tvOS 10 has shipped, but Apple's already working on tvOS 11 — so what do you want them to change?
Apple has just shipped tvOS 10 but that just means they're already getting ramped up for tvOS 11. So, if Apple came to you and asked you what you wanted to see in the next generation of Apple TV software, what would you tell them?
- A setting to disable the LED light
- Home.app for Apple TV
- "Hey Siri" voice activation
- Siri search for local files on My Computer
- Handoff for iTunes media between Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, etc
- 4K video support
- HDR video support
- Dolby Atmos audio support
- Safari for Apple TV
- Easier way to share/get Apple TV apps
- Apple TV Guide so you know what's on now
- Playlists for Movies and TV Shows, including "recently added"
Those are just a few ideas — let me know which ones resonate for you and (more importantly) all the features you're still waiting for! What's on your tvOS 11 wish list?
Reader comments
What's on your tvOS 11 wish-list?
all of the above features mentioned in the comments are much needed, but i would also like a focus in the games department as well. i was excited to see that IOS games were going to be able to played on the Apple TV especially the 4th gen. Now that they have removed the requirements for developers having to make games use the remote, i would like to see some changes and work done in this area.
Picture-In-Picture. It should have been included at the launch.
I want single sign and some kind of watch later playlist that works across all apps. Having to go from app to app just to watch my favorite shows sucks. I still don't know why they can't make Tv shows play back to back like Netflix does.
Fix/Improve the YouTube app. I watch a lot of youtube via Apple TV, but the app is useless. It pales in comparison to YT apps on every other streaming box. You can't like/dislike the video, you can't subscribe to channels, you can't see what other videos channel has directly from the video, you have to search for it. It doesn't refresh new content sometimes for days. (sometimes it does, can't figure it out) And I could go on and on. Other platform YT apps which are not perfect are way better then Apple TV one. I don't know if this is done by Google or Apple but they should do something about it. I have completely switched to Fire TV as I don't feel like going back and forth because one app. It's ridiculous. I know I'm not the only one with this problem.
Handoff would be great. Spotify will "handoff" to any device that has a Spotify app installed. I miss it.
oh, and let me use Xbox or PS4 controllers - i am sick of having to keep different controllers around for stuff .. if I get the SteelSeries one, that will mean I have three different controllers in my living room.
Have it so i can run the Ariel Screensaver all the time and never sleep - essentially a huge digital picture
I want single sign-on and I want it now!!!
Sync multiple Apple TV's. I have 3 4th generation Apple TV's. The fact that I need to manage all of the applications and how they are organized is extremely tedious (I want a consistent UI across all of devices). I'd also like credentials to be synchronized (although tvOS 10.x should minimize this to some degree).
that, my friend, is a great idea!!
DVB-T EPG and PVR over LAN to DLNA/network file stores.
DTCP for PVR and content playback.
iTunes management of Apple TVs as iOS Devices.
Support for 4K UHD HDR WCG DolbyVision -- when the Ax SoC can manage it.
Support for 10ft web browser when a keyboard and remote are connected.
When I first got it, the remote was totally unintuitive. Sure I know how to use it now, but it's not a family friendly interface, I have to teach everyone what the ### is going on.
My biggest wish to have it where when you hit menu to get out of an app like Hulu, Netflix or any other app where you have to go through several layers to get to your content that you'd long press to leave the app and go directly to the menu. Not to back out of the app to its index page. And then you can go back to the app right back where you were no matter how many levels deep you were in.
My second wish is that Apple would make a remote that would be shaped in a way where when I picked it up I would know by feel that it's the right side up. I'm constantly picking up the remote where the pad is at the bottom and my palm would accidentally forward a paused show. So incredibly annoying. And I've been having this remote since the device came out. Though I'd get used to it but it's designed in a way where your mind, or my mind, can't learn to adjust.
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That is why I bought the tail to put in the lightning port it reduces wrong holding a lot.
I noticed also yesterday I can't get back the recently added tv shows on my home screen. They show up there sometimes. These are the ones in my library when I am on the Computer app icon. Since yesterday they went away and nothing shows, so I have to dig deep into the menu again. So annoying.
The other annoying thing I noticed while using my Apple TV 4 and 3 last night is how the Apple TV 3 will remove the blue dot immediately after watching a show. To show its been watched. On my Apple TV 4, it remains after watching and you usually have to exit back to the home screen and go back to the show list and sometimes it will update what has been watched but not always.
So strange how the ATV4 is more fast and powerful but can't even do this easy task.
DCTP Support.
If Apple TV wants to be a serious cord cutting and trimming device, it's a no brainer.
I use a HD Homerun Prime tuner and all the channels that are DRM protected won't play. They will on my PS3 and Windows Media Center, but not thru Apple TV.
Bring back internet radio they took away.
Thanks for pointing this out. Very sad to see its missing now. Glad I still have my Apple TV 3 hooked up. Listening to radio on it now.
i'd forgotten about that. I wonder if someone has written an app that's similar. Time to switch on the old ATV3 and remind myself about Internet Radio and then checkout the app store on ATV4 !!
I am happy with my Apple TV. I just wish there was an Amazon video app.
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For local content, it would be nice to have 'recently played' items, and be able to select, in advance, what is played next.
A better way to select local content would also be nice. Having to continually scroll through long lists of shows, just to get to one that is near the end, is annoying.
Siri should also be able to search local content. That would solve the long list annoyance.
More audio and video format and codec support. Like h.265 would be a good start..
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#1 - Single Sign-in
#2 - Safari on AppleTV
#3 - Apple TV Guide
That's it for me.
One thing that it needs to get to have a hope of being a 'proper' games machine is better support for multiple users. The current Game Centre implementation is very limited.
Universal search (ala Siri) for apps such as Plex.
1. Add setting on the Apple TV app that can at any time summon a visual of what is currently on the screen controlled by the Apple TV: i.e. seeing what's on the TV from outside the room so as to intelligently control it remotely, particularly with regard to music Airplayed to remote speakers by Apple TV.
2. Ability for Apple TV (and iOS in general) to play remote music via Airplay to multiple locations simultaneously (as macOS can).
Better integration with Home app so my Hue light automation actually triggers lights at sunset
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App to browse customized selection of content from all apps.
Favorite shows
Content from favorite people (directors, etc.)
Favorited upcoming content (like you can favorite movies in the Trailers app)
Recently watched
One little thing:
Contextual Dark Mode (change from Light to Dark based on triggers such as sunset / late in day time)
For Recently Watched (Played), look at my previous reply to a comment above, and also this is how you enable it in the Computer menu:
Go to Settings, then Apps then scroll down to Computers, and there you can enable it to show Playlists. That will let you see Recently Added, Recently Played, and Purchased on your main TV show menu and movies and music, ect.
I like everything I have read in this article and the comments. My family uses our Apple TV 4's for primary content delivery, no cable TV or satellite. Better use of my local very large library, including Siri search, is needed. A better way to search and summarize my local content, recommend additional content from what I have, and a "recently added" option so I can keep track of new shows/movies/music.
You can find Recently Added by going to Computer on main page, then whatever category then Playlists at the top, and one of the Playlists is Recently Added. This only seems to work under the By Show or By Date option at the top, not Unwatched. So once you slide over to By Show, you will see the Playlists show up but you have to enable this in settings.
Go to Settings, then Apps then scroll down to Computers, and there you can enable it to show Playlists. That will let you see Recently Added on your main TV show menu and movies and music, ect.
Handoff for other apps too. YouTube, Hulu, etc.
The new tvOS helped fix some of the troubles I was having but still very annoying in many ways. Like how it doesn't go back to showing in the home screen above my Computers icon, the recently watched TV shows like my Apple TV 3 does. It will do this sometimes but then when I watch a movie, it goes blank again and my recently watched tv shows are gone, and I have to go through all the layers of menus to get to the show again.
Also, still going through my media library to find a tv show or movie, I have to scroll forever with that touch remote and it is so terribly frustrating to keep swiping at it over and over with no scroll function like the Apple TV 3 where I could just hold the down part of the remote and it would scroll quickly through the list.
I would also like to see apps for the Apple TV 4 in the iTunes app store since searching for them on the apple tv 4 is so frustrating with that touch remote. I would prefer to find them in iTunes then send them to the apple tv.
These are just some of my frustrations. I am happy about other things like bluetooth audio which I use with my bluetooth headphones a lot and love this feature.
Agreed. I'd also like to see the Apple TV show up in iTunes like the iPhone and iPad does and yep manage my apps there too.
The horizontal scrolling like My List in the Netflix app is sooooooo frustrating too. It'd be good if you could change the layout of the UI in an app if you don't like the presentation layer.
One thing i'd like to see in the Network Settings is a "renew lease" button under DHCP as sometimes i switch between different routers (long story) and have them on different networks.
SO agreed. Scrolling through my 1179 movies suuuuuucks. You can't even use a Bluetooth keyboard to jump to the first letter like you could on the Apple TV 3. It's amazing to me that they haven't fixed ANY of the scrolling/finding stored content issues yet...
I finally installed the Plex app and its interface has more options to help ease the pain. I still hope apple will fix that scroll issue though.
I would like tvOS to automatically change refresh rate based on the content.
Here in Europe there is a lot of content in 50Hz, but Netflix and others have lots of content in 60Hz.
I want a hardware change. 4k please.
How about since iOS & tvOS on same wifi. When phone rings Pause video pop on tv call id
Hey Siri not good idea if u already got macs / iOS setup on hey Siri unless u could tag the hey Siri command w hey Siri tv. Hey Siri mac. Hey Siri iPhone.
But iPhone tag not good if u got more than 1 iPhone in house.
Like this idea - using same concept- if you set alarm on phone- have TV wake you up with news, weather, notifications etc
Also add iCloud back-up just like iPhone does
Hey Siri with iOS 10 will only activate one device because of iCloud
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