One of the tvOS 14 features that's meant to be included in the update is support for 4K videos for the first time, but as many MacRumors readers have noticed, 4K video content is not available after updating to the tvOS 14 update released earlier this week.
Selecting a 4K video on a 4K Apple TV upgraded to tvOS 14 limits the video playback to 1080p, which is the same playback quality that was available before.
Apple's Apple TV 4K website continues to say that 4K support for YouTube videos is a feature that's supposed to be included in tvOS 14, but it is missing in the release version of the software.
It's not clear what's going on, but there have been many upset Apple TV owners complaining on Twitter. Some users have said that 4K playback was working as expected with YouTube during some of the betas, but functionality was erratic, so perhaps there are bugs that need to be worked out.
It may be that YouTube needs to push an app update for the feature to work, and YouTube's Twitter support team seems confused. Just yesterday, a TeamYouTube account said that 4K resolution YouTube can't be delivered to the Apple TV 4K because it does not support VP9, so it seems YouTube's own staff is confused by the feature.
Appreciate the details – we can't deliver 4K resolution bc Apple TV 4K model (5th generation) does not support VP9 at this time. But we appreciate your suggestion and we're actively making improvements based on user input. More details in this article: https://t.co/fOEOLtX5X0
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 16, 2020
Update: YouTube deleted the original tweet from its support staff, and has clarified that Apple TV 4K will support 4K playback "soon."
Sorry about the back and forth -- jumping in to clarify that Apple TV 4K will support 4K playback soon. Stay tuned for an update here.
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 18, 2020
Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing.
Test Settings
I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 could feature 50% more memory than its predecessor, according to Korea's The Bell.
With its latest iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max feature 12GB of memory. This is a significant increase of 4GB more their predecessors, largely driven by the demands of on-device artificial intelligence processing.
The iPhone 17 is the only new...
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android.
The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
Friday October 24, 2025 7:18 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
At least some new iPhone models launching next year may support full 5G satellite internet, according to a report this week from The Information.
"Apple plans to add support in upcoming iPhones as early as next year for 5G networks that aren't tethered to Earth's surface, which includes satellites," the report said. "That would give the iPhone full internet access over satellite," it added.
...
Another annoyance: full 4K support was available in the YouTube app during the iOS and iPad OS betas, but now it’s limited to HDR videos for no discernible reason. I really have to believe this issue is on YouTube’s end.
[LIST=1] * YouTube uses a non-standard video codec created and owned by Google (yes, it's open, but still narrower support). * Users get upset at Apple because their devices don't support it.
VP9 is a direct competitor to H.265, which AppleTV *does* support!
Yes, Apple should support VP9, but YouTube should also deliver in H.265. The same argument can be made on both counts. So be upset with YouTube for not supporting an established standard!
I'm starting to wonder if it's Google that's blocking Apple from allowing 4K streaming in favor of using Google's products to view it. Very odd this keeps going on.
This is a mess. Apple and Google have been having this spat for YEARS now. I wish they'd work together on this. I get that they're competitors, but it's kind of like politics; most people aren't going to switch sides, we all love our devices and want to keep them so it's best to just work with each other for the common good.
