Today at its annual developer conference, Apple announced updates for all of its various operating systems, and tvOS is one of them. With the upcoming tvOS 17, due out this fall, Apple TV 4K is getting support for FaceTime.
The new FaceTime app for tvOS will let you start calls directly from your Apple TV or start calls on your iPhone or iPad and then transfer them to Apple TV. FaceTime on Apple TV takes advantage of Apple’s Continuity Camera feature to wirelessly connect to your iPhone or iPad to use the camera and microphone to record your side of the call, while the people you’re talking to will show up on your TV.
Central stage will keep everyone in the room perfectly framed on the screen even as they move, and there are also new gesture-based reactions – these allow you to use your hands to generate on-screen reaction effectslike hearts or fireworks, to add some fun to the conversation.
Through the introduction of Split view for Apple TV, you can watch shows or movies with your loved ones during a Share Play session (another newly introduced feature), while also seeing everyone on the FaceTime call. Meanwhile, the controls on your iPhone or iPad make it easy to transfer a FaceTime call to those devices if needed. If another FaceTime call comes in during a session, a notification on your TV will let you know someone is calling without revealing who the caller is, to preserve your privacy.
Later this year, conferencing apps like Cisco’s WebEx and Zoom will also launch on tvOS, bringing their suite of web conferencing features to the biggest screen in the room via Apple TV 4K.
Apple Music Sing, the feature that lets you sing along to your favorite tunes, will also integrate Continuity Camera so you can see yourself on screen and add some “fun filters” to your performance if you like.
There’s also a new Control Center in tvOS 17, which displays system status, including the time and active profile, and expands with other details based on your activity.
You can locate your Siri Remote for Apple TV using your iPhone’s Control Center, and when you use the remote on your iPhone to wake and control your Apple TV, it will automatically switch to your profile. Additional settings and preferences are now saved for each profile, including system language and paired AirPods.
The screen saver gets curated memories from your personal library, the shared library, or both, and the “very popular” aerial screen savers will feature a collection of new locations, including Arizona’s Monument Valley and California’s coast redwoods.
Perhaps the most important new feature for some will be the one called Enhance Dialogue, which does what the name suggests: it separates the dialogue from all the background noise and pushes the former forward on the center channel to let you hear more clearly what is being said above the speakers. effects, action and music in a movie or TV show on Apple TV 4K paired with a 2nd generation HomePod.
There will also be Dolby Vision 8.1 support for Apple TV 4K, Apple Fitness+ enhancements (including custom plans), and third-party VPN support.
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