Apple TV gains a new Up Next queue with the first tvOS 15.4 beta

How to remove a beta profile from your Apple TV
How to remove a beta profile from your Apple TV (Image credit: Joseph Keller/iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple has made tvOS 15.4 available for developer testing.
  • Early testers have found a new Up Next queue and interface on Apple TV hardware.
  • There is no telling when the update will be made available to everyone.

Apple's first tvOS 15.4 beta adds support for a new Up Next queue on Apple TV devices. The beta, which is now in the hands of developers, also has one or two smaller changes that have already been noticed by eagle-eyed testers.

The new Up Next queue gives people a way to flick through different content in a new and interesting way and is accessed via a swipe up from the bottom of the screen using the Siri Remote. Tapping the remove while a new piece of content is selected will immediately begin playback.

Other changes include a slight change to the volume interface as well as a revamped Spatial audio control. Apple has also improved the way Apple TV devices handle being connected to captive Wi-Fi networks — at hotels or offices, for example. Before, connecting Apple TV devices to networks that required additional authentication methods beyond a simple password was not supported.

While this initial beta release is being tested by developers we don't yet know when it will be made available to everyone. It's also possible that some features will come and go before the final tvOS 15.4 release, too.

Apple also released iOS 15, iPadOS 15.4, and macOS Monterey 12.3 available to developers alongside tvOS 15.4.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.