Apple Releases tvOS 11.4 for 4th and 5th Generation Apple TV Models With AirPlay 2 Support

Apple today released tvOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the tvOS operating system designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS 11.4 comes more than a month after the release of tvOS 11.3, an update that focused on bug fixes and small feature improvements.

tvOS 11.4 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 11.4 automatically.

tvos114release
The tvOS 11.4 update, paired with iOS 11.4, introduces support for AirPlay 2 functionality. AirPlay 2 is designed to bring multi-room audio to the Apple ecosystem, allowing the same music to be played on multiple devices throughout the home.

tvOS 11.4 turns the Apple TV into an AirPlay 2-compatible device that's listed in the Home app for HomeKit devices. AirPlay 2 playback can be controlled through the Apple TV, through an iOS device, or using Apple's personal assistant, Siri, to play content using voice commands.

AirPlay 2 is limited to the Apple TV and the HomePod at the current time, but it will expand to additional audio devices in the future.

tvOS 11.4 also introduces performance improvements, security enhancements, and bug fixes for issues that have been discovered since the release of tvOS 11.3.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Mufasa804 Avatar
86 months ago
I'm just here patiently waiting for that Dolby audio support.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrixxa Avatar
86 months ago
Is there actually a source for this? It'd be nice to know if they actually fixed or improved anything useful, because otherwise I'm not updating. And I'm not about to update just to see. I'm sure they included security patches, but we always get this same, canned note at the end of Apple updates with no information as to what "performance improvements" or "bug fixes" (if any) were actually made.
^^so much this
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
86 months ago
I know it's probably placebo, but I see the improvements in speed (Apple TV 4K).
If you have a reasonably long list of your own content, could you try to "fast scroll" a list and see if they have fast scroll working again (not starting & stopping, starting & stopping)? That was such a great feature for the little while that it was allowed to work right (on the "4").
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swrobel Avatar
86 months ago
For the love of god can I please just have 4k airplay from my Mac?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Avenged110 Avatar
86 months ago
tvOS 11.4 also introduces performance improvements, security enhancements, and bug fixes for issues that have been discovered since the release of tvOS 11.3.
Is there actually a source for this? It'd be nice to know if they actually fixed or improved anything useful, because otherwise I'm not updating. And I'm not about to update just to see. I'm sure they included security patches, but we always get this same, canned note at the end of Apple updates with no information as to what "performance improvements" or "bug fixes" (if any) were actually made.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Zarniwoop Avatar
86 months ago
First impression of AirPlay 2 streaming music to a HomePod and three Apple TVs... so close. And yet...

They're just enough out of sync that it's created an "echo" effect in my home that distracting. It doesn't quite work for me for that reason.

It needs to be quiet enough that you can't hear the other speakers for it to be acceptable, which is a bummer.

For what it's worth, playing from a Mac with iTunes to AirPlay destinations (AirPlay 2 not required) has the same problem.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)