Apple Fixes TVOS Ahead Of Potential Big Changes Next Month

Apple has rolled out a new software update (tvOS 9.2.1) for its Apple TV box. It launched yesterday, and if you haven't already installed it it should be sat there in your Apple TV's settings menu waiting to be activated as we speak. Unlike the previous Apple TV update, though, the most striking thing about this one is that you likely won’t notice any obvious benefit from it!

This is because it focuses solely on fixing behind the scenes issues - bugs and potential security vulnerabilities - rather than delivering any new functionality to the Apple TV’s tvOS interface. So unless you happen to have suffered at the hands of the bugs it fixes in recent times (I haven’t), it appears on the surface to be one of Apple’s duller updates.

Actually, though, the very lack of new user features in the latest update is interesting in itself, as it suggests that Apple may be holding things back ahead of a substantial new tvOS ‘unveil’ at its annual World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) next month.

It seems to me that had Apple not got anything substantially new to talk about on the tvOS front when the WWDC kicks off with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook’s keynote speech on June 13th, we might have expected at least a couple of small usability tweaks to have been added with the 9.2.1 update.

Certainly Apple insiders seem to be expecting Apple to unveil significant tvOS news at the 2016 WWDC - especially as the Apple TV’s operating system didn’t get much love at last year’s conference. But what sort of features might a substantial new tvOS update introduce?

So what's next?

While we almost certainly can’t expect the introduction of Apple’s long-pursued but now seemingly put on hold (as reported here) subscription TV service, I for one would like to see signs of Apple defining the Apple TV’s identity a bit more along the lines discussed in a previous article - as in, figuring out if it’s predominantly a TV streaming, gaming or app device, rather than trying and largely failing to be all three. More tools for handling the endlessly growing number of apps on offer would also be much appreciated.

To be honest, I’d love Apple to hurry up and launch new Apple TV hardware to address the current box’s inability to handle 4K video (for more on this, read this separate article). Despite rumors (reported here) suggesting that such a box has been development for many months already, though, the WWDC doesn’t seem the most likely place for Apple to unveil such a key new product.

Needless to say if Apple does indeed have big tvOS news in store for June I’ll bring you all the ins and outs of it on my Forbes channel.