Can Apple TV be used as a thin client?

Question

I have a MBP which half of the time is used via a (4K Dell monitor & bluetooth apple keyboard & mouse) and half of the time is used on its own. The main use case is software development.

I'm considering buying an apple tv iff the following setup is possible.

Use the (4K monitor & apple tv & keyboard & mouse) as a thin client through which I remote-connect to the MBP, so that

1. the MBP can lay anywhere in the flat (I have good wifi/ethernet infrastructure)
2. I don't have to plug-in the DP/HDMI cables every time I sit to the desk

Is this doable?

Answer 1

No, that is not possible - there's no mouse support on the AppleTV.

There are remote desktop apps for AppleTV, such as the "Remote Desktop for TV" app. However it does not support a Bluetooth mouse, and requires you to use the Apple Remote as a pointing device. That can be done in a pinch, but not for ongoing software development work.

Note that the "Remote Desktop for TV" app requires an RDP server, which you will typicak find on Windows. If you run macOS on your MacBook Pro, you'll typically want a VNC client instead.