Apple Releases tvOS 15 With Spatial Audio, Stereo Support Using Two HomePod Minis, Hey Siri Improvements and More

Apple today released tvOS 15, the newest version of the tvOS operating system designed for the Apple TV 4K and the ‌Apple TV‌ HD.

Apple TV tvOS 15 Feature
The tvOS 15 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 15 automatically.

Apple's tvOS updates are never as grand as its iOS updates, but tvOS 15 does introduce a few notable new features.

A new "Shared With You" section in tvOS will aggregate any content that people have recommended to you through the Messages app so you can check them out at your convenience.

When you use the ‌Apple TV‌ with your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, there's now support for spatial audio for a theater-like surround sound experience. There's also a new feature for automatically connecting your AirPods through Smart AirPods routing.

Using Hey Siri commands, you can launch ‌Apple TV‌+ shows in tvOS 15, and two HomePod mini speakers can now be paired with an ‌Apple TV‌ 4K for surround sound. Those with HomeKit cameras can view multiple cameras at the same time on the ‌Apple TV‌.

When the SharePlay FaceTime feature launches later this year, the option that allows multiple people to watch TV shows or movies together will integrate with tvOS. There's even a new "For All of You" recommendation engine that will suggest content everyone might enjoy.

For more on tvOS 15 and the ‌Apple TV‌, we have a dedicated roundup that outlines the new features. Apple has also released a 8.4.6 update for older ‌Apple TV‌ devices.

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

decypher44 Avatar
43 months ago

First time Apple TV owner here. Do I just wait for the update or do I need to hunt it down in the settings?
Settings>System>Software Updates. Easy-peasy-chicken-cheesy!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoeShades Avatar
43 months ago

Lets hope it fixed my remotes dying so fast. A few updates ago the battery on all of my Appletvs has sucked. Like only lasting a week or two at most. It is just odd all of them would do it over and over. I have old 1080p, first 4k, and new model and all of them have done it. New has been charged twice since I got it a month ago.

Before they all lasted months before charges.
Very strange, I get around 3 months on 1 charge
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gator5000e Avatar
43 months ago
I am very curious to test the Spatial Audio with my Air Pod Pros to see if I can actually hear a difference.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gator5000e Avatar
43 months ago

First time Apple TV owner here. Do I just wait for the update or do I need to hunt it down in the settings?
Depends if you have automatic updates turned on in settings. If yes, I imagine it will update automatically. If not, you will have to initiate the update. I believe the ATV comes with auto updates turned on. You can still check in Settings -> System anyway.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
43 months ago
Can someone confirm if build number is the same as the GM/RC (19J346). For the iPhone / iPad there is a new update regardless if you were on the beta.

Edit: It is.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powerbooky Avatar
42 months ago

So I use my Samsung SmartTV apps to stream most of my services. I have a Samsung sound bar with a sub as well. I am thinking to switching fully to my appleTV to take advantage of the stereo homepod minis but still have some questions. Can you get an Xbox to play through them somehow or will that still need to be hooked to the sound bar? Just trying to consolidate the devices and remove the Sound bar. I am not in love with the way this one sounds.

What would be the benefit of switching to using my Apple TV full time over the Smart TV apps? If any.
You'll find that the ATV is way more smooth and responsive in use than on any Samsung TV. IMHO almost all "smart systems" on current TV's is slow and sluggish. Samsung doesn't excel in this deparment. They can make good electronics, but software integration is just crap.

On the ATV 4K (2021) you can enable the Audio Return Channel option. According to the AppleTV Support page ('https://support.apple.com/HT207117'), that should make it possible to play audio from the TV (Xbox on another input) via the ATV 4K to the HomePod minis. Not sure if there's a significant delay in this use. It probably depends on what the TV itself supports on all of its HDMI connectors.

Our benefit of getting the AppleTV 4K, less cables, less devices and portability. It replaced a big cable box and a DVD player. It is so small that it can be mounted on the back of the screen too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)