Published on June 6th, 2018 | by Kirk Hiner

Will your Apple TV support tvOS 12?

Monday’s WWDC keynote didn’t give Apple TV users much to get excited about. The highlight was likely support for Dolby Atmos, provided you’re one of the few out there with an Atmos-equipped sound system. The feature won’t roll out until the release of tvOS 12 this fall, giving you time to save up.

You’ll also need to save up for the latest Apple TV 4K model if you don’t already have one, as Dolby Atmos will not be supported on earlier devices. So, how about the rest of tvOS 12?

Features such as “zero sign-on” authentication, the new ISS screensavers, autofill passwords and Control Support are less forgiving and will work on any system that currently supports tvOS 11. That means if you’ve got the previous 4th gen Apple TV and don’t see Dolby Atmos as a reason to upgrade to the 4K model, you won’t need to in order to run tvOS 12. Owners of a 1st, 2nd or 3rd gen Apple TV are still stuck on iOS 8.4.2.

Full details on the new features in tvOS 12 can be viewed in the WWDC 2018 keynote replay, available now via Apple. Because we know it’s all that really matters, the Apple TV portion begins at 1:24:01.

Tags: apple tv, apple tv 4k, dolby atmos, tvos 12, wwdc, WWDC 2018

About the Author

Kirk Hiner has been writing for the Apple web since 1997, having served as editor of Applelinks and the Technology Tell Apple Channel. In addition to his work with BEST Apple TV, Kirk currently contributes to Mac Gamer HQ and Pure Nintendo. He lives with his wife and three children in small-town Ohio where the land is cheap and the air is (relatively) clean.