Apple’s annual WWDC introduced the new OS versions for each of Apple’s major platforms. iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS updates are what most people care about, but some of you have an Apple TV (the streaming device) or even an Apple Vision Pro at home. Here are the new features that you can expect soon.
tvOS
Apple has optimized tvOS 27 and promises faster app launches and a more responsive control center. Apple Music starts playing faster too. Speaking of which, Apple Music gains support for Hi-Res Lossless (24-bit/192kHz) playback. Additionally, AirPlay connections between the Apple TV and HomePods should be quicker.
The Podcast app has been redesigned to support both audio and video podcasts. Apple TV is also getting support for smart downloads. If you play games on your Apple TV, you will appreciate the redesigned game controller screen.
The redesigned Podcast app for tvOS 27
If you have smart devices at home, Apple TV now supports Thread 1.4. Additionally, it has support for 4K video recordings. The HomeKit Secure Video recordings are processed on device to generate descriptions and facilitate search.
There are some new accessibility features too, like the option for larger text in the UI and wider support for Made for iPhone hearing aids. The English subtitles can be machine-translated to more languages.
Note that tvOS 27 is available as a developer beta right now and should be available as a public beta soon. The stable version will be out later this year, possibly in September.
visionOS
Most of the upgrades for Apple’s XR headset are centered around the new Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features. The first isn’t even a feature of the Apple Vision Pro, Siri is just getting smarter – not just here, but on all supported Apple devices (it’s a short list, but it does include the Vision Pro). There’s a new Siri app too.
New Siri app • Safari groups your bookmarks automatically • Image Playground
The new Visual Intelligence allows you to just look at something and ask Siri about it. Apple Intelligence ties into several apps, e.g. lets Safari automatically group your Reading List items by topic and gives you more controls in Image Playground.
visionOS 27 will make the Apple Vision Pro nicer to use. You can use it to turn panoramas into spatial scenes – once that’s done, you can set those scenes as your Environment.
Turn panoramas into Environments • Curved windows • Preview and edit 3D objects
The new version also lets you spawn curved virtual windows. And you can bring 3D objects into your workspace to preview and edit. Apple also reworked the Control Center and made it so that notifications expand automatically when you look at them.
As with tvOS, the new visionOS 27 is in a developer beta and will be in open beta soon. The stable version will be out later this year.