Version Compare

tvOS 18 → 26

Pick two releases to see what's new, which settings Apple moved and which devices were left behind — built only from Apple's own pages.

Platform From To My TV (optional)

New features

Aerial screen saver selection

Pick which Aerial screen savers appear, including new landscapes from India.
Call notifications

See incoming phone and FaceTime audio calls on Apple TV and answer on HomePod or iPhone.
Default AirPlay speakers

Set any AirPlay speaker as the default output.
FaceTime Contact Posters and Live Captions

FaceTime on Apple TV gains Contact Posters and Live Captions in more languages.

Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later)
Formula 1 in the Apple TV app

F1 races with up to 30 feeds and Multiview, included with the Apple TV subscription.

U.S. only
Genius Browse

Personalised recommendations you can tailor for yourself or your household (added in tvOS 26.4).
Liquid Glass design

A new design built on Liquid Glass.

Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later)
Lyrics translation and pronunciation

Translate lyrics and follow pronunciation in other languages.
More Fitness+ plans

Made-for-you and custom Fitness+ plans that carry over between Apple TV and iPhone or iPad.
Profiles without an Apple Account

Create profiles for kids and others without an Apple Account, with their own history and age filtering (added in tvOS 26.2).
Sing with iPhone as a mic

Use iPhone as a microphone with Apple Music Sing.

Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)
Subtitle styles during playback

Change the look of subtitles from the playback controls (added in tvOS 26.4).
Wake up to profiles

Choose your profile when Apple TV turns on.

From the TV settings tracked by the Settings Pathfinder, compared between Apple's 18 and 26 User Guides.

None of the tracked settings moved.

No tracked model was dropped.

No tracked model was added.

“Not 18” usually means the model came out later. Only models in Osnivo's verified device list are counted.

Sources for this page