Apple TV's New iPhone-Based Color Balance Feature Coming to 2015 and Newer Models

by

Apple today announced that the Apple TV is getting a new iPhone-based color balance feature to improve a TV's picture quality.

apple tv color balance
Starting with tvOS 14.5 and iOS 14.5, users will be able to hold an iPhone with Face ID near their TV and, after tapping a notification, the iPhone's front-facing camera and ambient light sensor will begin color measurements and automatically tailor the Apple TV's video output to deliver more accurate colors and improved contrast. Apple says this process will result in improved picture quality without adjusting the TV's settings.

While this feature was advertised alongside a new Apple TV 4K, Apple's press release confirms that the color balance process will also be available for the previous-generation Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD running tvOS 14.5, which will be released next week.

The new Apple TV 4K features a faster A12 Bionic chip, support for high frame rate HDR and Dolby Vision video, and a redesigned Siri Remote with a physical clickpad that is also touch-enabled for swipe gestures that Apple TV users are familiar with. The outer ring of the clickpad supports a circular gesture for finding a scene in a movie or show.

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

Top Rated Comments

ShawnyRHarvey Avatar
ShawnyRHarvey
9 weeks ago
Looks like it’s a smart feature. My LG TV doesn’t need color balance

Attachment Image
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LarrySW Avatar
LarrySW
9 weeks ago
Yeah it works on the current 4K box fine, I am running 14.5 RC and just did it. It did make a change to the color balance and seems better.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crzyrio Avatar
Crzyrio
9 weeks ago

If it's anything like the way TCL does there so called "calibration" using the iPhone and calibration app, it will be a joke. If anyone truly thinks they will get an accurate picture using an iPhone to calibrate the ATV, I got some swamp land to sell you. You really need a good meter, calman software and a pattern generator to calibrate the tv, not this to adjust the colors on the ATV.
No one is claiming it to compete with a good meter. 90% of people never calibrate their tv even, this is for them.

And from initial impression it is not using just the camera. If that was the case, they would use the rear camera.

it’s seems to be using the full array of what’s in the notch for Face ID.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
Kylo83
9 weeks ago
my LG OLED CX won't need this
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AndersM Avatar
AndersM
9 weeks ago
This could be useful on Macs with third party monitors as well. Is it viable that it could come to the Mac as well? After all there is a TV app for macOS...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGüey Avatar
iGüey
9 weeks ago
This new feature works with every iPhone or just with the new Purple iPhone announced today?? ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Top Stories

macbook air orange

Apple Developing a Whole New Kind of MacBook Air

Monday June 21, 2021 2:15 am PDT by
Apple is believed to be working on a completely new, high-end version of the MacBook Air, according to recent reports. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who often reveals accurate insights into Apple's plans, has repeatedly discussed the company's work on a high-end MacBook Air. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and leaker Jon Prosser have also referred to a similar MacBook Air model. The high-end...
Read Full Article
ios wifi settings

iOS Bug Causes Specific Network Name to Disable Wi-Fi on iPhones

Sunday June 20, 2021 4:15 am PDT by
A wireless network naming bug has been discovered in iOS that effectively disables an iPhone's ability to connect to Wi-Fi. Security researcher Carl Schou found that after joining a Wi-Fi network with the name "%p%s%s%s%s%n" his iPhone's Wi-Fi functionality was left "permanently disabled." Changing a hotspot's SSID did nothing to correct the problem, with even a reboot failing to make a...
Read Full Article • 144 comments
purple iphone 12 and 12 mini

iPhone 12 Mini Production Reportedly Ended Earlier Than Expected Due to Relatively Low Sales

Monday June 21, 2021 7:07 am PDT by
Following widespread reports that the iPhone 12 mini has experienced poor sales performance, at least relative to other iPhone 12 models, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today claimed that production of the device has already ended. According to TrendForce, the iPhone 12 mini "reached End-of-Life ahead of time" during the second quarter of 2021, suggesting that Apple will focus on selling ...
Read Full Article • 181 comments
iOS 15 Users Underwhelmed Feature

Users Underwhelmed by iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Survey Suggests

Monday June 21, 2021 7:17 am PDT by
Users appear to be underwhelmed by Apple's upcoming iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 updates, according to the findings of a new survey by SellCell. The survey asked 3,000 iPhone and iPad users, evenly split between men and women, aged 18 or over in the United States, what they thought of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and the naming of the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup. Over 50 percent of all of the survey's...
Read Full Article • 406 comments
Top Stories 63 Feature

Top Stories: Beats Studio Buds Announced, Apple Watch Series 7 Rumors, and More

Saturday June 19, 2021 6:00 am PDT by
The Apple news cycle started to move beyond WWDC this week, but that doesn't mean there still wasn't a lot to talk about, led by the official debut of the much-leaked Beats Studio Buds that might give us a hint of what to expect for the second-generation AirPods Pro. With no hardware announcements at WWDC, we also took a look at when we might finally see the long-rumored redesigned MacBook...
Read Full Article • 15 comments
primeday2020 feature3

Amazon Prime Day: The Best Apple Deals

Monday June 21, 2021 6:15 am PDT by
Amazon's annual Prime Day event has officially kicked off today, beginning 48 hours of discounts, offers, and tons of savings across Amazon's storefront. This includes everything from home electronics to clothing, jewelry, video games, movies, and much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
Read Full Article • 23 comments
iOS Spam Calendar Feature

iCloud Users Continue to Be Plagued by Calendar Spam

Monday June 21, 2021 8:51 am PDT by
Despite previous attempts to put the situation at rest, some iCloud users continue to experience spam calendar invitations, causing their calendars to be filled with random events. The situation received widespread coverage in 2016, where Apple said that it was "actively working to address this issue" by "identifying and blocking suspicious senders." Victims are targeted in various ways. The ...
Read Full Article • 76 comments
iphone 13 yellow

TrendForce: iPhone 13 Lineup Will Remain Limited to Maximum 512GB of Storage

Monday June 21, 2021 6:33 am PDT by
Apple will likely unveil its next-generation "iPhone 12s" or "iPhone 13" lineup in around two and a half months from now, and ahead of time, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce has outlined its expectations for the devices. A summary of TrendForce's expectations:Apple will unveil four new iPhones in September, including a mini model, a standard model, and two Pro models. September is the...
Read Full Article • 62 comments
16 inch macbook pro m2 render

When Can We Expect the Redesigned MacBook Pros Now?

Wednesday June 16, 2021 7:11 am PDT by
With no sign of redesigned MacBook Pro models at this year's WWDC, when can customers expect the much-anticipated new models to launch? A number of reports, including investor notes from Morgan Stanley and Wedbush analysts, claimed that new MacBook Pro models would be coming during this year's WWDC. This did not happen, much to the disappointment of MacBook Pro fans, who have been...
Read Full Article • 254 comments
maxresdefault

Video: 20 Annoyances Apple Fixed in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey

Friday June 18, 2021 11:36 am PDT by
With iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, Apple is adding several quality of life improvements, which are designed to address some of the complaints that people have had with these operating systems for years now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. In our latest YouTube video, we're highlighting some of our favorite "fix" features that address long-running problems in iOS and...
Read Full Article • 132 comments