New Apple TV Beta, iOS 8 Beta 2 Lay Groundwork for Upcoming Family Sharing Feature

Alongside the second iOS 8 beta released earlier today, Apple also released a new version of the Apple TV software. The two updates appear to have laid the groundwork for Family Sharing, as there's a new section for "Family Purchases" in the iOS App Store's Purchased tab and a new iCloud Family setting for the Apple TV.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Family Sharing on the Apple TV (and on the App Store) is not yet functional, but as described by Apple during the Worldwide Developers Conference, it allows users to share purchased content across accounts.

familysharing

Image courtesy of 9to5Mac

Families of up to six people with iTunes accounts that use the same credit card can share content like apps, iBooks, music, movies, and more, across all of their devices using iCloud. Family Sharing also lets families share photos, videos, a calendar, reminders, and more, to keep everyone in the family connected.

On the Apple TV, it is likely Family Sharing will let users access TV shows, movies, and music that has been downloaded by family members.

Today's Apple TV software update was only available for the third-generation Apple TV (and Rev A), so it is unclear if features like Family Sharing will be limited to those devices, excluding second generation Apple TVs.

Though it is not yet available, Family Sharing will be implemented before OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 are released to the public this fall.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
samsung crease less foldable display ces 2026%402x

Foldable iPhone's Crease-Free Display Tech Spotted at CES 2026

Tuesday January 6, 2026 3:04 am PST by
CES 2026 has just provided a first glimpse of the folding display technology that Apple is expected to use in its upcoming foldable iPhone. At the event, Samsung Display briefly showcased its new crease-less foldable OLED panel beside a Galaxy Z Fold 7, and according to SamMobile, which saw the test booth before it was abruptly removed, the new panel "has no crease at all" in comparison. The ...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
AirPods Pro 3 Year of the Horse Feature

Apple Launches Year of the Horse AirPods Pro 3 for Lunar New Year

Monday January 5, 2026 11:28 am PST by
Apple has designed a limited edition version of the AirPods Pro 3 to celebrate Lunar New Year, and customers in select countries can purchase them starting today. The Year of the Horse Special Edition AirPods Pro 3 feature a unique horse emoji character that's otherwise unavailable. Customers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore are able to buy the AirPods, and they'll be...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
m4 macbook air blue 2

iPadOS and macOS 26.2 Double 5GHz Wi-Fi Bandwidth for Wi-Fi 6E Devices

Monday January 5, 2026 1:57 pm PST by
With the release of iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2, Apple has improved the Wi-Fi speeds for select Macs and iPads that support Wi-Fi 6E. Updated Wi-Fi connectivity specifications are listed in Apple's platform deployment guide. The M4 iPad Pro models, M3 iPad Air models, A17 Pro iPad mini, M2 to M5 MacBook Pro models, M2, M3, and M4 MacBook Air models, and other Wi-Fi 6E Macs and iPads now ...
anker new charger 2026

Anker Introduces Pre-Order Discounts on 2026 Nano Chargers, Alongside Big New Year's Sale

Monday January 5, 2026 10:17 am PST by
Anker announced a new series of products at CES this week, and most of them will begin rolling out to customers later in January. A few of these devices, including the Nano Docking Station and 45W Nano Charger, have pre-order discounts on Anker's website, and we're also tracking big discounts in Anker's New Year's sale. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...

Top Rated Comments

Sol Avatar
151 months ago
I just wish that the Apple TV hardware upgrade would come out already. I held out from buying the 2nd and 3rd gen for so long that I expect a new model to get announced the moment that I purchase either of them.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mw360 Avatar
151 months ago
According to that screenshot Family Sharing is now called iCloud Family?
I'm starting to see what Apple meant when they said iCloud was the centre of their strategy for the next 10 years. It makes perfect sense now: its not a technology strategy, its a sales strategy. iCloud features demand the latest OS on all devices. Dropbox doesn't, Google Drive doesn't but iCloud only works if you are completely current on every device. If you fall behind, your access is cut. Why's that? So they can hold your data and services for ransom if you don't have modern hardware.

How many people lost sync services when Mobile Me got 'upgraded' and their hardware wasn't new enough. How many lost sync access when iWork got that upgrade/downgrade fiasco. How many lost Aperture with the non-backwards-compatible mandatory update. We'll lose home sharing next. Then our photo roll. All these free updates and services aren't the free handout they appear to be. iCloud as a service has no need whatsoever to be so demanding on the currency of your hardware and OS. This is all a big scheme.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
151 months ago
iCloud as a service has no need whatsoever to be so demanding on the currency of your hardware and OS. This is all a big scheme.

Your complains about being pushed to the latest and news are certainly valid (if nothing new in the world of Apple), but you're mistaken about this one.

Adding new features to a service integrated with software always requires new software. You don't get new Dropbox features without updating the software, either. And at some point, support is going to be dropped. For example, Dropbox shut down V1 of their mobile API recently, leaving a lot of unupdateable apps (on older devices) unable to sync.

Apple could certainly backport support for this new feature to older OS versions, but as a software engineer I can tell you there is significant effort involved in maintaining multiple active development branches. No matter your resources, it will slow you down. So much for "no need".
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mainstreetmark Avatar
151 months ago
So no completely revamped AppleTV software soon?

I suspect this is a maintenance release, to add in stuff that Yosemite compels them to add. They don't want any major element of their ecosystem to not be compatible.

Odds are, there's going to be a big hardware upgrade, and with that, a big OS upgrade. Can't come soon enough. I wish there was a "default to Netflix" setting on my Apple TV.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeneralChang Avatar
151 months ago
I just wish that the Apple TV hardware upgrade would come out already. I held out from buying the 2nd and 3rd gen for so long that I expect a new model to get announced the moment that I purchase either of them.

Well for heaven’s sake, go buy one so the rest of us can get the new one. It sounds like Apple is just waiting on you. :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JHankwitz Avatar
151 months ago
I just wish that the Apple TV hardware upgrade would come out already. I held out from buying the 2nd and 3rd gen for so long that I expect a new model to get announced the moment that I purchase either of them.

Sol, PLEASE BUY ONE. That way everyone will soon benefit from a new release. :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)