- Apple has introduced tvOS 26 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD (2015)
- New options embody a ‘Liquid Glass’ interface design
- Different new options improve Apple TV 4K’s profiles, FaceTime interface and Sing Karaoke function
Right now, Apple dropped information of the brand new tvOS26 at WWDC 2025. We coated that announcement in our WWDC 2025 liveblog, however a extra full breakdown of the brand new options coming in tvOS26 that Apple TV 4K customers ought to count on quickly may be discovered under.
The leap from the present tvOS 18 to tvOS 26 adheres with Apple’s new naming conference, which seeks to align all working programs underneath the identical model umbrella: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, MacOS 26, and so forth.
Together with getting the identical model quantity, all Mac gadgets, together with the Apple TV 4K, will now share a unified “Liquid Glass” interface. This takes its visible cues from the “floating” interface utilized by visionOS on the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional headset, the place icons seem suspended in 3D area over movement backgrounds.
The excellent news for Apple TV followers is that tvOS 26 will probably be obtainable as an replace for the complete vary of Apple TV 4K gamers going again to 2017, together with the Apple TV HD (2015). Right here’s the whole checklist of supported gamers:
- Apple TV HD (2015)
- Apple TV 4K (1st technology, 2017)
- Apple TV 4K (2nd technology, 2021)
- Apple TV 4K (third technology, 2022)
1. Liquid Glass interface
Apple’s new Liquid Glass design will present up in tvOS 26 as clear playback management icons that allow you to see the motion onscreen moderately than obscuring it. The identical degree of transparency will lengthen to Management Middle, which can have a clear high quality when making changes to audio, sleep timer, or different choices.
2. Poster artwork
The Apple TV app can also be getting the Liquid Glass therapy, with a brand new Poster Artwork design with an expanded variety of present suggestions that come out on the display screen as you navigate by way of them.
3. Show profiles
In tvOS 26, viewers can select to see show profiles when their Apple TV wakes, letting them simply entry a customized checklist of customized viewing suggestions, together with their customized watchlists in each the Apple TV app and in Apple Music. Apple can also be including a brand new API for builders to hyperlink logins for apps to your Apple account, making it simple to sign up utilizing an iPhone.
4. iPhone turns into a microphone
The Sing function in Apple Music, which exhibits scrolling track lyrics when listening, is getting an enormous enhancement with tvOS 26’s skill to rework your iPhone – and likewise the iPhones of your visitors – right into a microphone. Your voice will probably be amplified by way of the TV’s audio system when singing alongside, and you may also react to songs with onscreen emojis and add visible results.
5. Extra customized FaceTime
New in tvOS 26 is a personalised FaceTime expertise that exhibits a contact’s customized picture and identify if you begin a FaceTime name on Apple TV. Dwell caption choices have been expanded to incorporate French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish, and Apple TV will be capable of show Dwell Captions for FaceTime conversations.
Different options
Different options Apple introduced right now as coming to Apple TV embody a brand new set of aerial display screen savers with scenes from India, together with Goa and Kerala, together with a customized display screen saver possibility that permits you to select between particular Cityscape, Earth, Panorama, or Underwater Aerials.
Apple TV customers may even be capable of select a selected AirPlay-enabled speaker because the everlasting speaker for his or her Apple TV field.
