tvOS (formerly known as Apple TV Software) is an

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

developed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generation, it is based on the

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts. The second and third generation Apple TV have several built-in applications, but do not support third-party applications. On September 9, 2015 at a media event, Apple announced the fourth generation Apple TV, with support for third-party applications. Apple changed the name of the Apple TV operating system to tvOS, adopting the

camel case Camel case (sometimes stylized as camelCase or CamelCase, also known as camel caps or more formally as medial capitals) is the practice of writing phrases without spaces or punctuation. The format indicates the separation of words with a single ...

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to the internationally ag ...

that they were using for their other operating systems,

and

watchOS watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only d ...

History

On October 30, 2015, the fourth generation Apple TV became available, and shipped with tvOS 9.0. On November 9, 2015, tvOS 9.0.1 was released, primarily an update to address minor issues. tvOS 9.1 was released on December 8, 2015 along with OS X 10.11.2,

9.2, and

2.1. Along with these updates, Apple also updated the Remote apps on iOS and watchOS, allowing for basic remote functionality for the fourth generation Apple TV (previously, said app only worked with past versions of Apple TV). On November 25, 2015, Facebook debuted their SDK for tvOS, allowing applications to log into Facebook, share to Facebook, and use Facebook Analytics in the same way that iOS applications can. On December 2, 2015, Twitter debuted their login authentication service for tvOS – "Digits" – allowing users to log into apps and services with a simple, unique code available online. On June 13, 2016, at WWDC 2016, Apple SVP of Internet Services

Eddy Cue Eddy Cue (born Eduardo H. Cue; October 23, 1964) is Apple's senior vice president of Services, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Cue oversees Apple's numerous content stores including the iTunes Store, the Apple Books Store, and Apple Music, as well ...

announced the next major version of tvOS, tvOS 10. tvOS 10 brought new functionality, such as Siri search enhancements, single sign on for cable subscriptions, a dark mode, and a new Remote application for controlling the Apple TV and was officially released on September 13, 2016, along with

iOS 10 iOS 10 is the tenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 9. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 13, 2016, and was released on September ...

. On June 4, 2018, at WWDC 2018, tvOS 12 was announced. tvOS 12 brought support for

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...

E-AC3 and was officially released on September 17, 2018, along with

iOS 12 iOS 12 is the twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvements and security updates. Anno ...

. On April 13, 2020, it was discovered that Apple's Siri Smart Speaker

HomePod The HomePod is a smart speaker developed by Apple Inc. The HomePod was designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service. The HomePod was announced on June 5, 2017, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Its launch was later d ...

began to run variants of the tvOS software. On June 22, 2020, at WWDC 2020, tvOS 14 was announced. tvOS 14 brought support for the Home app and 4K

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

videos and was officially released on September 16, 2020, along with

iOS 14 iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13 ...

and

iPadOS 14 iPadOS 14 is the second major release of the iPadOS operating system developed by Apple for their iPad line of tablet computers. It was announced on June 22, 2020 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) as the successor to i ...

. On June 7, 2021, at WWDC 2021, tvOS 15 was announced. tvOS 15 brought new features and improvements, including SharePlay, a new "Shared with You" section on the TV app, and the ability to play content via voice command and was officially released on September 20, 2021, along with iOS 15 and

iPadOS 15 iPadOS 15 is the third major release of the iPadOS operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. The successor to iPadOS 14, it was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 7, 2021 al ...

. On June 6, 2022, at WWDC 2022, tvOS 16 was announced. tvOS 16 brought support for Nintendo Switch's

Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console. They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to the main Nintendo Switch con ...

and Pro Controllers and additional Bluetooth and USB game controllers and was officially released on September 12, 2022, along with

iOS 16 iOS 16 is the 16th and current major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone line of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2022, as the successor to ...

Features

tvOS 9 shipped with several new features on the fourth generation Apple TV. One of the major features was the ability to move through the interface with the new touchpad remote using multi-touch gestures. It introduced a new

App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...

in which users can download and install new applications (such as apps and games) made available from developers that develop applications for the Apple TV and tvOS. tvOS 9 adds support for Siri, which lets users do a multitude of things such as a cross-application search for a movie/TV show, rewind, fast forward, name and actor/director of the current movie, and skip back 15 seconds. tvOS added support for an application switcher on the Apple TV, more application customization options, cinematic screensavers, and control the TV using the included Siri Remote with the built-in support for HDMI-CEC in tvOS. In addition, tvOS allows the user to control the Apple TV in many different ways. These include using the included Siri Remote, pairing a third-party universal remote, pairing an MFi Gamepad to control games, using the Remote app on

, and pairing a Bluetooth keyboard to aid in the typing experience of the user.

Accessibility

tvOS was designed based on iOS, as such tvOS inherited many of the accessibility features of iOS and macOS. tvOS includes the Apple technologies of

VoiceOver Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

, Zoom, and

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...

to help the blind and those with impaired vision. VoiceOver, Apple's screen reader, is available in more than 30 languages and enables visually impaired users to know what is on the visual display and input responses to on-screen prompts. VoiceOver uses gestures similar to other Apple products (flicks, taps, and the rotor). Like other Apple products such as the iPhone with a three click sequence to the home button to activate accessibility features, with Apple TV's tvOS, a user can activate VoiceOver without any installation process. One needs only to triple-click the Menu button on the Siri Remote and the Apple TV will guide the user through the complete initial setup, a task that is non-trivial to the visually impaired in most comparable products on the market. Another accessibility feature is to increase contrast on the screen which acts by reducing the transparency of background elements on Movie and TV Show pages, menu tabs, and other parts of the operating system. High-contrast can also be turned on, with a cursor to better delineate the focused content. The user can also opt to turn on Reduce Motion which in some screen actions, such as moving between app icons on the Home screen and launching apps are visually simpler which is of benefit to reduce

strain Strain may refer to: Science and technology * Strain (biology), variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes * Strain (chemistry), a chemical stress of a molecule * Strain (injury), an injury to a mu ...

on the eyes. tvOS enables users to watch movies with audio descriptions of what is being shown on the screen. Movies with

audio description Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or te ...

s are displayed with the AD (Audio Description) icon in the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

for tvOS and in iTunes on a Macintosh or Windows PC. Pairing a Bluetooth keyboard with the tvOS on the Apple TV enables another accessibility feature that also is an incorporation of VoiceOver. When typing, VoiceOver mirrors with an audio voice, each character pressed on the keyboard and repeated again when it is entered. The Apple TV is designed to work with the

Apple Wireless Keyboard The Apple Wireless Keyboard is a wireless keyboard built for Macintosh computers and compatible with iOS devices. It interacts over Bluetooth wireless technology and unlike its wired version, it has no USB connectors or ports. Both generations ha ...

or the Apple Magic Keyboard. It will work however with almost any brand of Bluetooth keyboard. Apple TV with and without tvOS supports

closed captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio po ...

, so the deaf or hard of hearing can experience TV episodes and feature-length movies. Compatible episodes and movies are denoted with a CC (closed captioning) or SDH ( subtitles for the deaf or hard-of-hearing) icon in the iTunes Store either on the Apple TV or in iTunes itself. The viewer can customize the captions in episodes or movies with styles and fonts that are more conducive to their hearing and/or visual impairment. The Touch surface on the Siri Remote is customizable. Tracking when set to Fast adjusts the thumb movements made to amplify the distance in relation to how far the thumb has moved on the glass touchpad. Conversely when tracking is set to slow, larger movements of the thumb on the touchpad will tune down the distance that is traversed on the screen. This can help people with disabilities. Apple's Remote app on iOS devices allows control of the Apple TV from an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The iOS remote app increases the accessibility of the Apple TV by enabling Switch Control. Switch Control is a unique Apple technology that enables navigation sequentially through onscreen items and perform specific actions such as selecting, tapping, dragging, typing using third party Bluetooth-enabled switch hardware made for those with handicaps.

Development

tvOS 9 ships with all-new development tools for developers. tvOS adds support for an all-new SDK for developers to build apps for the TV including all of the APIs included in iOS 9 such as

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. It also adds the tvOS App Store which allows users to browse, download, and install a wide variety of applications. In addition, developers can now use their own interface inside of their application rather than only being able to use Apple's interface. Since tvOS is based on iOS, it is easy to port existing iOS apps to the Apple TV with Xcode while making only a few refinements to the app to better suit the larger screen. Apple provides Xcode free of charge to all registered Apple developers. To develop for the new Apple TV, it is necessary to make a parallax image for the application icon. In order to do this, Apple provides a Parallax exporter and previewer in the development tools for the Apple TV.

Version history

Information about new updates to Apple TV (2nd generation) onwards is published on Apple's knowledge base.

Supported OS releases

iOS 4

iOS 4.1 was the first version of iOS available on the Apple TV (2nd generation). It included Apple TV Software 4.0.

iOS 5

On October 23, 2011, Apple TV (2nd generation) received the iOS 5.0 software, with My Photo Stream, AirPlay mirroring (from iPhone 4S & iPad 2), NHL, Wall Street Journal, slideshow themes and Netflix subtitles. Contrary to rumors and code found in iOS 5, the release did not bring support for Bluetooth or apps to the Apple TV (2nd generation).

iOS 6

On September 24, 2012, Apple TV (2nd generation) onwards received the iOS 6.0 software update, with Shared Photo Streams, iTunes account switching, better AirPlay functionality, and Trailers searching, among other smaller improvements.

iOS 7

On September 20, 2013, Apple TV (second generation) onwards received the iOS 7.0 software update, with iTunes Radio and AirPlay from iCloud.

iOS 8

On September 18, 2014, the third generation Apple TV received the iOS 8.0 software update, with a redesigned UI, Family Sharing and peer-to-peer AirPlay.

tvOS 9

tvOS 9 is an operating system that is 95% based on

iOS 9 iOS 9 is the ninth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 8. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, 2015, and was released on September 16, ...

, with adaptations made for a television interface. It was announced on September 9, 2015, alongside the new

iPad Pro The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system. The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad P ...

and iPhone 6S. Tim Cook introduced tvOS, saying that it was time for the Apple TV to gain a modern OS with support for apps, as they are "the future of TV". It will only be available on the Apple TV (4th generation), released in October 2015. It adds a native SDK to develop apps, an

to distribute them, support for Siri, and universal search across multiple apps.

tvOS 10

tvOS 11

tvOS 12

tvOS 13

tvOS 14

tvOS 15

tvOS 16

Notes

References

External links

* – official site for Apple TV {{Authority control Apple Inc. operating systems IOS Proprietary operating systems Streaming media systems Products introduced in 2015