Apple on Monday seeded the fourth beta – Build 13Y5210d – of tvOS 9.2 to developers. The beta is available as an over the air update to developers that already have the third tvOS 9.2 beta installed on their fourth-generation Apple TV.
Doing an initial installation of the tvOS 9.2 beta requires the unit to be connected to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, and the software needs to be downloaded and installed via iTunes or Apple Configurator.
Screenshot – Courtesy of 9to5Mac.
iCloud Photo Library Support
While iCloud Photo Library support is disabled by default, users can enable it by entering the Settings app and going to the “iCloud” menu. There you can toggle iCloud Photo Library support to “ON.” Prior to this, only Photo Stream content was available for viewing on the set-top device.
iCloud Photo Library on the Apple TV works much like it does on iOS devices and the Mac, including album support for “All Photos,” “Recently Added,” Favorites,” and “Selfies.”
Folders Support
The tvOS 9.2 update brings support for sorting apps into folders on the Home screen similar to the way it is done on iOS devices. The beta also includes a new look for the App Switcher interface
Live Photos Support
Live Photos support is also enabled on the Apple TV in the latest tvOS 9.2 beta, offering users the ability to view the animated photos that can be captured via Apple’s latest flagship phones, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
To view Live Photos, users need only to click and hold the touchpad button on the Siri Remote.
Other features of tvOS 9.2 include:
- Bluetooth Keyboard support.
- Folders support for grouping apps on Home screen.
- MapKit support.
- Siri support for US Spanish (in US only) and French Canadian (in Canada only).
- Siri support for UK English, Australian English and US English available across the UK, Australian and US Storefronts when English is set as the system language.
- Updated App Switcher UI.
- Podcast app.
tvOS 9.2 has been in beta since January 11, and is only available to developers for testing. tvOS 9.2 will likely to see a spring release alongside iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and OS X 10.11.4, likely around the much-rumored march Apple media event.
