On its earnings call, Apple has announced a further expansion of Apple Pay in partnership with American Express, to Australia and Canada in 2015 as well as Spain, Singapore and Hong Kong next year in 2016. Exact details are still murky — Tim Cook very specifically said ‘eligible American Express customers in these regions’ so it isn’t going to be as big as a rollout for Apple Pay as we saw for the US or UK.

However, it’s a start and will effectively double the number of countries with Apple Pay support, bringing the total to four for 2015. Apple remains ‘committed’ to expanding the mobile payments feature going forward. The American Express arrangement explains why Apple Pay logos started appearing in Australian Apple Maps. Tim Cook restated Apple Pay’s double-digit growth month-on-month in terms of transactions.

We’ll have more details of the American Express deal for Australia and Canada soon.

Filed under: Apple Pay, Apple Watch, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: Apple pay, Australia, Canada

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Apple CEO Tim Cook’s “fireside chat” with Box CEO Aaron Levie last month

It’s that time of the year again. Apple just announced results for its fiscal year 2015 fourth quarter earnings including $11.1 billion in profit from $51.5 billion in revenue and 48 million iPhones sold, 9.8 million iPads sold, and 5.7 million Macs sold. Next up Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will host a conference call with analysts from various firms to discuss numbers from the last quarter, product performance, and guidance for the current holiday quarter. We’ll be listening in on the finance call (so you don’t have to), bringing you a play-by-play summary including any news that Cook may make on-air. Stay tuned for our live coverage below as the call kicks off at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET:

— Here’s your earnings report for Apple’s last quarter…lots of iPhones sold as usual.

— Awaiting Cook and Maestri to hit the airwaves…

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: AAPL, earnings call, Live Blog, luca maestri, Q4 2015, Tim Cook

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Apple has officially posted its Q4 2015 earnings results with $51.5 billion in revenue and $11.1 billion in profit from the July to September quarter. While Apple isn’t breaking out Apple Watch sales, Q4 is only the second quarter to include numbers for the product (grouped with iPods, Apple TVs, and more in the Other category) and the first to include any iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus sales. Apple previously announced over 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch sales with purchases completed by Saturday, September 26th included in today’s numbers.

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2015. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $51.5 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.1 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $42.1 billion and net profit of $8.5 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.9 percent compared to 38 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Here’s Apple’s breakdown of iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales from the quarter:

• iPhone: 48 million units
• iPad: 9.8 million units
• Mac: 5.7 million units

Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say about the quarter:

“Fiscal 2015 was Apple’s most successful year ever, with revenue growing 28% to nearly $234 billion. This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet, including iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch with an expanded lineup of cases and bands, the new iPad Pro and the all-new Apple TV which begins shipping this week.”

And Luca Maestri, chief financial officer at the company, said this:

“Apple’s record September quarter results drove earnings per share growth of 38% and operating cash flow of $13.5 billion,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We returned $17 billion to our investors during the quarter through share repurchases and dividends, and we have now completed over $143 billion of our $200 billion capital return program.”

How do these numbers relate to past performance? Apple’s Q4 results compare to the prior quarter’s $49 billion in revenue, 47 million iPhone sales, 10.9 million iPad sales, and 4.7 million Mac sales. In the same quarter a year ago, Apple reported $42.1 billion in revenue, 39 million iPhones sold, 12.3 million iPads sold, and 5.5 million Macs sold. Apple reported $13.6 billion in profit in the prior quarter and $8.5 billion in profit in the year ago quarter.

Read on for Apple’s full Q4 earnings report, and stay tuned as we await Apple’s quarterly conference call at 2 p.m. PT/ 5 p.m. ET to discuss these results. Tim Cook and Luca Maestri are expected to deliver prepared commentary on the earnings results then field questions from analysts participating on the call.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: 2015, AAPL, AAPL earnings, Apple, earnings, Q4

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Having seeded developers with the iOS 9.2 beta earlier today, Apple has just released the first build of OS X 10.11.2 beta for developer testing. Carrying a build number of 15C27e, the 10.11.2 beta’s focus areas include graphics, Mail, Wi-Fi, Calendar, USB, Notes, Photos, and Spotlight…

Registered developers can find the OS update in the Developer Center. Updating from a previous OS X version requires downloading the OS X Software Update Seed Configuration Utility, then checking for the update in the Mac App Store’s Updates section. The update is 1.34 GB. We’ll dig into the latest beta and report any notable differences between it and OS X 10.11.

Filed under: Mac

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Apple has created a new screensaver for the fourth-gen Apple TV that consists of a collection of videos taken all over the world. While it’s possible to locate these screensaver videos online and download them from Apple’s website, there hasn’t been a way to set them as your Mac’s screensaver.

Thanks to developer John Coates, that’s not the case anymore. Coates published a Mac screensaver this week that lets you choose to run any of these videos when your Mac has been idle.

The screensaver is called Aerial, and it’s available for free from Coates’ Github repo. Once you’ve installed it, you can open up the settings in System Preferences and choose any (or all) of the available video streams from Apple. The videos are separated by location (34 videos from China, Hawaii, New York, and San Francisco are available) and are split up into day and night shots. You can check or uncheck any videos that you want to use or skip.

The screensaver also supports the ability to play a different video on each connected display.

It appears Aerial streams the videos from Apple’s site instead of bundling them (likely for copyright reasons and to keep the screensaver size reasonable) so you will see some network traffic if you choose to use this.

As mentioned above, you can grab Aerial from Github now. It requires OS X Mavericks or newer.

Filed under: Apple TV, Mac Tagged: aerial, Apple TV, Mac, Screensaver

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Apple and Intel’s Thunderbolt 2 standard has given Mac users — particularly professional Mac users — a premium, high-speed connector option for situations where bandwidth and speed are necessary: hooking up big, fast hard drives, high-resolution monitors, or even external graphics cards. The latest iMacs, Mac Pros, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs all feature at least one Thunderbolt 2 port, a boon for expandability.

This year, Thunderbolt 2 docks have really taken off. Long-time Mac accessory makers have come up with a few different riffs on the same basic idea, leveraging a single cable to connect a bunch of Thunderbolt, USB, and audio/video accessories all at once to a Mac. This enables MacBook users to return home and make one connection to everything from an external monitor and speakers to external hard drives and card readers; it can also allow iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini users to connect devices built with connectors not found on their machines.

Here are the best Thunderbolt 2 dock options out there — and my suggestions as to which of them are best-suited to various usage scenarios…

Akitio’s Thunder2 Dock (currently $209 via Amazon) is impressively thin, portable, and made completely from Mac-matching metal. Measuring only 6.2″ by 3.8″ by 0.65″ — around the size of a typical portable hard drive — it’s volumetrically the smallest Thunderbolt 2 dock I’ve tested, and the easiest to throw in a bag. In addition to a rarity — a FireWire 800 port — its edges contain one power port, two USB 3.0 ports, two 6GB eSATA ports, and two Thunderbolt 2 ports, allowing you to connect everything from a 4K monitor to pretty much any hard drive from the past 10 years. But to achieve its small size, it omits Ethernet, HDMI, and audio ports, making this a better option for connecting peripherals than a TV or speakers. We’ve reviewed it here.

Belkin’s Thunderbolt 2 Express HD Dock (currently $279 via Amazon) was the first Thunderbolt 2 dock to be announced, and remains (without justification) the most expensive option on the market. Cosmetically similar and functionally nearly identical to Elgato’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock below, Belkin includes three USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, an Ethernet port, HDMI (4K) port, and two audio ports. The nice aluminum and plastic design started with the company’s long-delayed prior-generation Thunderbolt Express Dock, and defined the look of many rival options, but the same general port array is available in several competing products.

CalDigit’s Thunderbolt Station 2 (currently $197 via Amazon) is the Sherman tank of the Thunderbolt dock category. It doesn’t exactly match most Macs, but is made entirely from brushed metal, and feels incredibly solid. Designed to be used either upright or on its side — a space-saving measure not seen in any other Thunderbolt dock — Thunderbolt Station 2 is loaded with ports: three USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt 2, Ethernet, HDMI (4K), two audio ports, twin 6Gbps eSATA, and power. The eSATA ports are useful for owners of fast hard drives, and less common on Thunderbolt 2 docks than the other options. It notably ships without a Thunderbolt 2 cable, but one can be bundled in for $225 total. We’ve reviewed Thunderbolt Station 2 here.

Elgato’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock (currently $208 via Amazon) is one of the earlier Thunderbolt docks to hit the market, and like Belkin’s model, helped to establish the features that would later be recognized as common across models: three USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, a 3.5mm microphone input port, a USB-to-analog 3.5mm audio out port, a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, and an HDMI 1.4b (4K-supported) port. Unlike Akitio’s design (but like most other models), it’s not designed to be portable, but the included audio, video, and data ports make it an ideal way to hook up everything from USB and Thunderbolt peripherals to speakers and an external monitor. It includes a Thunderbolt cable. We’ve reviewed it here.

Kanex’s Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock (currently $200 via Amazon) arrived after Belkin’s and Elgato’s highly similar versions, featuring two Thunderbolt 2 ports, one 4K-ready HDMI port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, one 3.5mm microphone and headset port, a power-in port, and three USB 3.0 ports. That’s one fewer audio port than Belkin’s and Elgato’s designs, but unlike Belkin, Kanex supplies continual 1.5A power to its front-mounted USB port to guarantee it’s able to recharge your iPhone or iPad even if a computer’s not connected. Unlike some docks, it comes packaged with a Thunderbolt 2 cable, making its $200 price more attractive. We’ve reviewed it here.

Other World Computing (OWC)’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock (currently $228 via Amazon) is in the middle of the pack price-wise, but one-ups its competitors with a gigantic collection of ports: a whopping five USB 3.0 ports (two of which are 1.5A-powered), two Thunderbolt 2 ports, one HDMI 1.4b (4K) port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a FireWire 800 port, and separate audio-in/audio-out ports. Because of those ports, it’s the largest Thunderbolt dock I’ve seen — 9″ wide by 3.5″ deep by 1.1″ tall, not including its big external power supply — and it’s made with glossy black plastic ringed with silver aluminum, matching iMacs to a respectable extent. Notably, it doesn’t ship with a Thunderbolt 2 cable; a one-meter version is bundled optionally for $259.

So Which Thunderbolt 2 Dock Do We Recommend?

Except for Belkin’s overpriced version, all of the other Thunderbolt 2 docks are in the $200 to $230 range, varying mostly in certain ports, external designs, and inclusion/exclusion of a Thunderbolt 2 cable. My advice would be to select the dock with the specific ports and design that best suit the Mac you intend to use it with, namely:

1. If you need lots of USB port expansion and portability isn’t important, OWC’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock is a top pick, as it has 2-3 more USB 3.0 ports than any competitor, two of which are constantly powered. That said, it’s a little more expensive than the others at this point, particularly as it ships by default without a Thunderbolt cable, and as you can see from the photo above, it’s on the large side.
2. If you want to use high-speed eSATA drives with your Mac, Akitio’s Thunder2 Dock and CalDigit’s Thunderbolt Station 2 docks are the only alternatives with eSATA ports. Akitio’s dock is a better pick if you don’t care about audio/video connections; CalDigit’s is better if you need audio/video connections and don’t mind a larger (but mostly taller) form factor.
3. If you’re a laptop user with plans to use your dock on the road, Akitio’s Thunder2 Dock is the smallest and easiest version to carry.
4. If you want a middle of the road option with very solid implementation of all features, Elgato’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock is reasonably priced, nicely designed, and slightly better in specs than the Belkin and Kanex docks it resembles. It’s smaller than OWC’s version, and has most of the same functionality at a lower price. The fact that it includes a Thunderbolt cable makes it a very strong overall value.

Filed under: General, Mac, Reviews Tagged: best dock, best Thunderbolt 2 dock, eSata, Ethernet, Firewire 800, HDMI, Mac, OS X, Thunderbolt 2, Thunderbolt 2 Dock, USB 3

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Just the week following the public release of iOS 9.1 with bug fixes and new emojis, Apple has seeded the first beta of the upcoming iOS 9.2 to developers. The new download for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is available via the Developer Center. We recently noted that internal Apple testing of iOS 9.2 has increased over the past couple of weeks.

The first indications from testers are that this upgrade includes notable bug fixes and changes to how third-party apps handle embedded Safari views:

We’ll keep updating this post as we learn more about the new software update.

read more…

Clothing retailer Kohl’s has become the first business to offer support for using store credit cards with Apple Pay. Kohl’s, which is the second largest U.S. department store behind Macy’s, has long been a participating store for accepting the mobile payment service, and now Kohl’s Charge card users can add the store credit card to the Wallet app in iOS 9 on iPhone and iPad and watchOS 2 on Apple Watch.

Store-issued credit card support with Apple Pay was first announced in June as a headlining new feature of Apple Pay in iOS 9 and watchOS 2 with both Kohl’s and JCPenney listed as partners. Prior to today, Apple’s mini-site for Apple Pay only listed store credit cards as a feature that will be available “soon” even after the software update releases.

Noting that support is now live, Apple has updated its growing list of participating banks and store cards to highlight Kohl’s Charge card owners can now use the credit card as a payment method with Apple Pay. Although it’s not yet active, JCPenney Credit Card and BJ’s cards are set to be the next store cards to support the mobile payment service.

Although a small milestone, it does mark the first example of store cards that work with Apple Pay. Loyalty cards like ones from Walgreens and Panera Bread will also soon work with Apple Pay rather than relying on QR code digital passes on iPhones although these don’t yet appear to be active. The update comes just a week after Apple Pay picked up more than 70 new bank partners including HSBC in the United States.

Filed under: Apple Pay

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Apple’s 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro w/ Force Touch 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB $1,280 shipped (Reg. $1,499)

A Dark Room iPhone/iPad best-selling RPG is now available for free (Reg. $1)

Freebies: Learn Guitar Theory for iOS + Shape magazine + Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC + More!

GoPro HERO4 Black 4K Action Camera: $360 shipped (Reg. $500)

The best accessories for the new Apple TV: MFi game controllers, keyboards, cables, more

Giveaway: Polk Audio’s Omni Whole Home Music System – Soundbar w/ subwoofer and S2 Speaker ($880 value)

More new gear from today:

Amazon Gold Box – Audio-Technica M-Series Headphones over 40% off: ATH-M30x $49 shipped (Reg. $69), more

• TOTU Dual Layer iPhone 6s Case in gold, silver or gray $3 Prime shipped (Reg. $12+)
• Rugged iPhone 6/s case w/ tripod stand, bottle opener and lighter: $12 Prime shipped
• Storage: Seagate Expansion 4TB Desktop Hard Drive $100 shipped (Reg. $120), more
• Media: That 70’s Show Complete Series on Blu-ray $70 (Reg. $100+), more
• Games/Apps: Skylanders Trap Team Pack $21, Halo 5 limited edition $220, more
• Daily Deals: Baytek Portable Bluetooth Speaker $14, Panasonic Projector $399, more

More deals still alive:

Fitbit Charge HR Activity Tracker $115 shipped (Reg. $150), Fitbit Surge $195 (Reg. $245)

• ChugPlug External Battery Pack for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro $40 shipped (Orig. $130)
• App Store Free App of the Week: Dr. Panda’s Mailman ($4 value)
• Gift Cards up  20% off: JCPenney, Sports Authority, more
• Fashion – extra 20% off fall athletic/outdoor shoes: Caterpillar boots $52, more
• Protect your new iPad mini 4 with this folio smart case: $3 Prime shipped (Reg. $10)
• Headphones: Audio-Technica Over-Ears $135, JayBird Bluetooth In-ears $102, more
• proXPN VPN: Premium Lifetime Subscription for $39 ($375 value)
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface + Sennheiser HD600 + Condenser Mic $400 shipped ($655 value)
• TP-Link Archer C7 802.11ac Router + DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem $130 shipped ($155+ value)
• VIZIO 2.1 Sound Stand w/ subwoofer & remote $100 shipped (Orig. $250)
• KMASHI 10,000mAh Battery $9 (Reg. $14), 6-Ft. Braided MFi Lightning Cable $8.50, more

New products & more:

The eora 3D scanner uses your iPhone to create 360-degree models of anything

Belkin’s new lightweight QODE Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad Air 2 is now available

• Dyson’s pricey 360 Eye robo-vac finally sees the light of day
• Use your smartphone as a controller for these AirConsole Mac/PC browser games
• Best Buy lands the first major blow in this year’s battle for holiday shoppers
• Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, more
• Amazon thinks leaving your house is over-rated, expands Prime free same-day delivery service
• Marvel’s limited edition Phase Two Blu-ray collection arrives just in time for the holidays
• The MiniBrew launches on Indiegogo as an iPhone-connected way to make your own beer
• Bird of Prey’s prone-style bicycle puts the rider facedown while riding
• Garmin drops the bulk and adds color with its new Forerunner wearables

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon Gold Box, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Black Friday, coupon codes, Daily Deals, Deals, eBay Daily Deals, free, free apps, free shipping, GoPro HERO4 Black, iOS freebies, lightning cables, MFi, New Toy of the Day, Retina MacBook Pro

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For the moment, the new Apple TV’s accessory compatibility can fairly be described as “confusing.” It’s confirmed that Bluetooth speakers and headphones — previously unsupported by older Apple TVs — work with the new model. On the other hand, Bluetooth keyboards, which previously worked with Apple TVs, do not. And Bluetooth game controllers… well, if they were Made For iPhone (or iPad), they work with the new Apple TV. But contrary to some erroneous early reports, if they were made for other devices (say, the PlayStation 4), they don’t.

So even though SteelSeries’ Nimbus ($50) has been pitched as the first “gamepad controller for Apple TV,” it’s kinda not. The company’s earlier Stratus (now only $40 refurbished) works with the Apple TV, as do Mad Catz’ nicer C.T.R.L.i and Micro C.T.R.L.i controllers. However, Nimbus is launching with newer technology at a not-insane price point. It has a Lightning connector built in for recharging an integrated 40-hour battery, a Bluetooth 4.1 wireless chip, and a design that was apparently — despite obvious similarities to many other controllers — co-developed by Apple itself. It also is the first accessory to ship with Apple’s new “Made for Apple TV” logo on the box. Here are some early thoughts on the Nimbus based on my hands-on experiences…

Packaging and “Made for Apple TV”

Nimbus arrives in a mostly white box that’s consistent with Apple’s recent accessory packaging coordination initiative. The most notable element of the box is the new Made for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and iPod logo that appears next to the increasingly dated-looking Mac compatibility icon; this is the first shipped accessory to boast an official “Made for Apple TV” marking. A list on the side of the package confirms that Nimbus was “Made for” the “Apple TV 4th generation,” as well as all iPhones from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6s Plus, all iPads from the “iPad 4th generation” to the iPad Pro, and the iPod touch 5th and 6th generation models. Macs with OS X 10.9 or later are also supported.

Missing from the package is the Lightning cable that you’ll need for recharging Nimbus. If you purchase any iOS device or the new Apple TV, you’ll have a Lightning cable in the package. Mac users… well, it’s fair to assume almost all of them will have a Lightning cable sitting around already, too.

Design

Nimbus is a lot like earlier MFi gamepads, sharing sizing and control positions with SteelSeries’ earlier Stratus XL. Following Sony’s lead with the DualShock, Nimbus’s face aligns a traditional D-pad with four action buttons, above two analog joysticks and a “Menu” button — relabeled from “||” (pause) on Stratus and other MFi game controllers. Four matte-finished triggers are on the top, two left and two right, straddling a power switch (labeled “Hold”), a Lightning port, and a Bluetooth pairing button. Apart from joystick locations and texturing differences, it’s a lot like Mad Catz’ earlier C.T.R.L.i in size and feel, as shown above.

One would guess that the four-bar red light indicator on Nimbus’s face was there to show how much power is remaining, but it’s labeled “1, 2, 3, 4,” for reasons SteelSeries’ manual doesn’t explain. The numbers don’t indicate which of four controller positions a given Nimbus is using; the new Apple TV supports only two game controllers at once, and even when two Bluetooth controllers were connected, both had only their first light on. According to the manual, this light will flash for 10 seconds when the power reaches the “20 minutes remaining” stage.

The obvious external changes from Stratus XL are subtle tweaks for hand comfort. Unlike its flat-topped predecessor, Nimbus recesses its front controls a little below the hand grips, adjusts the top button positions for easier pressing, and changes the textures of the analog joysticks’ rubber tops. This time, the L2 and R2 buttons hang off the controller’s edges, like Sony’s DualShock 4, making their pressure-sensitive triggers easier to grab with an outstretched fingers. I’d characterize the differences as subtle improvements, but Nimbus feels nice in the hand.

Internally, the replacement of the prior AA batteries with a rechargeable cell is a benefit, as may be the addition of a Bluetooth 4.1 wireless chip, an upgrade from Bluetooth 2.1 in SteelSeries’ prior model. I say “may be” only because the Apple TV ships with Bluetooth 4.0 support, and the real-world impact on battery life and performance is unknown. But just like Stratus XL, Nimbus promises 40-hour battery life. What’s missing? Rumble support, the titular feature of Sony’s DualShock series, and orientation sensors, found in the Siri Remote, are not included in Nimbus.

Compatibility, Updating + Pairing

Putting aside pricing, compatibility has been the major sticking point for every game controller released over the past five years for Apple devices. And right now, it’s a question mark. Initial developer enthusiasm over the Apple TV’s gaming potential with dedicated game controllers took a massive hit when Apple announced that all Apple TV games would be required to fully support the (substantially different) Siri Remote as a controller, too. As a result, no one really knows how many games will include Apple TV game controller support — the problem that dogged MFi controllers two years ago when they launched with iOS 7. Since Apple is spotlighting Nimbus on its Apple TV mini-site, hopefully the publicity will encourage developers to step up with support.

To help gamers discover compatible games, SteelSeries has released the free SteelSeries Nimbus Companion App, which includes a listing of known compatible iOS games, though there’s no Apple TV-specific sorting mechanism (yet). The SteelSeries app can also wirelessly update Nimbus’s firmware, which worked pretty quickly with a “critical update” after my controller arrived.

There are hundreds (not thousands) of supported iOS games, and I recognized more than handfuls of the titles, which is to say that they’re not all obscure. But the first Apple TV game I played, Mr. Jump, doesn’t have game controller support, which is surprising, as it literally only uses one button for in-game controls; iOS games I tried with it worked mostly as expected, though I had to pause Pac-Man Championship Edition DX with the B button rather than the Menu (formerly Pause) button, just like with the C.T.R.L.i. It’s going to be interesting to see how developers deal with controller support across multiple Apple devices/platforms.

Even if there aren’t many Apple TV games to use with it quite yet, Nimbus is easy to pair with the Apple TV itself — just like pretty much anything the new Apple TV supports. You just go into the Remotes and Devices menu, choose Bluetooth under other devices, and pair Nimbus. At that point, the D-pad lets you move up, down, left, and right, while an analog stick does the same thing but more closely mimics the Siri Remote’s track pad with gradual swaying. The A button selects, B goes back, and the Menu button also goes back. Holding down B or Menu takes you quickly back to the top menu.

Should You Buy One Right Now?

If history’s any guide, you’d be best off waiting at least a little while before grabbing any Made for Apple TV controller — Apple’s mandate of Siri Remote support means that third-party game controllers certainly aren’t necessary, and until there’s a big, great-sounding list of games that take advantage of them, your Nimbus might just sit around collecting dust. But at least SteelSeries got the price right this time, and came up with a compelling (if not quite DualShock 4-beating) feature set. Now it’s just up to Apple and game developers to provide everyone with good reasons to buy in.

More From This Author

Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. I’ve recently discussed how to safely prepare and wipe your iPhone for resale or trade-in, and how to get the best iPhone trade-in price to help buy an iPhone 6s, amongst many other topics.

Filed under: Apple TV, Reviews Tagged: Apple TV, Apple TV 4, Apps, gaming, Made for Apple TV, MFi, Nimbus, SteelSeries, SteelSeries Nimbus

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