your Apple TV is limited so you should regularly review the apps you have installed on your system to make sure you still want them. There are two ways to delete apps you don’t use any more.

In Settings: Open Settings>General>Manage Storage. In the next screen you will be provided with a list of the apps you have installed on your Apple TV. You can easily delete unwanted apps by tapping the Trash icon to the right of the app name. You can also check how much space each app is using in order to protect yourself against unexpected space hogs.
In Home Screen: Select and hold an app icon using your remote control as described above, only this time once it begins to vibrate you should press the Play/Pause button and then choose Delete in the menu that appears.

How to Create and Use Folders

If you have gathered moderate to large collections of games, video, or even keep fit apps on your Apple TV, you may want to put them all inside folders to make them easier to find. You might save all your games inside a folder called, “Games”, for example. It is really easy to create folders on Apple TV.

To do so, follow the instructions for How to Move Apps Around as described above.
Once you have selected and are moving an app you just need to “drop” the app onto another similar app and a folder will be created.
You will be given the chance to name the folder and the two apps will then be tucked away inside of the folder.

Now you can identify, select and move other appropriate apps to the folder. You can even store folders in the top shelf for easy access. To move the app out of a folder, drag it out.