MagSafe-compatible Belkin mount turns iPhone into a webcam for your Apple TV 4K

When you pair your iPhone with the new Apple TV, you are been able to bring your family and friends – bigger and more life-like – into your living room. Thanks to the Continuity Camera feature of the latest tvOS, you can have FaceTime calls from the iPhone synced with the TV to enhance your video calling experience.

Now to help take this experience a ‘mount higher,’ Apple is making available a Belkin MagSafe-compatible mount that makes using the iPhone-enabled feature more convenient. The new Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe seamlessly converts the iPhone into a webcam for the Apple 4K TV.

Designer: Belkin

According to the information on Belkin’s website, the versatile mount can be fixed directly to your TV (with a thickness of up to 40mm without wires or tools) to help you use your iPhone’s rear camera for FaceTime or Zoom calls. When you don’t want to use it as a TV mount, you can fold it up to use as an iPhone stand in landscape or portrait mode on a table or wall (via magnetic attachment).

This is not Belkin’s first mount of this kind in any way, it has previously provided a similar mount for iMac and Apple’s external displays. This Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Apple TV 4K is a versatile option that offers negative-20 and 30-degree tilt to place the iPhone at a perfect angle during calls.

The new mount/stand, offered in durable metal construction and premium finish, is now available online from the Belkin website for $49.95. The MagSafe-compatible mount comes with a 2-year warranty and makes for an effective way to let your iPhone and TV work in harmony to make the video calling experience larger than life for you.

The post MagSafe-compatible Belkin mount turns iPhone into a webcam for your Apple TV 4K first appeared on Yanko Design.

Here’s the Apple TV remote that Apple should have made a long time ago

In what seems like a rather cruel joke, Apple unveiled the AirTag at the same time as they debuted their new Apple TV remote… while conveniently forgetting to build a tracking chip into the sleek remote. Apple lets you track all your devices on their Find My network – from phones to laptops, to watches and even AirPods… but the TV remote – a device that’s almost certain to get lost, misplaced, or slip into the crevasses of your sofa? Well, you better not lose it because it’s un-trackable.

Almost instantly, companies and creators began building workarounds – remote cases with dedicated slots to put an AirTag of your own. Most of them are made from plastic or silicon, and you can even 3D print your own if you want. Nomad, however, designed a case with a difference. It comes made from Horween leather, looking like something you’d put on an iPhone. Beautiful to look at and smooth to the touch, Nomad’s Leather Cover for the ‘Siri Remote’ looks a lot like something Apple should have designed in the first place… apart from actually putting a UWB tracking chip inside the remote, of course.

Designer: Nomad

Nomad’s Leather Case is a slick-looking number that, aside from giving your Apple TV remote tracking abilities, also makes it a tad thicker so it’s actually more comfortable to hold and operate. The case forms a slim bezel around your remote, and discreetly hides an AirTag in the ‘floor space’ below.

The $39.59 case comes made from Horween Leather, known for being one of the highest-quality leathers globally. The leather outer feels great against the skin (as opposed to the cold metal finish of the existing remote), while a microfiber inner layer actually protects both the remote and the AirTag from getting scratched, scuffed, or damaged. Moreover, the leather actually patinas over time, becoming more and more unique and individualistic… something that should come through pretty well because you’re probably not going to upgrade your Apple TV for at least 3-4 years.

Just pop the AirTag in the case before you put in the remote, and you’re all set. The case has clearances for the IR blaster and for the charging port on the base, and you can use it just as you normally would… except now if you accidentally lose your remote, leave it in another room, or if your dog decides to run off with it, that AirTag on the back comes super handy. You can now track your remote using Apple’s Find My app. Rather handy, no?

The post Here’s the Apple TV remote that Apple should have made a long time ago first appeared on Yanko Design.

Apple TV with built-in power plug features MagSafe charger to wireless power its iPhone-style remote

An Apple TV concept that reimagines the set-top box with a wall socket and MagSafe charger integrated. It is paired with an iPhone-inspired remote which is more ergonomic and convenient to use.

Apple this year revealed the second-generation Apple TV 4K, which on appearance itself was an ordinary setup like the previous generations, without any change in design. The biggest highlight, therefore, was not the Apple TV itself, but the remote provided with it. With differences in design, layout and color from the predecessor, the Apple TV remote complemented the refined set of features provided by the Apple TV 4K. Now a designer feels that the refreshed remote, the set-top box’s high refresh rate and Dolby Vision inclusion in the Apple TV were not enough; a more integrated unit is desired!

In this vein, designer, Iván Antón has come up with an Apple TV 2021 concept, which comes with a wall plug built-in. Now that’s full marks for the compact build, but the practicality is debatable until we have something like this to use. Taking nothing away from the vision, I’m impressed with the concept of Apple TV’s ability to interact with Siri without the need of a remote. Furthermore, the new concept also integrates the MagSafe charger into the Apple TV unit, so the compatible remote can now be charged conveniently by sticking it to the back of the set-top box.

Apple TV is a nice-looking device, but despite its neat appearance, it is still subject to wire clutter. With a built-in wall plug, the Apple TV concept removes the need of a power cable, and thus the power cable slot from the bottom of the device has also vanished. Now you only have an Ethernet and an HDMI port. On the front is the MagSafe charger with the Apple logo in the bang center.

Other than the reimagined Apple TV, the designer has also rethought the remote. The Apple TV 2021 concept comes with an iPhone 13-esque remote control. It is divided into two halves – the top featuring a trackpad (to scroll through the menu) and the bottom section featuring two sizable Menu and Home buttons. The volume rocker and the Siri buttons are moved to the sides, while the back of the device features MagSafe. The remote can cling onto the Apple TV box and recharge effortlessly.

This conceptual Apple TV is nothing remarkable from the word go, but I really like it for the integrated wall socket, which makes the set-top box look a little ordinary, but will go a long way in minimizing wires around the TV set. Additionally, the iPhone-style remote with the ability to wireless charge from the Apple TV unit itself is something Apple can take note of!

Designer: Iván Antón

Clever 3D-printed case lets you attach an AirTag tracking device to your Apple TV Remote

I’ve often felt like Apple‘s multiple product departments work separately, with a minimal informational exchange. How else would you explain the fact that in the same event, Apple announces the AirTags that expand on the company’s massive FindMy network, and also announces a new Apple TV with a redesigned remote… that can’t be tracked.

A major problem with the Apple TV remote up until now was (apart from its stunningly bad UX) that it was a ridiculously thin gadget that often got lost by slipping in between cushions or just sitting somewhere inside a magazine. The sleekness of the Apple TV remote wasn’t a feature, it was a flaw, and people were constantly complaining about losing their remote and never being able to find it… so when Apple redesigned their remote, many were expecting the 2 trillion-dollar company to address this problem too. However, all Apple managed to do was redesign the remote’s controls by bringing an iPod-style jog-dial on it.

For the thousands of people who don’t see themselves buying a new remote just so that they can face the same old problems, Etsy-maker PrintSpired Designs has a neat workaround – a 3D printed case that not only gives the old Apple TV remote some volume and thickness but also allows you to slip an AirTag in so you can track your remote when it inevitably gets misplaced.

Click Here to Buy Now – $12.99

It’s worth noting that even with the case on, the remote isn’t that thick. The case measures 14mm in height, which is about as thick as 2 iPhones stacked together. The printed case doesn’t weigh much either (given that it’s printed with support structures which basically makes it hollow on the inside), so it’s still comfortable to use. The case makes enough space for one AirTag to fit right into its design, and when the remote sits in place, it still lets you access its charging port.

The remote-case itself is available on PrintSpiredDesigns’ Etsy store for $12.99. However, if you’ve got access to a 3D Printer, you can download the STL file for $1.99 and print your own. I’d prefer buying the case though because they come in color options, including even one printed from glow-in-the-dark filament!!

Designer: PrintSpiredDesigns

Click Here to Buy Now – $12.99

Apple TV+ will offer shows from women’s rights advocate Malala Yousafzai

Apple is using International Women's Day to expand its slate of influential TV+ programming. The company has struck a "multiyear" deal with female education rights advocate and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to produce original content...