tvOS 11

Even Apple’s video streamer and games box gets some attention

For a long time, Amazon’s Prime Video service has been a notable omission from Apple TV. Many other content providers have plugged their apps into the box’s TV app, which offers a single place to catch up on all your programs. So, one of Apple’s first announcements at WWDC was… you guessed it, Amazon Prime Video is coming to Apple TV later this year. That means you’ll no longer have to use AirPlay on your iPhone or iPad to send Amazon’s shows to a bigger screen.

Apple also disclosed that the fourth-gen Apple TV can work as an AirPlay 2 receiver, so your television’s speakers can be part of your multiroom audio system.

If you own a pair of AirPods, it might please you to know that the manual pairing process for connecting them to Apple TV is no longer necessary. The little black box joins the ranks of Macs and iOS devices in recognizing your headphones when it and they are signed into the same iCloud account, taking away a small yet irritating hassle.

Additionally, for the first time tvOS will be part of Apple’s public beta program this summer. This involves updating the software via a Mac over a USB-C cable, using iTunes.