Everything new coming to Apple TV in tvOS 16

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
Despite no stage time at WWDC, Apple TV's tvOS 16 is still getting some new features this fall. We walk you through all of the changes you can expect to see on your devices.

Apple TV Home Screen
Apple TV Home Screen

More gaming

Gaming seemed to be a renewed focus for Apple this year at WWDC. During the macOS section of the keynote, Apple touted new games coming to the Mac as well as the all-new Metal 3.






On Apple TV, it had at least a couple of worthwhile additions. The biggest of which is support for many additional Bluetooth gaming controllers. That's a bit nebulous and Apple doesn't specify all the newly-supported controllers but it at least opens the door.

The one set of controllers Apple does point out is from Nintendo. Both the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons and Pro Controller are supported with tvOS 16.

Smart home

Another change with tvOS 16 will be full support of Matter. Matter is a new unifying smart home stand that will allow certified products to work across HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings among others.

Apple had initially supported it in beta with tvOS 15, but it wasn't available to consumers. Matter is scheduled to release this fall and Apple is ready with tvOS 16.

Apple TV 4K
Apple TV 4K


Visually, there isn't anything new with HomeKit or Matter support but Matter devices will be available to be controlled through the Apple TV and Apple's Control Center interface.

Cross-device compatibility

Another feature mentioned by Apple that is still a bit vague is improved support for cross-device compatibility. Here's how Apple describes it:
Integrate your tvOS app with your iOS, iPadOS, or watchOS app to unlock new experiences on Apple TV.
Cross-device compatibility for Apple Fitness
Cross-device compatibility for Apple Fitness


Apple is already using a version of this itself with Apple Fitness. It's how it pairs with your Apple Watch at the beginning of a workout. During a WWDC session, Apple went into further detail and gave some examples of how this could work.

Workout apps could deliver more personalized workout experiences and improved metrics by using motion data from Apple Watch. Video player apps can include timelines or real-time accompanying data on an iPhone or iPad as media plays. Or developers could create a second-screen experience for on iPhone as you play games on Apple TV, such as displaying maps.

Other changes and improvements

Other changes are a bit more minor. In the TV app, there are new rich video previews for Apple TV+ originals to boost discovery. Intensity levels are now called out on-screen during Apple Fitness+ workouts that vary from easy, to moderate, to hard, to all-out.

New user suggestions in Control Center
New user suggestions in Control Center


Additional family members are now suggested inside of Control Center. Under Settings > General there is a new toggle for 24 or 12 hour time formats. Accessibility has a new Hover Text option.

Finally, Apple added new SwiftUI elements for developers. New custom button styles and effects can improve the look, feel, and use of third-party apps.

Initially, tvOS 16 boasted support for HDR10+ but in the days following WWDC, these mentions have been removed. This could signal the removal of the planned feature or a delay to a future release.

Coming soon

Apple says tvOS 16 will support:
  • Apple TV fourth gen

  • Apple TV HD

  • Apple TV 4K

  • Apple TV 4K second gen
At the moment, tvOS 16 is currently in developer beta. A public beta is scheduled to be released in July before a full release this fall. Stay tuned to AppleInsider as we walk through more features for Apple's upcoming software updates.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Assuming they care, they could have had a short 15 minute run down of everything at least.

    And Apple TV 4K 2nd gen was outdated the day it came out. Hope they announce something with a modern chip September.
    williamlondonanantksundaram
  • Reply 2 of 17
    Andrew_OSUAndrew_OSU Posts: 574member, editor
    Beats said:
    Assuming they care, they could have had a short 15 minute run down of everything at least.

    And Apple TV 4K 2nd gen was outdated the day it came out. Hope they announce something with a modern chip September.
    My thought is Apple kept tvOS under the radar ahead of a bigger refresh with new hardware. But who knows. 
    Alex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,320member
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 

    3. Apple will introduce a gaming / smart home hub / TV device with an M2 Pro for serious gaming power and wide controller support

    4. In conjunction with (3) Apple will announce major exclusive partnerships with gaming studios to attract AAA gaming titles.


    (Or: AppleTV keeps being a ‘hobby project’)
    bloggerblog
  • Reply 4 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,250member
    Trouble with that Mr Freeze is there needs to be a low end streamer as well for anyone not into games and with a TV more than two years old.  Which is a very large number of people. And it would require Apple to actually be interested in games.
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 5 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,250member
    I suspect the ATV 4K looks great on that Samsung monitor. An example of why Apple needs to be a tad more flexible in its resolution setting for its MacOS and ipadOS devices.
    Alex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 17
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,377member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 


    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    bonobobStrangeDayswatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 7 of 17
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,338member
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 


    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    This is why I bought my first Appletv 2 years ago.. Smart Tv software and user experience are terrible compared to a dedicated streamer.. varying degrees of clunky slowness and overall bugginess depending on the OS. I have used ATV and ATV 4k 1st gens exclusively for years now in my home. B)

    StrangeDaysBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 17
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,320member
    jcs2305 said:
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 


    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    This is why I bought my first Appletv 2 years ago.. Smart Tv software and user experience are terrible compared to a dedicated streamer.. varying degrees of clunky slowness and overall bugginess depending on the OS. I have used ATV and ATV 4k 1st gens exclusively for years now in my home. B)

    You’ll be surprised at how well the newer generations run apps. And you just need one remote control and one user journey to get access to TV, film, games. 
  • Reply 9 of 17
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 392member
    AppleInsider said:
    Apple says tvOS 16 will support:
    • Apple TV fourth gen
    • Apple TV HD
    • Apple TV 4K
    • Apple TV 4K second gen
    The first two are the same device.
    mbenz1962watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 17
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,014member
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 

    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    Agreed. I haven’t used a smart TV that didn’t suck due to being painfully slow (including a new at the time Visio with Apple TV app), not to mention terrible, terrible remote. I would never voluntarily give up my ATV for one of these supposed smart TVs. (Not to mention all the spying for advertising analytics.)
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 11 of 17
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,014member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    jcs2305 said:
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 


    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    This is why I bought my first Appletv 2 years ago.. Smart Tv software and user experience are terrible compared to a dedicated streamer.. varying degrees of clunky slowness and overall bugginess depending on the OS. I have used ATV and ATV 4k 1st gens exclusively for years now in my home. B)

    You’ll be surprised at how well the newer generations run apps. And you just need one remote control and one user journey to get access to TV, film, games. 
    Already doing that on ATV, with added feature of not having my TV spy on me as the store brands do. 

    What game platforms are the smart TVs running?
    Beatswatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 12 of 17
    d_2d_2 Posts: 121member
    StrangeDays said:
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 

    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    Agreed. I haven’t used a smart TV that didn’t suck due to being painfully slow (including a new at the time Visio with Apple TV app), not to mention terrible, terrible remote. I would never voluntarily give up my ATV for one of these supposed smart TVs. (Not to mention all the spying for advertising analytics.)
    I have AppleTVs on multiple TVs in our home.

    Also agreed, except that…

    1. ATV is too expensive for my kids’ bedroom TVs

    2. FF / Rewind is too awkward still on AppleTV vs Roku and newer built in OS (Sony OLED for example)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 17
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Andrew_OSU said:
    Beats said:
    Assuming they care, they could have had a short 15 minute run down of everything at least.

    And Apple TV 4K 2nd gen was outdated the day it came out. Hope they announce something with a modern chip September.
    My thought is Apple kept tvOS under the radar ahead of a bigger refresh with new hardware. But who knows. 

    This is wishful thinking because they never do this for other platforms.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Some ideas that I’ve lost hope for but would make Apple TV even more enticing:

    Facetime Family
    Gaming channel

    Facetime Family would be FaceTime for TV. Can work with Continuity Camera but that’s a drag. Ideally Apple would ship a FaceID “notch” you place on the TV. It would be almost invisible.

    Gaming Channel would have a cooler name but would basically be the Apple TV App for games. This would allow Apple Arcade, Microsoft GamePass, Amazon Luna and others mingle to in one app.

    entropys said:
    Trouble with that Mr Freeze is there needs to be a low end streamer as well for anyone not into games and with a TV more than two years old.  Which is a very large number of people. And it would require Apple to actually be interested in games.

    No trouble. I broke this down in detail but to keep the post short:

    Apple TV with A13 64GB $179

    Apple TV Pro with M2 500GB $399




  • Reply 15 of 17
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,407member
    Sadly, AppleTV has become such a dated, cumbersome, messy, confusing product. I use it for almost nothing anymore. I'll probably keep buying new ones and updating it out of habit for a few more years, not much more.

    Can't believe it was such a game-changer when it first came out, and it's disappointing to see it so completely passed-by.
    Beatsmuthuk_vanalingamAlex1N
  • Reply 16 of 17
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,407member
    StrangeDays said:
    mike1 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    My prediction:

    1. Apple will keep focusing having the TV app on as many major smart TV’s as possible to ensure mass access to their services.

    2. Apple will sunset the Apple TV hardware 

    I doubt it. While they will work to include on as many TVs and other devices as possible, they will not discontinue their own hardware. It is the only way they can deliver the best possible user experience. TV hardware is typically under powered and they tend to give up software support after a couple of years.
    Agreed. I haven’t used a smart TV that didn’t suck due to being painfully slow (including a new at the time Visio with Apple TV app), not to mention terrible, terrible remote. I would never voluntarily give up my ATV for one of these supposed smart TVs. (Not to mention all the spying for advertising analytics.)
    Try the newer TCLs. Fantastic TV for the price, and the best part is, it has AppleTV built-in (along with Roku, Prime, Hulu, Disney, and even Comcast programming... and more). It is extremely easy to set up and quite zippy in its response.
    muthuk_vanalingamAlex1N
  • Reply 17 of 17
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    anantksundaram said:
    Sadly, AppleTV has become such a dated, cumbersome, messy, confusing product. I use it for almost nothing anymore. I'll probably keep buying new ones and updating it out of habit for a few more years, not much more.

    Can't believe it was such a game-changer when it first came out, and it's disappointing to see it so completely passed-by.

    Apple doesn’t give a sh**. And this idea that Apple is ignoring it to hype it up later doesn’t make sense. By that logic no new iPhone, no new iPad, no new Watch, no new Macs this year just a new Apple TV. 
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