Apple Releases tvOS 16.2 with Apple Music Sing, TV App Tweaks and More

Apple today released tvOS 16.2, the second major update to the tvOS 16 operating system that initially debuted in September. tvOS 16.2 comes more than a month after the release of tvOS 16.1, an update that introduced Siri improvements and iCloud Shared Photo Library.

Apple TV 2022 Feature Orange
The tvOS 16.2 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update. ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to ‌tvOS 16.2 automatically. tvOS 16.2 is compatible with ‌Apple TV‌ 4K and ‌Apple TV‌ HD models.

tvOS 16.2 adds support for Apple Music Sing, the new karaoke feature designed to let ‌Apple Music‌ subscribers with an ‌Apple TV‌ sing along to their favorite songs, solo or in duets. ‌Apple Music‌ Sing is compatible with the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K, which is the newest model.

The update adds Apple TV+ previews, displaying videos of new ‌Apple TV+‌ shows and films in the Originals tab, plus it tweaks the main TV app interface, moving down the "Watch Now" bar in favor of content previews.

Apple says that tvOS 16.2 provides video recommendations on what to watch next after you finish a show or movie, plus it introduces a new unified sports experience. You can follow your favorite teams in the ‌Apple TV‌ app and automatically have news on those teams show up in Apple News.

Apple provides additional details on tvOS releases in its dedicated tvOS support document, which is updated after each new iteration of tvOS.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Caution)

Top Rated Comments

CarAnalogy Avatar
18 months ago
Really do not like the new "up next" view as of tvOS 16. I preferred the old way (though I wish it wouldn't do it at all) of showing the next episode in a small window, instead of minimizing the *still playing* episode to show me a giant still of the next one. Baffling regression, and there's no option to turn it off.

Now this update says it comes with up next "recommendations." I don't suppose anyone knows yet if this can be turned off.

It seems like Apple completely forgot that they actually *sell* tv shows and movies. The only thing I watch in the Apple TV app is purchased TV shows and movies, and they keep making the experience worse.

Edit: yeah that giant unremovable banner at the top, another huge one in the middle, ads all over the place.

There is exactly one tiny row (it has been made smaller) of what I actually want to “watch now” and the rest of the entire page is an animated banner ad. What the hell is going on at Apple right now? They’ve turned the deceptive design advertisers loose.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sjsharksfan12 Avatar
18 months ago
I don't like the new promos on top of the up next. I should have the option of showing the show that is the most recent up next instead of what they want me to see. Seems like an unnecessary change.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
18 months ago

I don't like the new promos on top of the up next. I should have the option of showing the show that is the most recent up next instead of what they want me to see. Seems like an unnecessary change.
See but what’s really important here is engagement. Gotta get you watching Apple TV+. Did you know about Apple TV+? You’re gonna know about Apple TV+. Tim thinks you’re gonna love Apple TV+.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andy o Avatar
18 months ago

The ethernet speed of the 3rd gen Apple TV 4k(2022) with tvOS 16.2 is limited to 100Mbps. I’m not sure if other peoples experience the same issue. I tested the cable and router with a laptop but all work fine except for the Apple TV. I remember it supported 1Gbps when I got it a month ago.
Here same ATV on 16.2 it's fine, pretty much saturating the ethernet at ~940Mb/s both locally (Infuse) and on the Speedtest.net app with my gigabit internet.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WilliamG Avatar
18 months ago

The automatic switching of hubs is super annoying. Is the option to turn off hub services on specific ATVs removed? I hadn’t noticed that. Not good. My HomeKit has the same issue. Only one of my ATVs is correctly positioned to act as a reliable home hub. If it switches to one of the others the whole system becomes unreliable.
Yes, the option to turn off hub services is gone. All I can say is... best of luck. I've temporarily solved this (maybe?) but unplugging every other Apple TV in the house (including the one Apple assigned as the hub), leaving just the one I want to be the home hub. HomeKit then assigned that one as the hub. I plugged in the other Apple TVs and it has not switched to any of those, thankfully. If it stays this way, I can live with that, even if it's silly I can't manually assign...

You still can if you dont upgrade to the new home architecture. Its optional. In fact, is a manual process.
OK, can you help me travel back in time to undo this? Because Apple never said this would happen, and I've no way back. It's a BS change without warning.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
18 months ago

Really do not like the new "up next" view as of tvOS 16. I preferred the old way (though I wish it wouldn't do it at all) of showing the next episode in a small window, instead of minimizing the *still playing* episode to show me a giant still of the next one. Baffling regression, and there's no option to turn it off.

Now this update says it comes with up next "recommendations." I don't suppose anyone knows yet if this can be turned off.

It seems like Apple completely forgot that they actually *sell* tv shows and movies. The only thing I watch in the Apple TV app is purchased TV shows and movies, and they keep making the experience worse.

Edit: yeah that giant unremovable banner at the top, another huge one in the middle, ads all over the place.

There is exactly one tiny row (it has been made smaller) of what I actually want to “watch now” and the rest of the entire page is an animated banner ad. What the hell is going on at Apple right now? They’ve turned the deceptive design advertisers loose.
I actually shut off auto-update on my Apple TV before it updated itself to 16.2 -- because this all sounds really ****ty. I'll update eventually if there's some feature I can't live without or something breaks.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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