Apple Releases tvOS 15 With Spatial Audio, Stereo Support Using Two HomePod Minis, Hey Siri Improvements and More

Apple today released tvOS 15, the newest version of the tvOS operating system designed for the Apple TV 4K and the ‌Apple TV‌ HD.

Apple TV tvOS 15 Feature
The tvOS 15 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌ by going to System -> Software Update. ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to ‌tvOS 15 automatically.

Apple's tvOS updates are never as grand as its iOS updates, but tvOS 15 does introduce a few notable new features.

A new "Shared With You" section in tvOS will aggregate any content that people have recommended to you through the Messages app so you can check them out at your convenience.

When you use the ‌Apple TV‌ with your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, there's now support for spatial audio for a theater-like surround sound experience. There's also a new feature for automatically connecting your AirPods through Smart AirPods routing.

Using Hey Siri commands, you can launch ‌Apple TV‌+ shows in tvOS 15, and two HomePod mini speakers can now be paired with an ‌Apple TV‌ 4K for surround sound. Those with HomeKit cameras can view multiple cameras at the same time on the ‌Apple TV‌.

When the SharePlay FaceTime feature launches later this year, the option that allows multiple people to watch TV shows or movies together will integrate with tvOS. There's even a new "For All of You" recommendation engine that will suggest content everyone might enjoy.

For more on tvOS 15 and the ‌Apple TV‌, we have a dedicated roundup that outlines the new features. Apple has also released a 8.4.6 update for older ‌Apple TV‌ devices.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iPhone Air

Report: 'Virtually No Demand' for iPhone Air

Wednesday October 22, 2025 3:22 am PDT by
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports. The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
sam sung auction

Former Apple Employee Sam Sung Changed His Name to Avoid Attention

Wednesday October 22, 2025 4:44 pm PDT by
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name. Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
cadillac lyric infotainment

GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars

Wednesday October 22, 2025 11:34 am PDT by
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down. In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple's Plan to Launch Three New iPhone Designs Allegedly Revealed

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:24 am PDT by
Apple plans to launch a new type of iPhone every year for the foreseeable future, according to an Asia-based source. The detailed information was shared by the account "yeux1122" in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver, citing domestic trend and component research companies. Corroborating other reports, Apple will apparently launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
maxresdefault

Apple's iPhone Air Experiment Fails as Supply Chain Cuts Production by 80%

Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:48 am PDT by
iPhone Air demand failed to meet Apple's expectations and the company's supply chain is scaling back shipments and production, reports Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80 percent between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Report: Apple to Skip 'iPhone 19' Name for 'iPhone 20'

Thursday October 23, 2025 4:28 am PDT by
Apple's new iPhone lineup launched in the fall of 2027 will be called the "iPhone 20" models, rather than the "iPhone 19," according to research firm Omdia. Speaking at a conference in Seoul (via ETNews), Omdia Chief Researcher Heo Moo-yeol corroborated rumors that Apple plans to move the launch of its standard iPhone to the first half of the year and provided some additional clarity about...
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...

Top Rated Comments

decypher44 Avatar
53 months ago

First time Apple TV owner here. Do I just wait for the update or do I need to hunt it down in the settings?
Settings>System>Software Updates. Easy-peasy-chicken-cheesy!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoeShades Avatar
53 months ago

Lets hope it fixed my remotes dying so fast. A few updates ago the battery on all of my Appletvs has sucked. Like only lasting a week or two at most. It is just odd all of them would do it over and over. I have old 1080p, first 4k, and new model and all of them have done it. New has been charged twice since I got it a month ago.

Before they all lasted months before charges.
Very strange, I get around 3 months on 1 charge
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gator5000e Avatar
53 months ago
I am very curious to test the Spatial Audio with my Air Pod Pros to see if I can actually hear a difference.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gator5000e Avatar
53 months ago

First time Apple TV owner here. Do I just wait for the update or do I need to hunt it down in the settings?
Depends if you have automatic updates turned on in settings. If yes, I imagine it will update automatically. If not, you will have to initiate the update. I believe the ATV comes with auto updates turned on. You can still check in Settings -> System anyway.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
53 months ago
Can someone confirm if build number is the same as the GM/RC (19J346). For the iPhone / iPad there is a new update regardless if you were on the beta.

Edit: It is.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Powerbooky Avatar
53 months ago

So I use my Samsung SmartTV apps to stream most of my services. I have a Samsung sound bar with a sub as well. I am thinking to switching fully to my appleTV to take advantage of the stereo homepod minis but still have some questions. Can you get an Xbox to play through them somehow or will that still need to be hooked to the sound bar? Just trying to consolidate the devices and remove the Sound bar. I am not in love with the way this one sounds.

What would be the benefit of switching to using my Apple TV full time over the Smart TV apps? If any.
You'll find that the ATV is way more smooth and responsive in use than on any Samsung TV. IMHO almost all "smart systems" on current TV's is slow and sluggish. Samsung doesn't excel in this deparment. They can make good electronics, but software integration is just crap.

On the ATV 4K (2021) you can enable the Audio Return Channel option. According to the AppleTV Support page ('https://support.apple.com/HT207117'), that should make it possible to play audio from the TV (Xbox on another input) via the ATV 4K to the HomePod minis. Not sure if there's a significant delay in this use. It probably depends on what the TV itself supports on all of its HDMI connectors.

Our benefit of getting the AppleTV 4K, less cables, less devices and portability. It replaced a big cable box and a DVD player. It is so small that it can be mounted on the back of the screen too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)