Regardless of rumors that Apple may add a seventh working system to its lineup this week within the type of a brand new “homeOS,” yesterday’s Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC) keynote was surprisingly skinny on home-related bulletins in comparison with the previous few years.
It was a stark distinction from 4 years in the past when Apple went as far as to construct a devoted house set for WWDC 2021 to point out off all the brand new options in iOS 15 and tvOS 15.
Mockingly, rumors additionally pointed to homeOS showing that 12 months; as a substitute, it continued a development that started in 2020 with the corporate downplaying tvOS and speaking extra in regards to the Apple TV as a platform and lumping it in with different house and audio merchandise just like the AirPods.
Nonetheless, Apple had nothing to say about these merchandise this 12 months, which meant the Apple TV and tvOS 26 took the one stage time. It was a mere five-minute presentation sandwiched between watchOS 26 and macOS Tahoe.
Curiously, the corporate is again to extra prominently calling it tvOS. Throughout yesterday’s keynote, the phrase “tvOS” was uttered six occasions — as soon as by Craig Federighi and 5 by Justin Washington, the Apple TV app product supervisor who offered the brand new options in tvOS 26. That won’t sound like a lot, but it surely’s as many occasions as Apple used the time period in its final 4 WWDC keynotes mixed — as soon as at WWDC21, twice at WWDC23, and thrice at WWDC24. Apple skipped it totally throughout WWDC 2022.
It’s additionally the primary time Apple has proven “tvOS” on the middle of its closing options overview slide, which was labeled “Residence” or “Residence & Audio” throughout the previous 5 WWDC keynotes. The final time tvOS was an enormous deal was in 2019, when Apple launched Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade.
This may very well be seen as an indication that tvOS is changing into extra vital, but it surely was additionally the one house product Apple had something to say about. That is the primary WWDC in 5 years that tvOS has been a solo act; the phrase “HomePod” wasn’t uttered as soon as, and AirPods had been talked about solely within the context of the brand new studio-quality recording workflows in iPadOS 26.
What’s New in tvOS 26
So, with tvOS being the one house product of observe this 12 months, what’s truly new? Properly, first up is that it naturally will get the identical Liquid Glass remedy as the whole lot else bearing the quantity 26 this 12 months.
That’s not too completely different from the Liquid Glass of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, though it may very well be extra vital on the bigger display. Menus and playback controls at the moment are surrounded by glass reasonably than simply being standalone chunks of textual content, they usually refract the content material you’re watching in order that it shines by means of in a pure approach.
The identical applies to the Management Heart, which additionally options glassier buttons with the same impact if you pull it down. There’s an entire new degree of depth right here, and whereas it’s taking some getting used to (I’m already operating the tvOS 26 beta on one among my Apple TVs), it’s undoubtedly a cool impact. I’ll should resolve later if it’s a good one. In any case, a minimalist design that stays out of the way in which is arguably higher than a bunch of refracting glass panels. Nonetheless, I additionally don’t need to decide developer beta one too closely — Apple typically refines this stuff throughout its beta cycles.
There aren’t any vital adjustments to the person interface past the brand new appear and feel, though the TV app will get new poster artwork that’s proven in portrait view, that means you’ll be able to match extra exhibits and flicks on the width of your display. The FaceTime redesign from iOS 26 and the remaining additionally involves the FaceTime app on tvOS, that includes a touchdown web page of contact posters reasonably than merely an inventory of names.
Profile Choice
One function that shall be helpful for multiuser households is the flexibility to pick a brand new profile on wake. This works such as you’d anticipate and is much like what many streaming apps do. Once you activate the Apple TV, you’ll be offered with an inventory of everybody with a profile in your set-top field, plus different customers who’re a part of your iCloud Household Sharing plan.
This allows you to select a viewing profile from the beginning. That saves you the additional step of mentioning the Management Heart to change manually and reduces the probabilities of messing with another person’s profile in case you neglect to vary to your personal.
Notice that person profiles are usually not secured. You continue to can’t set a PIN, so anyone with entry to your Apple TV can select any profile. Parental Restrictions can be found, however they work the identical approach as earlier than, making use of to all profiles.
Nonetheless, Apple is including a brand new Computerized Signal-In API that builders can use to assist their apps match person profiles. It will hyperlink the logins to your favourite streaming apps to your person profile, but it surely’s unclear if it should additionally be capable of hyperlink particular person profiles inside a single account.
Sing Alongside to Apple Music
In December 2022, Apple launched a brand new karaoke mode to its music service known as “Apple Music Sing,” offering real-time lyrics and a brand new slider that permits you to fade out the vocals so you’ll be able to sing alongside as a substitute. It’s solely ever been supported on the third-generation Apple TV, and that gained’t change with tvOS 26, however Apple is constant to broaden it to supply an excellent higher karaoke expertise.
With tvOS 17, Apple added the flexibility to make use of Continuity Digicam so you can pair up your iPhone to bounce alongside to the music. Now, tvOS 26 will allow you to put your iPhone to an excellent higher use — as a microphone so you’ll be able to sing together with a voice that’s correctly blended with the lyrics.
After all, anybody severe about internet hosting karaoke events (like each one among my Filipino in-laws) probably already has an impartial mic and amp setup of their house. Nonetheless, with tvOS 26, you’ll be capable of skip that step and let everybody depend on their iPhones as mics.
To that finish, Apple has additionally damaged out Apple Music Sing into its personal standalone Sing app, offering extra handy entry and making certain that everybody is aware of it’s there.
The Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation function from iOS 26 will also be discovered right here, letting people sing alongside to much more songs, even when they don’t know the language (sadly, Tagalog stays lacking from the checklist of supported languages).
Different Modifications in tvOS 26
This 12 months, Apple is including a Telephone app to macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26. Whereas it’s not extending that to tvOS, it’s no less than taking a partial step by providing incoming name notifications in your Apple TV.
You’ll additionally now be capable of completely join any AirPlay-enabled speaker as an exterior speaker to your Apple TV — not simply stereo pairs of HomePods. Nonetheless, this gained’t prolong to Bluetooth audio system.
Whereas we gained’t be getting any thrilling new screensaver classes this 12 months like Snoopy (and TV and Films stays lacking in motion), Apple can be including new aerial scenes from India, particularly Goa and Kerala.
What About homeOS?
Simply because Apple had nothing to say about homeOS yesterday doesn’t imply it’s not nonetheless beneath growth. We’ve been listening to rumors of it for years, so Apple is clearly as much as one thing new.
Nonetheless, most up-to-date stories counsel that homeOS is meant to energy a brand new class of sensible house gadgets like Apple’s rumored sensible house hub. Whereas some believed we’d see that product launched by now, Apple has reportedly run into software program delays associated to its challenges in smartening up Siri. It’d nonetheless be unveiled this fall, however early 2026 may very well be simply as probably, relying on how issues go.
There was a concept that Apple might need given us a sneak preview of the machine this week so builders might put together for it. Nonetheless, Apple’s first-generation sensible house hub isn’t anticipated to have an App Retailer, so there’s not a lot for builders to do with it. If there’s one thing that {hardware} accent makers must learn about, that’s dealt with by means of its MFi program, and Apple typically places its MFi companions beneath strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for brand spanking new gadgets.
Will My Apple TV Run tvOS 26?
There’s some excellent news for Apple TV customers. Although it’s been a decade for the reason that launch of the primary tvOS-powered Apple TV, Apple nonetheless hasn’t kicked that one out of the camp.
In different phrases, tvOS 26 will run on each Apple TV that’s ever supported any model of tvOS (fashions launched earlier than 2015 used a special software program platform). Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply older fashions will get all the identical options.
Notably, Apple’s new Liquid Glass design requires a second-generation or later Apple TV 4K. The 2015 Apple TV HD and 2017 Apple TV 4K will presumably use the identical design as tvOS 18.
As we famous earlier, Apple Music Sing additionally stays unique to the newest Apple TV 4K — the third-generation mannequin launched in 2022. Older fashions can nonetheless show lyrics in Apple Music, however they gained’t get the brand new Sing app or any of the options that permit them sing together with their iPhones.
When is tvOS 26 Coming?
As with the remainder of Apple’s “26” updates, tvOS 26 went into developer beta right this moment, will probably present up as a public beta in July, and be launched to the general public in September throughout Apple’s fall iPhone occasion.
Hopefully, by then, we could even see a brand new Apple TV 4K to accompany it and presumably another house gadgets operating homeOS, however we’ll have to attend and see what occurs, as Apple’s house ambitions appear to be up within the air proper now.