Tech

Everything that's coming in the next big Apple TV update

Dave Smith

2016-01-26T20:23:00Z

The Apple TV is getting some great new updates pretty soon.

The fourth-generation Apple TV, which launched last October, is the first Apple TV to have an App Store, the first with the ability to play games, and the first with a touch-sensitive remote control that also works with Siri.

Apple has only released one major update for the Apple TV since it launched: tvOS 9.1, which was released in early December, offered several bug fixes and offered support for Apple Music, as well as the ability to use Siri to play content from Apple Music.

But tvOS 9.2, which should be ready for the public within the next couple of months, offers much more than the last update. Take a look.

tvOS 9.2 introduces support for folders. So now, you can group any Apple TV apps you want into any folders on the home screen, which is great for organization and efficiency.

The 9.2 update also introduces support for Bluetooth keyboards. This is a good thing, since <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/worst-part-of-the-new-apple-tv-2016-1"target="_new">it's a major pain</a> to use the Apple TV remote for inputting text.

tvOS 9.2 will also introduce Apple's Podcasts app to the Apple TV, so you can watch or listen to your favorite podcasts on the biggest screen in your house.

Apple has apparently changed the look of the app-switching interface for tvOS 9.2. When you double-click the Home button on the Siri remote, this is what app-switching currently looks like...

...and this is what it will look like after the 9.2 update. App-switching will look much more like it does on iOS devices.

The 9.2 update also brings support for Apple's MapKit framework, which will let third-party developers incorporate Apple Maps into their Apple TV apps.

In the next update, you'll be also able to access your entire iCloud Photo Library. Right now, Apple TV owners can only see content from the Photo Stream portion of their Photos app.

The next Apple TV update will even support Live Photos, the feature introduced for the iPhone 6S that captures moments before and after each snap of your camera, making them into GIF-like stills.

If you like using Siri, the Apple TV's adding Siri support for Spanish (US only) and French Canadian (Canada only). For English-speakers in the US, UK, and Australia, you'll also be able to choose between more English accents, like US English, UK English and Australian English.

Important to note: All these features are subject to change. Even though the beta for tvOS 9.2 is currently available to developers, Apple tends to change how things look or function before they launch to the public. Still, this gives us a good idea of what Apple TV owners can expect in the coming months.

Apple TV Television