tvOS 14

 The newest version of the programme running on Apple TV is tvOS 14. Available now.

    At a Glance

    The new tvOS update with Picture in Picture, 4K YouTube videos, multi-user game support, audio sharing for AirPods and more is tvOS 14.

    Features

      • Watch 4K YouTube videos
      • Saved game support for multiple users
      • New Xbox controller support
      • Home app for HomeKit
      • AirPods audio sharing

      tvOS 14

      TvOS is the operating system that runs on Apple TVs of the fourth and fifth generation, providing the set-top box of Apple with an easy-to-navigate TV viewing experience.

      TvOS supports installing a variety of different applications and games that can be used on Apple TV with a complete App Store, and the nature of the interface places content front and centre. Get what you want to watch on your iPhone and Apple Watch using Siri, Apple Remote, or the Remote app.

      TvOS provides a range of built-in applications, such as Images to access your Photo Gallery, Apple Music, Podcasts, and Apple TV, an app that incorporates TV and movie content, like Apple TV+ streaming, from loads of sources.

      The Apple TV app provides channels, so you can connect to and access content from paid providers without opening a third-party app.

      Apple regularly introduces new functionality to tvOS, and tvOS 14 is the 2020 update to tvOS. TvOS updates never make as many improvements as iOS or macOS updates, but some interesting new features are still worth highlighting.

      TvOS 14 adds support for more game controllers, enabling you to connect your Apple TV with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controllers.

      Multi-user gaming support has been added so that when playing Apple TV games, each user of tvOS can keep track of their game levels, leaderboards, and invitations. A new option allows for manual selection of a screensaver family, so you don't have to sit through random swapping.

      There is now a Home section on Apple TV in the Control Center, which is a perfect way to control your linked HomeKit items right on your TV. On the big screen, there's even an option to display HomeKit camera feeds.

      tvOS2020Feature

      Picture in Picture mode allows you to watch a movie while working out, watch a sports game, or open a news app, and support for Audio Sharing allows two sets of AirPods to be linked to an Apple TV so that two people can listen in the room without upsetting anyone.

      tvosapplearcade

      In September of 2020, Apple released the tvOS 14 update. It can be installed on the Apple TV versions of the fourth and fifth generations.

      Current Version

      TvOS 14.2, published to the public on 5 November, is the latest edition of tvOS. In addition to support for the Apple One subscription package, tvOS 14.2 added HomePod home theatre for using the HomePod as an Apple TV speaker. Two betas of an upcoming tvOS 14.3 update for developers have also been seeded by Apple.

      New Feature Additions in tvOS 14

      TvOS does not get as many updates and feature improvements as some of the other operating systems from Apple, but in each refreshed version of tvOS, Apple adds new capabilities every fall.

      TvOS 14, which is currently being beta tested and is expected to be released later in 2020, incorporates a few useful improvements that are worth highlighting.

      Picture in Picture
      Picture in Picture mode lets you watch videos, TV shows, or apps in the corner of the screen in a tiny window while doing something else on Apple TV as well.

      tvos14pip

      Without missing your favourite TV programme, you can watch a movie while you work out, watch a sports game while playing a game, or open a news app to see the daily headlines.

      New AirPods Features

      Apple TV support for audio sharing allows two sets of AirPods to be linked to a single Apple TV, so that two people can listen to a TV show or movie without upsetting the others in the room.

      Home Controls
      Apple has added Home Controls to tvOS 14, which allows viewing and controlling of some HomeKit-connected devices right from the Apple TV Control Center. There is an option to view the feeds of the HomeKit camera on the bigger TV screen, and they can also be viewed in picture mode.

      tvos14

      4K Video Streaming

      For the first time, tvOS 14 will let you watch YouTube videos in 4K, adding support for the 4K video codec from YouTube, but YouTube still needs to update its app for the function to work. It also allows for high resolution uploading of 4K videos from the Images app or viewing in Picture-in-Picture mode.

      Multiuser Support for Gaming

      Every TVOS consumer can now keep track of their individual game levels, leaderboards, and invites if you have several individuals who use Apple TV in your home and who like to play games using Apple Arcade.

      applearcadeprofileswapping

      Game progress is also saved per user, so that the same game can be played by several users.

      More Gaming Controller Support

      Support for additional gaming controllers that can be combined with Apple TV to play TvOS games is added to tvOS 14. The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controllers are sponsored by Apple TV.

      Screensaver Choices

      There's a new option to choose a screensaver in tvOS 14. In prior versions of tvOS, screensavers could not be picked manually and were shown randomly.

      tvOS 14 lets a specific screensaver group be picked, like ocean, space, or cities, and Apple TV cycles between screensavers of that type.

      Main tvOS Features

      TV App

      The Apple TV app is the one-stop place for Apple to keep up with TV shows you want, discover fresh content, and get suggestions. The overall app design includes sections at the top of both Apple TV and iPhone for Movies, TV Shows, Sports, and Kids material, while the Library contains a selection of content that you have downloaded from iTunes.

      "Watch Now" with its "Up Next" function is still front and center in the TV app, but there's a new machine learning-based recommendation engine that surfaces personalized content suggestions for you based on what you like to watch.

      appletvapp3

      Up Next continues to keep track of what you are watching so that you can never forget what episode of a TV show you are on or where you left off watching a movie, while the recommendation feature "For You" pulls content from more than 150 streaming apps, including Hulu, Amazon Prime, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and more. The TV app also provides "For You" suggestions in addition to the "Because you watched..." segment, just like Netflix.



      • How to Adjust TV App Streaming Quality Settings on iPhone
      • How to Adjust TV App Video Download Settings on iPhone

        • Channels

        The TV app contains a segment called "Channels" which is a main service feature launched by Apple in 2019. Channels are subscription channels that without having to open another app, you can sign up for and watch inside the TV app.

        So for instance, if you come across a show you want to watch on your Showtime iPhone or Apple TV, you can tap Showtime right in the TV app to subscribe to it and then you can watch that show without leaving the app.
        appletvchannels
        CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, Comedy Central Now and AMC+ are some of the supporting networks. Apple recently began giving Apple TV+ subscribers unique package pricing, and Apple TV+ customers can pay $9.99 a month to view both CBS All Access and Showtime.
        You can also get content recommendations from providers that are not part of channels, so while Hulu is not something you can subscribe to and watch in the TV app itself (you need to watch Hulu content in the Hulu app), much like the original TV app, you will still see Hulu content suggestions.

        Availability

        The TV app is available on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Apple has also supported Roku and Amazon Fire TV with the Apple TV app, plus smart TV offerings from companies including Sony and Samsung.

        Apple TV+

        Apple TV+, which was released in November 2019, is Apple's subscription television service. Apple TV+ provides all the original TV shows and films from Apple, such as For All Mankind," "Dickinson," "Servant," and The Morning Show."

        appletvplus
        Apple TV+ costs $4.99 a month and up to six members of a family can use Family Sharing to share access to one subscription. Apple is offering a free one-year subscription to Apple TV+ to all customers who buy an iPad, iPhone, Mac, or Apple TV as of September 10, 2019.

        Make sure to check out our Apple TV+ guide for more Apple TV+ details.

        Original TV Shows and Movies

        In the works, Apple has over two dozen original TV shows and films, many of them with high-profile stars, actresses, directors and producers. We have a comprehensive guide with a list of all of Apple's TV and film projects in 
        progress available here.

        Games

        TvOS supports Apple TV-designed games, including those created for tvOS separately and those available via Apple Arcade, Apple's $4.99 gaming subscription service every month. Apple Arcade offers access to over a hundred iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac games, all with no extra in-app purchases or commercials.

        Games can be played using the Apple Remote, a game controller designed for iOS, or a console game controller like the popular DualShock controller from PlayStation.

        Siri

        Siri on the Apple TV is activated by pressing the dedicated Siri button on the Siri Remote and then speaking a command. Siri can respond to a huge range of requests on the Apple TV, doing everything from offering up movie recommendations to revealing the actors in a television show.

        Siri can open apps and games, as it does on iOS, and respond to commands that are more than basic searches for content. Siri can display sports scores, film times, weather, and stock status, for instance. You can also use Siri to adjust specific settings with commands such as "Turn on Enhanced Speech," a dialogue enhancing function that softens music and sound effects, or "Turn on closed captioning"

        Siri understands topics and can answer topic-based searches like "Show me movies from the 80s," or "Show me movies that feature dinosaurs," or "Find documentaries about architecture." Siri can also understand when multiple topics are included in a single command, such as "Show me spy movies from the 1960s" or "Show me high school comedies from the 90s."

        tvossiritopics

        A Siri feature called Live Tune-In lets Siri open up live TV content in apps with commands like "Watch ESPN" or "Watch CBS," and Siri can also find content within apps. For example, "find me YouTube videos with kittens" launches the YouTube app and show the relevant search results, as does a command like "find me comedies on Netflix."

        Siri also works with a tvOS system-wide search feature that enables searches to pull up content from different apps such as Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, HBO Go, Showtime, and more. So if you're looking for something like "Harry Potter," come up with all the different apps where you can watch a Harry Potter movie. In an Apple Support paper, you can find a list of apps that support system-wide search.

        One of the neatest Siri perks is a feature that replays content. During a TV show or movie, ask Siri "What did he just say?" or a similar command and Siri rewinds 15 seconds and temporarily turns on captions. Rewinding and fast forwarding can also be done with voice commands like "Fast-forward five minutes," or "Play from the beginning."

        appletvsiricommands

        Siri displays information on the cast in a movie or television show when queried. Asking questions like "Who directed this movie?" or "Who stars in this movie?" brings up a list of the cast. Siri can filter based on cast, director, date, or age rating.

        The information is displayed at the bottom of the Apple TV interface with commands that bring up extra content, such as behind-the-scenes details, sports scores, or weather, so it does not interrupt the show or movie that is on the screen. Tapping on the remote opens the full screen of the bottom bar, pausing the TV show or movie that is playing, and flipping between tasks with a remote swipe is easy.

        HomeKit

        Like the iPad and HomePod, Apple TV can act as a home hub that connects to your HomeKit products and enables them to be remotely accessed while you're away from home. An Apple TV, iPad, or HomePod is a prerequisite for remote access to HomeKit computers. Otherwise, when you're linked to the same Wi-Fi network, HomeKit items just work.

        tvOS How Tos

        • How to Use Password AutoFill on Apple TV

        • How to Pair an Apple Remote With an Apple TV

        Compatibility

        tvOS 14 is designed to run on the fourth- and fifth-generation Apple TV models. It is not compatible with earlier versions of the Apple TV, as those models do not support tvOS.

        More on the Apple TV

        Be sure to check out our dedicated Apple TV roundup, which includes information on the Apple TV hardware, for full details on the fourth and fifth generation Apple TV versions.


      Comments

      Post a Comment

      Popular posts from this blog

      Night Mode on iPhone: Everything You Need to Know

      Image
      The newest iPhones from Apple, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, are fitted with a new feature called Night mode, designed to take crisp, clear pictures even if lighting conditions, such as at night, are low.   Unfortunately, Night mode is not supported on the   iPhone SE   or   iPhone XR . It remains an exclusive feature for the ‌iPhone 11‌ line of phones. As the name suggests, Night mode allows you to take pictures at night, with lighting that has never been possible on an iPhone before, thanks to new hardware and new machine learning algorithms. Although Night Mode brightens photos, it also preserves the feeling of night time, balancing an image's light and dark elements. For a while now, Android smartphone manufacturers such as Google and Samsung have had unique modes to brighten up evening shots, and Apple is on equal footing with these other smartphone cameras with the 2019 iPhones. What is Night Mode? Night mode is an automatic setting that take...
      Read more

      Best 2021 Xbox controllers: Get the advantage of these third-party and official pads with these

      Image
        (Pocket-lint) - The Xbox controller has a pretty remarkable lineage already - following the very unusual design embraced by the original console's chunky gamepad, the Xbox 360 introduced a new type that's stood the test of time. It has been updated only marginally over the Xbox One years, and for the Xbox Series X and S as well, it has remained very similar. That's a testament to a great deal of architecture, but it also has some limitations. Picking up a new controller might be a game-changer, because it's not quite the right shape for you, or whether you want some extra buttons and features. It has been updated only marginally over the Xbox One years, and for the Xbox Series X and S as well, it has remained very similar. That's a testament to a great deal of architecture, but it also has some limitations. Picking up a new controller might be a game-changer, because it's not quite the right shape for you, or whether you want some extra buttons and features. T...
      Read more
      Image
        Buyer's Guide for the iPad Air 4 vs. iPad Air 3 Apple updated its iconic iPad Air in September 2020, adding a faster A14 Bionic processor, a wider display, USB-C, compatibility with the Magic Keyboard, a variety of colours, and a complete redesign. While Apple is no longer selling the previous 3rd generation iPad Air from 2019, it continues to be readily available at third-party retailers. As the 2019 model varies markedly from the current iPad Air 4, it can be found at a slightly lower price. What do these two iPad Air models have in common, and should you consider saving money by buying the older model? The question of how to determine which of these two generations is better for you is answered by our guide. Generally speaking, the iPad Air 4 is a big improvement over the iPad Air 3. Comparing the iPad Air 2019 and the iPad Air 2020 Although both models have a slightly different design, more features are shared than you would expect. Apple lists the same characteristics of the...
      Read more