Everything Else

Here’s a list of other noteworthy changes to tvOS 17.

Locate Siri Remote

In the pursuit of finding my Siri Remote quickly, the simplest way was the most effective. Apple’s Siri Remote Loop solved most of my issues for years, but when the newly designed Siri Remote arrived, its port proved incompatible.

My move to AirTag with Nomad’s Horween Leather Cover has proved fruitful for ultra-precise Find My-based Siri Remote sofa hunting shenanigans, but no one should really go through the same expense as I did. For everyone else slightly saner than I am, there’s a new feature called Locate Siri Remote, which can be found via the Remote app in Control Center for iOS. 

Find Siri Remote in action through Remote in Control Center for iOS.

Users can now initiate the finding of their second- and third-generation Siri Remotes by tapping on the Find prompt in the Remote app’s TV selection screen. Simply follow the blue onscreen circle, which shifts in size in order to guide your next movement toward the remote. When the Siri Remote has been located, a white dot appears and gets larger as you get closer, with text letting you know if you’re near, far, or “here” (next to the remote). The only thing still missing is a way to automate applause when you finally find it down the deepest crevice of your sofa.

Screen Savers

Examples of the new Ariel additions this year.

While the film and TV aficionado in me is begging for some fun Apple Originals-themed aerial screen savers next time around, this year sees two new locations: Arizona’s Monument Valley and the coastal redwoods of California.

Memories in action. My trip across North America last year.

Memories also join the ever-expanding list of screen saver types this year, delivering personalized collections of your photos and videos to the big screen through a satisfying variety of animations, from mosaics to the more traditional slow pans and zooms. While the default option is to show all, users can also select by favorites, recent activity, or specific album. 

Like many others, I need to sort out my sizable photo library. That urgency is increased thanks to the ease of access to a selection of those same memories via a new top-shelf highlight for Apple TV. During playback, users can also manually glide through the selection of photos and video clips compiled and get information for the music track included.

802.1X Networking Support

Apple TV devices now support connection to 802.1X networks using EAP-TLS 1.3. In another win for privacy advocates, the new standard further improves privacy and security by always providing forward secrecy and never disclosing the peer identity while also reducing latency.

Restore Apple TV 4K with iPhone

Starting with tvOS 17 and iOS 17, it is now possible to restore any Apple TV HD or Apple TV 4K model experiencing problems with a nearby iPhone following a brand new onscreen prompt. Thankfully, while I haven’t yet run into problems with later hardware models, it’s good to know that there’s now another option, besides sending Apple TV 4K hardware to Apple directly.

Conclusion

“I believe in hope. I believe in ‘believe.’” - Ted Lasso

Apple TV continues to be the best streaming device out there, continually adopting new industry audio and video standards and delivering an experience both familiar and intuitive enough for anyone to pick up and enjoy.

In a year where most attention was concentrated on the next evolution in home entertainment and spatial computing, and as excited as I am to try Apple Vision Pro again, I can’t help but consider how that future may not be a replacement for, but instead, an addition to the TV. 

That’s not how I thought I’d feel heading into this summer. However, what started as a surprise with the announcement of FaceTime and Continuity Camera has since morphed into palpable belief in a brighter future for Apple TV and tvOS. Yes, Apple TV will continue to be a great destination for entertainment, but this year’s tvOS release offers a first glimpse of the platform harnessing the company’s other OSes and services too. 

In the short time since tvOS 17’s public release, I’ve already seen Apple TVs used in new ways for production. Once, it was just an AirPlay destination for easier top-down shots and roaming cameras. However, now, an Apple TV connected to a capture device also offers an easy way to create presentations or record conversations thanks to Continuity Camera. When developers unlock the tools that have slowly trickled out year after year, tvOS could be looked upon in a different light from how it’s regarded today.

A full production suite for small creators or extensions to current uses in meeting rooms and educational institutions could be the company’s answer to cost-effective computing in developing countries or perhaps a new way to log into its suite of productivity apps through iCloud. Maybe the TV was dropped from the top of Apple TV’s latest hardware iteration for a reason? 

We’ll find out the answer to that question soon enough. Until then, it’s time to make a cup of tea and put on a movie.

A special thanks to Jonathan Reed, Devon Dundee, and James Lees for sharing in my passion for Apple TV through their hard work over the years at screentimes.net and on our podcast Magic Rays of Light.

Finally, a huge thanks to Federico and John for the privileged opportunity to follow the great work of Ryan Christoffel, whose earlier Apple TV coverage on the site continues to be a source of personal inspiration.