tvOS 9

The App Store interface of tvOS 9

tvOS 9 is the first branded version of the tvOS operating system from Apple Inc. Based on iOS 9, it was released on October 29, 2015 and supersedes Apple TV Software, the previous operating system for earlier Apple TV consoles. It was announced on September 9, 2015 with the 4th-generation Apple TV. It adds a native SDK to develop apps, an App Store to distribute them, support for Siri, and universal search across multiple apps.

Features

User interface

tvOS introduces a new user interface that uses lighter colors and transparency. It adds support for control by the Apple TV Remote, which can be used to navigate the user interface by using multi-touch gestures on the trackpad rather than physical buttons. Older Apple Remotes are also still supported.

App Store/SDK

tvOS adds support for an all new SDK for developers to build apps for the TV including all of the APIs included in iOS 9 such as Metal. It also adds an App Store which allows users to browse, download, and install a wide variety of applications from things such as games, video applications, etc. Developers can now use their own interface inside of their application rather than only being able to use Apple's interface.

Siri Remote

Siri

In supported territories, support for Siri can be enabled by pressing the microphone button on the Siri Remote. Siri, beyond all of its iOS abilities, can take many voice commands tailored for the TV, such as a cross-application search for a movie/TV show, rewind, fast forward, name and actor/director of the current movie, and even skip back 15 seconds.

Other

In tvOS 9, It is now possible to switch between two applications by double-tapping the trackpad on the remote and scrolling to the desired application. Users can now customize the home screen by placing any applications they wish on the top row, including third-party types. New cinematic screen savers display time-lapse images of scenic cities when the Apple TV is asleep. It is now possible to control the volume of the TV and turn it on/off using just the new Siri Remote and the built in support for HDMI CEC in tvOS. There is now support for pairing third-party Bluetooth game controllers in order to play games.

History

In January 2016, tvOS 9.2 entered beta testing to improve user input through the Siri Remote and add other features, such as app folders, Bluetooth keyboard support, and speech input for text fields. Application switching was also revised to the style of iOS 9, instead of the preceding version from iOS 8. The free update was released on March 21, 2016.

Release history

Version	Based on	Build	Released	Notes
tvOS 9.0	iOS 9.0	13T396	2015-10-29	Initial release for 4th-generation Apple TV.
tvOS 9.0.1	iOS 9.1	13T402	2015-11-09	General performance and stability improvements.
tvOS 9.1	iOS 9.2	13U85	2015-12-08	Added support for control of Apple TV with Remote app and Apple Watch. Control of Apple Music with Siri.
tvOS 9.1.1	iOS 9.2.1	13U717	2016-01-25	Added Podcasts app.
tvOS 9.2	iOS 9.3	13Y234	2016-03-21	Support for folders, pairing Bluetooth keyboards, and Siri dictation in text fields. Redesigned app switching like iOS 9.
tvOS 9.2.1	iOS 9.3.2	13Y772	2016-05-16	General performance and stability improvements.
tvOS 9.2.2	iOS 9.3.3	13Y825	2016-07-18	General performance and stability improvements. Bug fixes.

External links

• Introducing tvOS. at Apple Developer (accessed 2015-09-10)
  • Documentation (archived 2016-03-16)
  • About the security content of tvOS 9.1
  • About the security content of tvOS 9.1.1
  • About the security content of tvOS 9.2
  • About the security content of tvOS 9.2.2
• Firmware/Apple TV/9.x at The iPhone Wiki
• tvOS: tvOS 9 at Wikipedia