Where was tvOS 27 at WWDC?

Every year, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference gives us a first look at what’s coming next for the company’s many operating systems. But there was no mention of Apple’s TVOS operating system in today’s keynote, aside from one chart listing all of Apple’s current operating systems next to the big “27.”

The entire structure of this year’s WWDC was different, with features defining the structure of the presentation rather than sections specific to each operating system update. But there are still major signs of Mac 27, iOS 27and iPad OS 27. They’re getting Siri AI, customizable transparency options for Liquid Glass, and some new child safety features. Even VisionOS is included with new Siri AI features. tvOS was conspicuously absent, including from Apple website.

In a Latest announcement of upcoming accessibility featuresApple has stated that support for larger text will be coming to tvOS, allowing those with poor eyesight to increase the size of text on the screen (Amazon has announced its version of this for the operating system Fire TV Stick HD in April). But I was expecting it to be a precursor to more reveals during WWDC rather than a complete absence.

My hope was for a more integrated Apple Home experience with the Apple TV 4K, where it could serve as the hub for your entire smart home. It’s now possible to view camera feeds or activate different scenes that have been set up, but it’s more limited than the interactivity you can get on an iPad or iPhone. Which is a far cry from Amazon Alexa or Google Home TV integration.

The main limitation is the hardware. new An Apple TV has been rumored For a few years, since the last time Apple TV 4K It was released in 2022. According to Mark Gurman, the new Apple TV is Basically ready to gowhich could be good news. To support Siri AI, or even Apple Intelligence, the Apple TV would have to be more powerful (the A15 Bionic chip in the Apple TV was originally introduced nearly five years ago). The impact is being felt across Apple’s lineup, with older Watches, iPads and even some Macs becoming obsolete. So, there’s a desperate need for a new device that can play the features highlighted during WWDC and elevate Apple TV to the same level as Amazon and Google.

There’s a chance something interesting will emerge when a public beta update is available for tvOS 27. As I write this, other public betas for OS 27 are becoming available, including iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 (and a waitlist for Siri AI). However, as of now, the Apple TV 4K software updates page remains dormant. Without an existing Apple TV that’s actually capable of running the new Siri, we’ll likely have to wait until the end of the year for anything significant to come to tvOS.