Hands on: All innovative for Apple TV in TVOS 18

Apple TV 4K is getting even better
Apple TV hardware will see some major improvements with the release of tvOS 18 in 2024. Here are the latest features and updates, ranging from enhanced audio to animated screensavers. Apple’s long-running hardware initiative, the set top box, plays a major role in its home strategy. The device can be used to access Apple TV+ content and Apple Home accessories remotely. It also hosts nearly all of Apple Arcade’s games. There are still many changes to look forward to, even though its software updates don’t grab as much attention as iOS or macOS. Subscribe to AppleInsider YouTube. tvOS: InSight InSight is one of the most exciting features of tvOS 18. It’s similar to the Amazon X-ray function found in Prime Video that allows you to view information about the actors on-screen. InSight allows us to learn more about Presumed Innocent’s cast. In our experience, InSight takes some time to work. InSight was not available when we tried to watch Presumed Innocent’s season finale on the day of its release. It was available the next day. It appears that some sort of server-side processing or toggle must be taking place for it to function. It works scene by scene, so if a character is on screen, InSight will show them below. Otherwise, they are invisible. The feature is only available in beta for Apple TV+ original TV shows and movies. This means that it will not work with licensed content in the TV App or any third-party app. We expect the feature will expand to other services with app updates. Apple makes the iPhone’s operating system, so it is able to integrate InSight there as well. InSight also works with the Remote App when controlling Apple TV. When you use the Remote App on your phone, InSight details are displayed. You can watch TV while browsing an actor’s work. Add songs from your favorite shows and movies to your Apple Music libraryFinally a unique tie in, InSight supports Apple Music. When you open InSight, you can add the song you’re listening to directly to your Apple Music collection. tvOS 18. Audio improvements The dialogue enhancement feature has been improved. It is now AI-powered, which allows for a better separation between the dialogue and background audio. With tvOS 18, there are now multiple levels for dialogue enhancement. The benefits of dialogue enhancement are no longer limited to HomePod and HomePod Mini. It now works with any speaker connected, including soundbars, receivers, and AirPods. Apple has added a new level called Boost to Voice Enhance. It’s stronger than Enhance. If that isn’t enough, there’s an accessibility level called “Isolate”. By turning it on in Settings, you can add another option to the media scrub bar. Subtitles are a great way to increase accessibility. In a study, more than half of Gen Zers and millennials turned on subtitles while watching TV or movies. Subtitles are automatically activated when you jump backwards. With tvOS 18 you can automatically activate subtitles when you press the jump backwards key. The reverse button will take you back 10 seconds. Subtitles will also be enabled for that time. The subtitles will stay on screen for longer if you press the button more than once. If you press it three times, the subtitles will remain on screen for 30 seconds. This way, you won’t miss a word of dialogue. Subtitles appear automatically when muted. Subtitles will appear when you press mute. This is a great feature. We can’t believe this didn’t exist before. Both options can be turned off in Settings if you don’t want them. FaceTime calls have live transcriptionFinally, FaceTime is available for audio. FaceTime calls will have the words of the person being called transcribed live on the bottom screen. In our testing, we were able to confirm that the live captions worked well and appeared only after a small delay. Apple Music now offers SharePlay. A long-delayed function. SharePlay now works with Apple Music. It works by playing music within the Apple Music app, and selecting the SharePlay button in the lower right corner. A QR code appears on the screen for others to scan. Apple Music subscription is required only by the primary user. Everyone else can add songs to a queue for the next song to be played. HomePod will also get this feature. tvOS: Screensavers Until now, the screensavers that Apple TV has used were slow-moving nature photos of outer space, mountains, or underwater. Three new screensavers are available in tvOS 18. Snoopy is coming to Apple TVThe screensaver that stands out most features Snoopy in a variety of situations. The classic characters are seen in space, sitting on the doghouse and getting into mischief. It’s similar to the Apple Watch, but on your television. It’s a fun change from the norm. Our favorite screensaver has to be the portrait. Users can choose whether to include nature, people, or cities. Nature photos look fantastic on the Portraits screensaver. It will then blend your images with the current time like the Portrait face of Apple Watch. It works best with nature and city shots. This is our default screensaver. The Movies and Television screensaver displays scenes from Apple original content. Apple’s other properties include Foundation, which offers panoramic space shots. Swipe up to reveal the new interface when you want to switch screensavers. You can quickly switch screensavers by moving left and right. tvOS: Other features and improvements With tvOS 18, you can choose whether to display five or six icons per row on your Home Screen. When you select five, the icons become larger and easier-to-see. If you hold the select button for a movie you’ve added to your library for a long time, you can either play the movie or learn more about it. Previously, the movie would start playing immediately. Apple TV now supports the 21:9 aspect, which is most commonly used with home cinema projectors. Apple Fitness has been upgraded. It has new personalized options for the For You, Library, and Explore spaces. FaceTime has the previously mentioned live captions and also offers options for the camera. You can choose a default camera that will always be used when you start FaceTime. tvOS 18 now supports robotic vacuums in Apple Home. You can send them to clean your house remotely using a Home Hub such as Apple TV. You can now specify which device is your preferred home hub. This was done in the backend, and you might have found that your older Apple TV or HomePod at the edge of your network had been set as the default Home Hub. This would negatively impact performance. Siri will now be able to respond to certain requests on the device. Apple has not said which of the requests will run locally, and which will run remotely. However, many of those that are related to your device or home can be done without a remote server. Siri seems to be faster in many areas. We’ll talk about this in the future. There’s still more testing to be done. Apple’s tvOS 18 beta is now available. It will be available to all users by the fall of 2024.