Click this link to download the free Apple TV app directory.

At the University of Minnesota where I am a history professor, Apple TV is integrated into a growing number of classrooms so that students can share video content through the projection television system. First-year students in the College of Education and Human Development receive an iPad upon arrival and use of it is integrated into many of their first-year courses.

The Apple TV has been an underappreciated technology that Apple has significantly improved through this third-generation unit. This annotated directory identifies the apps that I use on my Apple TV unit at home on a regular basis. There are many other apps that I do not profile simply because they require an additional charge for their use or are not of interest. Currently there is about 160 apps. I remember when I purchased my first iPhone and then with the first iPad and there were a relatively small number of apps. Now the library of Apple apps exceeds half a million. While I don’t expect the same exponential growth for Apple TV, their library will rapidly expand. Many of these Apple TV apps are also available for use on iPhones and iPads. If you have set up for automatic download of new apps on all your iOS devices, do not be surprised to see some of these apps appearing on other Apple devices.

The Apple TV device allows many free Internet video sources to be accessed through home televisions. Unless noted otherwise, all apps in this directory are free to download and use on Apple TV. There are others (especially games) that require a small fee to download (most under $5) and may also include in-app purchases for additional features or for games to obtain more resources. This abridged directory contains apps that are often free and frankly are of my taste. With more than 159 apps and additional ones being added weekly, this directory does not try to be inclusive of all of them.

Click on this link to download the free annotated directory of Apple TV apps.