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Apple Introduces tvOS 26 With New Liquid Glass Design

John Finn Avatar
Apple TV tvOS 26 design with Liquid Glass Control Center

During its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event today, Apple officially announced the latest version of its Apple TV operating system, tvOS 26. Along with some general entertainment improvements, Apple confirmed tvOS 26 will feature a new Liquid Glass design.

Liquid Glass isn’t just coming to Apple TV, as the company is rolling the new design out across all of its platforms. On Apple TV, however, this will result in the use of various icons and widgets, including the Control Center, adopting a glass-like look, and adding a transparency effect in the process.

As part of the redesign, the Apple TV app is gaining new poster art that also incorporates Liquid Glass. According to Apple, the new poster art will allow for more shows and movies to be displayed on the screen at the same time, making it easier for users to find content.

In another attempt to make it quicker and easier to get to content, tvOS 26 will allow users to automatically display profiles when an Apple TV player wakes up.

Other updates coming to Apple TV include:

  • The ability to use an iPhone as a handheld microphone.
  • New Auto Sign-In developer API that links app logins to an Apple Account.
  • More personalized FaceTime experience
  • New Aerial screen savers captured across India, including in Goa and Kerala.
  • Personalize the screen saver experience by choosing specific Cityscape, Earth, Landscape, or Underwater Aerials to display — or hide.
  • Designate any AirPlay-enabled speaker as the permanent speaker for Apple TV.

For those interested in checking the new features out, tvOS 26 is due to be released this fall, with beta releases beginning next month. Apple has also now made all of the features available to developers for testing through the Apple Developer Program.

John Finn is the Editor of Streaming Better, a platform created to help consumers navigate the complicated live TV streaming and subscription service market. John has been covering technology and streaming for online publications since 2014.

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