If you were playing WWDC23 bingo, you’d be missing a key space — the one you could mark if Apple again ignored Apple TV in its keynote address. This year, as it turns out, the company did deliver a small set of improvements to tvOS and its Apple TV device, though nothing as big as new hardware. With tvOS 17, Apple is redesigning the control center, bringing the FaceTime app to Apple TV (sorta!), and even helping you find a lost TV remote, among other things.
The new control center will help Apple TV owners do things like access their AirPods settings, home cameras, system controls, and user profiles with a touch of the remote.
You’ll also be able to now select favorite photos as your screensaver featuring “fluid animations and transitions” — a baseline feature other streaming devices, like Roku, already offer.
The bigger update in terms of family connection, however, is the introduction of FaceTime to Apple TV. The app will take advantage of Continuity Camera, which means the Apple TV will connect to your iPhone or iPad to use the camera and microphone, while the call itself is then shown on the big screen.
To use FaceTime, you’ll place your call on your iPhone and then move it to Apple TV, or you can pick up a call from a friend on your iPhone, then move it to Apple TV. In other words, the app is a companion to the FaceTime app you already use, rather than a standalone, native app experience you can use on the Apple TV on its own. However, by leveraging the camera on the iPhone or iPad, it can take advantage of features like Center Stage, which keeps you in the frame as you move around.
Plus, Apple says you can use SharePlay to watch TV with friends while on FaceTime, where everyone stays in sync.
Third-party apps, like WebEx and Zoom, will also be able to access a Continuity Camera API, Apple says. They’ll release updated apps by the end of the year with similar functionality, which will make things more interesting for the device from a business perspective.
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And, finally, the tiny Apple TV remote will be findable using Siri, though Apple didn’t reveal the specifics here.
These features were announced alongside others around audio and home, like the ability to use adaptive audio on AirPods, use AirPlay on hotel room TVs, support for multi-user control of Apple Music in the car, and more.
Update, 6/7/23, 2:15 PM ET: Apple on Wednesday dropped a few other tidbits about its coming software updates, including the news that Continuity Camera will also allow Apple Music Sing — its karaoke feature — to work on Apple TV. Users will be able to see themselves onscreen and apply camera filters as they sing along to songs, the company said.
