Apple has released a developer version of the next generation of its smart TV operating system, which is set to launch on the Apple TV 4K devices later in the year. It’s called tvOS 27, which is a big jump from the existing tvOS 18 platform, but only because Apple has changed its naming convention to reflect actual years rather than version numbers..
Although it’s available to developers now, the company hasn’t actually published much by way of details on tvOS 27, and so HDTVTest has had to piece together different tidbits of information to try and report what users can expect from the updated platform.
One thing stumbled across was a report by 9to5Mac, which revealed that tvOS 27 will introduce an updated Podcasts app, as well as a new smart downloads feature. It also detailed performance enhancements such as faster app launches (up to 30% faster) and a slicker Control Center interface.
Looking at Apple’s various slides that were shown during its WWDC keynote last week, we found that the company is also adding faster AirPlay connections to Apple TV and HomePod devices, as well as Hi-Res Lossless support (up to 24-bit/192kHz) for the Apple Music service, which also gets faster playback starts.
In addition, tvOS 27 will enable HomeKit Secure Video recordings to be processed on-device, and there will be improved Thread support with Thread 1.4, which allows compatible Apple devices, like the Apple TV 4K, to act a border router for smart home devices.
Elsewhere, we discovered that Apple plans to provide users with access to their AppleCare coverage details within the tvOS Settings menu – previously this was only available elsewhere. There are also “improved game controller settings,” reduced app sizes and new accessibility features to look forward to, such as larger text size options and support for “Made for iPhone” hearing aids.
Of course, these are all fairly minor upgrades and it’s unlikely that most Apple TV 4K users are going to be giddy with excitement about the prospect of their arrival. During WWDC, there was a lot of fanfare about the new version of Siri AI, which is going to be enhanced by Apple Intelligence.
Siri AI is set to come to platforms including iOS for iPhones, iPadOS and macOS, but there was no mention of it landing on tvOS. If so, it would mean that tvOS is the only major Apple software platform that doesn’t add intelligent features this year, and that would be a big shame. As we saw at WWDC, it allows users to speak to Siri in a more natural way, similar to Google Gemini or ChatGPT, understand your personal context and help you to find answers and search for content more easily. It would be a fantastic addition to tvOS, but it’s not clear if it’s going to happen this year.
However, there is a chance that Apple is simply holding back ahead of an expected Apple TV 4K hardware upgrade later this year, and it’s possible that this brand new device, if it launches, could come with Siri AI. But even if that does happen, there’s no guarantee that Siri AI will come to older devices.
It’s absolutely certain that it won’t come to Apple TV HD from 2015 or the first generation Apple TV 4K from 2017, as Apple has stated that these older devices won’t be compatible with tvOS 27. Going forward, those devices will have to persist with an older version of the software.
Apple said tvOS 27 is currently available as a developer beta, which will later be released as a public beta, probably during the summer. The final version is expected to be released in the autumn, alongside the launch of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, visionOS 27 and watchOS 27.
