How to use Apple TV+’s InSight feature

One of the coolest features on Apple TV+ is InSight. This feature, introduced with tvOS 18, saves you the trouble of having to pause and look up an actor you swear you recognize because InSight simply shows up on the screen and tells you who it is. Prime Video has something similar to the X-Ray mode, so if you subscribe to both services, you’re familiar with how nice it is.

For the time being, it’s only available on Apple TV+ original movies and TV shows, so you need a subscription to the service to utilize it. This means third-party movies or shows that stream on the Apple TV+ service don’t have access despite being on the same app. While it may go without saying, tvOS is only available on Apple devices, so you also need an Apple TV or Apple TV 4K with the latest software update to use it. If you meet all of these criteria, you can start using one of the coolest features around.

How Apple TV+’s InSight feature works

Never wonder again

Apple

Apple TV+ has plenty of original films and shows, and several of them feature well-known actors that you might recognize but not know the names of. Instead of picking up your phone and looking up the cast list of what you’re watching, you can just swipe down on your Apple TV remote to get all the information you need. This includes the actor’s name and whatever song is playing. Another nice feature is if you like the identified song, you can automatically add it to your Apple Music Saved Songs playlist.

If you’re using your iPhone as the remote for your Apple TV, the InSight feature works there too. All in all, it’s a feature that cuts out a lot of the guesswork while watching something, and it makes it so you don’t have to pause to look something up. It’s such a nice feature that it’s a shame it’s limited to content made by Apple, but that doesn’t mean it can’t eventually gravitate to other streamers in one way or another.

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Will Apple TV+’s InSight come to other apps?

Never say never

As of right now, there’s nothing to indicate this feature will ever stray beyond the Apple TV+ ecosystem. That’s a shame considering how nice it is to have, but it makes a bit of sense considering it’s a feature built by Apple itself. Considering Amazon has its own version with Prime Video, it’d be nice to see every streamer eventually get a similar feature. Sadly, we have to play the waiting game and hope other companies jump on the bandwagon.

Another nice feature is if you like the identified song, you can automatically add it to your Saved Songs playlist in Apple Music.

Many streamers like Netflix and Hulu are quite mature, so it’s surprising to see them behind in features that newer platforms like Apple TV+ have. With Netflix being so far in the lead in the streaming wars, they can afford to be less feature-rich than others since they already have a massive subscriber base. Features like what Apple TV+ has with InSight is a good way to gain ground, but it’ll take a lot more than that to build up an audience. The main reason to subscribe to a streaming service is the content on display, and that’s something Netflix comes out far ahead in even if they cancel shows prematurely.

Make no mistake, Apple TV+’s InSight functionality is a major selling point, but it won’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things unless they find hit shows or movies on the level of Ted Lasso again. With many of the company’s movies being box office flops like Argylle and Napoleon, there’s still a lot of work to do for Apple to get people more invested in their streaming service. Opening itself up to the Android platform would be a nice start.

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