Your Apple TV Is Quietly Getting a Convenient Hi-Fi Upgrade

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) earlier this week, the company gave us a first glimpse of the next-generation operating systems coming to various devices.

Admittedly, most of the presentation focused on updates coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac, but Apple gave a quick peek at what was coming to Apple TV, too.

When tvOS 27 arrives this fall, it’ll introduce a few quality-of-life updates to your current Apple TV. This includes a redesigned Podcast app, faster AirPlay connections and a larger font option in Accessibility Settings.

However, the update will also introduce some upgrades to your Apple TV.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

High-res lossless support

If you’re an Apple Music subscriber and you play music on your Apple TV, tvOS 27 will introduce two notable upgrades.

First, it brings support for Hi-Res Lossless Audio (or audio up to 24-bit/192 kHz). To date, Apple TV has supported up to 24-bit/48kHz when listening to Apple Music.

With the update, Apple says “that subscribers with compatible external speaker outputs will be able to enjoy their favorite songs in the highest audio quality and experience studio-quality sound directly through their Apple TV 4K.”

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Second, it’s bringing AutoMix to Apple TV for the first time. This is a feature introduced with iOS 26 that seamlessly transitions between songs, like a DJ set, so the music never stops.

According to Apple, AutoMix adds “a whole new layer of energy and excitement to the experience with even better transitions that feel more immersive and engaging for listeners.”

Which Apple TVs will support tvOS 27?

tvOS 27 will be released to all compatible Apple TVs this fall. Unfortunately, for the first time in years, some older Apple TVs will not support the new software.

If you have an Apple TV HD or the first-generation Apple TV 4K, which was introduced in 2017, those models will not support tvOS 27. You need a second-generation Apple TV 4K or newer.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Related Topics