Roger Fingas
As promised, Apple on Monday released the finished tvOS 9.2 update, making a broad assortment of improvements to the fourth-generation Apple TV.
Users can now, for instance, use the Siri Remote to dictate text into text boxes, including login screens and search fields. Input has also been made easier through support for Bluetooth keyboards.
Elsewhere the software has gained an iOS 9-style app switcher, and support for grouping apps into folders, cutting down on home screen clutter.
Some other enhancements include the ability to ask Siri to "search the App Store," and better video scrubbing. A video must now be paused before scrubbing will work, whereas users could previously bring up the option accidentally simply by touching the Siri Remote's touchpad.
tvOS' Photos app has been hooked into iCloud Photo Library, letting users see photos and videos uploaded from other devices.
Although tvOS can be set to fetch 9.2 automatically, users can also force a download by going into the Settings app and locating Software Updates under Maintenance.
Apple has separately released OS X 10.11.4, iOS 9.3, and watchOS 2.2.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
17 Comments
The 8 people who have Bluetooth keyboards in their living room will be happy. Seriously just the image of someone sitting on their couch with a bluetooth keyboard balanced on their lap...I can understand why Apple put it at the very bottom of the priority list for release.
The other improvements in this update are huge. Dictation makes all the difference and really completes the puzzle when it comes to the Siri remote. And the change to the scrubbing behavior with the remote is huge. Not a single user out there that wasn't annoyed by having to delicately pick up the remote to prevent accidental input.
Will Siri now work for appletv4 use in NZ?
Yawn.........
"Thank goodness! "Accidental scrubbing" has been a major complaint by me. Now that Bluetooth keyboard support is back, I should now finally be able to enjoy my ATV4 four months after its release at least at much at my ATV3 from four years ago."
I'm with you, brother.
I was using my old Apple TV remote half the time because I was accidentally scrubbing. About time.