Must-Try tvOS 26 Features

[MacRumors]

Alongside iOS 26, Apple introduced a new tvOS 26 update for the Apple TV. tvOS updates aren't as feature rich as iOS updates and often go under the radar, so we thought we'd highlight some of the useful new features that you should check out.

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• Liquid Glass - Liquid Glass has a subtle presence in tvOS 26, with Apple adding Liquid Glass buttons, interface elements, and Control Center. It's not as extensive as Liquid Glass in iOS 26, and it blends in well with the tvOS operating system.
• Apple TV app - The Apple TV app has been overhauled and it displays more TV shows and movies on the screen at one time.
• Profiles - It's much easier to switch profiles in tvOS 26, so you can keep the content that you like separate from the content that other people in the family prefer. You can choose a profile whenever you wake your Apple TV up from sleep. You'll get better suggestions on a per-person basis, and it's a great way to separate kid content from adult content.
• Karaoke - When using Apple Music Sing, you can use your iPhone as a microphone. The iPhone can show you real-time lyrics, lyric translations, and lyrics pronunciation.
• AirPlay - If you use third-party speakers with the Apple TV, you can now set them as the default AirPlay speakers. Your Apple TV will then automatically use those speakers and you won't have to select your speaker each time you use the device.
• FaceTime - FaceTime has been supported on the Apple TV since last year with an iPhone as the camera, but now there's an updated, card-style interface and support for Live Translation with captions.
• Screen Savers - You can pick your favorite screen saver categories, choosing cityscape, earth, landscapes, and more. Each person can choose their own screen savers if desired.

Have a favorite tvOS 26 feature? Let us know in the comments below, and check out our video for even more tvOS tips and tricks.

Article Link: Must-Try tvOS 26 Features

 

[turbineseaplane]

Liquid Glass

One of our many ATVs got auto updated and I noticed this straight away, because the "control center" (or w/e we call the top right menu on ATV) looked horrible.

I immediately turned off auto-updates on all the other ATVs for now.

 

[dustin_]

profiles & the ability to choose an airplay speaker as default at the only meaningful updates. liquid glass works well on apple tv, but i certainly wouldn’t consider it a big feature worth upgrading for.

 

[zula]

FINALLY! THE AUDIO OUTPUT IS FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ᶦ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ʰᵃᵖᵖʸ...

 

[sandler77]

Profiles are useless if you have young kids and want to protect them from viewing adult content. Profiles mean nothing on the appletv. The entire device is either open to all content, or locked down to specific ratings. So either my kids can't watch PG-13/R content, or I'm stuck watching G/PG content. How does this make sense? The concept of profiles works on MacOS and iOS, yet somehow Apple after all of these years can't get this right on AppleTV.

If I set up restrictions, anyone can easily simply just change profiles, and the restrictions are still there. Or, no restrictions and same thing - my kids can easily change profiles and view any adult content they find. This is just killing me Apple...

 

[siddavis]

Airplay speaker default sounds pretty good to me. I wonder how reliable it is.

 

[Radeon85]

They really need to work on optimisation because the UI on the Apple TV is nowhere near as smooth as 18 was.

 

[LordArchie]

I was today years old when I discovered you can have a grid style keyboard instead of the long slider 🫤

 

[macenjoyer98]

ah yes, screensavers, a new feature. exciting.

 

[SmokyT18]

I like the call notifications in tvOS 26. I can’t always hear the phone when listening to the AppleTV with noise canceling headphones.

 

[Will Co]

FINALLY! THE AUDIO OUTPUT IS FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ᶦ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ʰᵃᵖᵖʸ...

Exactly what part of the audio output has been fixed?

 

[jayducharme]

I like the new user selection change. It was pretty clunky before.

 

[mthomas184]

One of our many ATVs got auto updated and I noticed this straight away, because the "control center" (or w/e we call the top right menu on ATV) looked horrible.

I immediately turned off auto-updates on all the other ATVs for now.

Yeah Liquid Glass is absolutely awful across the entire lineup of devices. I regret ever upgrading.

 

[nickf]

Yeah Liquid Glass is absolutely awful across the entire lineup of devices. I regret ever upgrading.

You can use Reduce Transparency under the Accessibility options on tvOS to lessen it.

Liquid Glass doesn't make a lot of sense to me for a GUI used across a room. Not if you have eyesight like mine, anyway.

 

[Paddle1]

My 3rd gen Apple TV 4K is still on tvOS 18. Auto update is on but I'm not in any hurry to do it manually with such minor changes.

 

[k1121j]

Am i the only one with issues when using the remote app to type on the apple tv the text disappears in the middle of typing. Started three updates ago super annoying.

 

[archvile]

Be on Home Screen. Double tap Home button on remote (to open app switcher). Notice the main bar of apps (the ones encircled by the Liquid Glass border) turns completely black in the app switcher screen.

How nobody caught this is beyond me. Complete lack of attention to detail.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

FINALLY! THE AUDIO OUTPUT IS FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ᶦ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ʰᵃᵖᵖʸ...

What?

 

[Gator5000e]

Some people reported a lip sync issue with 26.0. They also report that 26.0.1 fixes the lip sync issue. Maybe that is the audio issue being referenced.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Liquid Glass is absolutely NOT a must-try on TVOS. I very quickly tuned it off , after both a few hilarious and infuriating moments where text in the UI completely blended with text from the movie posters , leading to surreal gibberish.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Installed on our 4k Apple TV with the glass swipey remote. I can’t tell any difference.

 

[red elma]

Switching between apps causes a momentary blackout of approximately 2 seconds on my TV screen. Anyone having similar issues?

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

And yet STILL no visualizers for music. With all the tech we have today. This seems like such a miss. They add great fun to a party or even personal jam sessions. Being up on the big screen too is, or could be, very cool!

 

[orbital~debris]

Screen Savers - You can pick your favorite screen saver categories, choosing cityscape, earth, landscapes, and more.

Ahem, “and more” should read “and Snoopy”!

Genuinely one of the nicest Apple TV benefits. Never fails to make me smile. ❤️

 

[Plutonius]

Why are these a must try ?