Following today's WWDC keynote event that saw the debut of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, and watchOS 4, Apple has seeded the first beta of the new tvOS 11 operating system for the Apple TV to developers for testing purposes.

Registered developers can download tvOS 11 by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C cable and installing the beta software using iTunes.

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tvOS 11 saw little screen time at today's event, and in fact, it wasn't even officially announced on stage. The new operating system was largely glossed over, with the exception of an announcement for an upcoming Amazon Prime Video app.

According to Apple's release notes, tvOS 11 brings automatic light/dark appearance switching, Home screen syncing options, new background modes and notification support, Focus API improvements, custom sound support, network-based pairing and development support, and improvements to Mobile Device Management.

tvOS 11 is only available for registered developers at the current point in time, but Apple's beta site now includes tvOS 11, suggesting a public tvOS beta is coming.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Top Rated Comments

CalZephyr Avatar
CalZephyr
74 months ago
I, for one, am excited there will finally be an app for Amazon Prime Video.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
i hate phones Avatar
i hate phones
74 months ago
Was that said in the keynote? I was too busy fuming about the first of the sixth major updates being the launch of a US only video app
Yep :) that's how they ended the tvOS part of the presentation.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JimmyJimmyYam Avatar
JimmyJimmyYam
74 months ago
Ooh, potions!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
HobeSoundDarryl
74 months ago
Anyone have any more detail on what this might mean...

Home screen syncing potions
Potions? Assuming typo, maybe "positions"? But does that make sense?

Wait a minute, "options": Home screen syncing options? But then what might that be? Synching with what? First thought: other :apple:TVs within the house... but would a family want multiple :apple:TVs to have a synced home screen? Speculation or hard information?

Then again if we can call an OS "High" maybe another can have "potions":

* "Sure dude, it's 4K." and
* "Here... try this. Now it's 8K." and
* "No try this. Now it's a Star Trek Holodeck";)

And what do we think this might mean...

custom sound support
...such as what? First thought: new audio codecs (Dolby Atmos, DTS). But then I get real and started wondering if this is interface beeps and similar, meaning we can pick different click sounds. Something else? Speculation or hard information?

Jokes aside: glad they're still trying with tvOS. :apple:TV has such potential. I wish they would give it some major focus (akin to the focus much smaller competitors with much less cash seem to apply to their versions of these little boxes).
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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