Designing a wallpaper experience for Apple TV
Viewing distance, burn-in, motion, and music all shape a thoughtful living-room app.
An Apple TV screen is not a phone held at arm’s length. People are several meters away, and the experience may remain in the room for a long time.
Design for distance first
Small labels and dense controls disappear quickly. Keep important information large, reduce the number of focus stops, and make the selected state unmistakable.
Motion should stay in the background
- Avoid fast transitions that repeatedly pull attention.
- Consider how long static elements remain in one position.
- Respect reduced-motion preferences and in-app effect controls.
Music can enrich the room without turning the screen into a dense player interface. Keep only the information that supports the atmosphere.